TRAILBLAZER

Name : Kamila Hankiewicz Job Title : CEO / Co-Founder

Company : Untrite / Oishya

“ I ’ m the CEO but as it ’ s still a startup , I wear lots of different hats , though I ’ m mainly focused on strategic partnerships and business development ,” says Hankiewicz . Hankiewicz ’ s journey to becoming CEO and Founder of Untrite has been filled with a number of different roles in different sectors - mirroring her current hat-swapping situation : “ I was trying to find myself , and now I know the technology space is where I want to be ,” she explains .

“ I ' ve always felt like I want to do something on my own . So when I was at University , I already had my own small company .

Oishya was founded after Hankiewicz wanted to buy her partner a Japanese knife , but wanted to find something beautifully authentic and affordable - something she struggled to find .

It was a boutique branding company , but I always felt a connection and I always felt good working with technology . I wanted to utilise this , do something greater and do something bigger ,” Hankiewicz adds . Similar to many other women navigating their careers , Hankiewicz explains that , in the early years of her career , she was often given certain tasks or encouraged to take part in recreational activities that are typically considered ‘ female ’ and , moving through her education , very little changed : “ I ' ve now been lucky to meet lots of amazing women who work in technology - but it wasn ' t always like that .”

“ When I was growing up , I never had a female role model in technology . I didn ’ t see maths or physics as something I could move into as a potential career , but then I moved to London from Poland and it opened my eyes - I saw more women in these fields and my curiosity led me to explore what was possible .”

18 April 2022