Cally Beaton at The Gloss Gala 2022

Turning money from a source of stress to a source of strength and also a source of freedom and independence, was reinforced by Cally, who discussed financial feminism through the prism of her own personal experience. Cally started her career in TV production and, when her company was acquired by ITV, she found herself on the ITV board – not just the youngest board member but also the only woman member. She went on set up an award-winning creative consultancy before joining US studio giant ViacomCBS as a Senior Vice President – overseeing budgets in excess of $500 million for brands such as Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central and Paramount.

Cally, as the audience found out, knows a thing or two about self-help, having helped herself out of a boardroom career to try something completely different, just before a global pandemic. Thirty years into a high profile career in the media, she had a conversation, with the late Joan Rivers, that unexpectedly changed her life and threw caution to the wind to start out all over again – this time in front of, rather than behind, the cameras – as a stand-up comedian.

A walking, talking advocate for reinvention, and doing “one thing every day that scares you”, Cally has since appeared on shows including The Apprentice You’re Fired, QI and is a regular voice on BBC Radio 4. Cally spoke with honesty and humour about her brand of financial feminism, and why for her, money isn’t usually about the actual money. “Money does not blow my skirt up,” she said before admitting, “One of the things that motivated me to make better investment decisions started at home, I became a sole breadwinner. Then I got another curveball … my son was diagnosed with autism.”

She left the audience with much to think about including the idea that the menopause is a superpower and an upbeat message on finding your path: “Anything is possible. We will decide what our story is. Let no one underestimate, stereotype or pigeonhole us.”