Master your story: Emb Hashmi

As part of International Women’s Day 2026, leaders in Greater Birmingham share their thoughts on the power of reciprocity and support following this year’s theme of ‘Give to Gain’.

Emb Hashmi, founder of Storytelling for CEOs has spent over a decade helping the world's most important stories reach global audiences.

Now she is on a journey to tell her own story with confidence.

Emb talks about how she has embedded ‘Give to Gain’ through her career and and shares powerful insights on how to master and own your narrative.

What changes would you like to see for women in business in Greater Birmingham?

I want to see women stop being the best kept secret in the room.

Birmingham has extraordinary female talent but too many women are still underestimated, underfunded and overlooked simply because they have not yet learned to tell their story with authority.

I would like to see more platforms that actively develop women's communication and leadership presence, not just celebrate them once a year, and more investment in women-led businesses beyond the early stage.

What is one action you could take to challenge gender bias or stereotypes?

I can keep showing up and speaking up in rooms where people do not expect someone like me.

As a British Pakistani Muslim woman from Birmingham who spent 12 years at the BBC and now runs a business, my very presence challenges assumptions.

Every time I stand on a stage, chair a panel or walk into a boardroom, I am quietly rewriting the narrative of who belongs there.

What is the biggest challenge you have faced as a woman in business and how did you overcome it?

Learning to value my own voice.

I spent over a decade helping the world's most important stories reach global audiences, yet I had never learned to tell my own story with confidence.

When I left the BBC and stepped into entrepreneurship, I realised the very skill I taught others was the one I had neglected for myself.

I overcame it by going back to basics, building my own framework, testing it, refining it and eventually founding Storytelling for CEOs from Birmingham's NatWest Accelerator. The business literally grew from the moment I started telling my story properly.

This year’s IWD theme is Give to Gain. How will you give back to either your organisation or community to help drive more change?

Giving is built into everything I do.

My entire business is built on the belief that when you give someone the tools to tell their story, you multiply their impact.

This year I am committing to offering storytelling sessions specifically for women in Birmingham who are early in their entrepreneurial journey, because the right story at the right moment can be the difference between a business that survives and one that thrives.

I also mentor through the NatWest Accelerator community and I intend to deepen that commitment.

What’s one piece of advice you would give to women looking to succeed in your industry?

Stop waiting until you feel ready to speak.

Your story does not need to be perfect, it needs to be true.

The women who break through are not always the most qualified in the room, they are the ones who learned to communicate their value clearly, consistently and with conviction.

Master your story and you will never have to chase opportunity again. It will find you.

How has being part of GBCC helped support your business or career?

GBCC has given me community at a stage when building a business can feel very solitary.

Being part of a network that genuinely invests in its members, champions Birmingham and opens doors to decision makers has been invaluable.

It has expanded my visibility, connected me with potential clients and partners, and reminded me that I am building in one of the most ambitious cities in the country.