Being raised by a French-Lebanese father and Russian mother, Maya Moufarek's early childhood was shaped by rich multi cultural foundations, centered on family, empathy and support to your community.  In our latest 'Around the Corner' we chatted about how this has fundamentally shaped her unique approach to leadership.

Maya is a seasoned marketing executive turned Non-Executive Director, angel investor, and fractional CXO. She has guided businesses through periods of explosive growth and now brings her operational expertise to multiple boards across the tech ecosystem.

Corner 1: The Past – The French Embassy School in Moscow ‍

Finding Strength in Not Fitting In

Maya's formative years weren't spent in typical playgrounds or classrooms. Instead, they unfolded in the unique environment of a French embassy school in 1980s Moscow.  Surrounded by a diverse group of classmates from French colonies, Africa, Greece, Italy and Spain. When her family moved to France at age 10, she discovered that speaking the language perfectly didn't guarantee belonging. "Suddenly I was some kind of alien. I could speak the language perfectly but somehow still didn’t really fit in."

Rather than seeing this as a limitation, Maya transformed cultural displacement into what she calls "a bit of a superpower." The constant experience of adapting, understanding different mindsets, and finding her place in unfamiliar environments became essential skills that would later serve her in male-dominated tech environments and complex business situations.

"I didn't know anything different than just not fitting in," she explains. "It taught me to adapt, to understand different mindsets. I think it ultimately made me a better marketer really because what is marketing if not applied psychology?"

Corner 2: The Present – The Puzzle Piece. Operating in the Trifecta

Today, Maya operates what she describes as "a bit of a trifecta";  Angel investor, fractional CXO, and board member. This wasn't a conscious effort but evolved naturally from her interests and expertise.

"I came to realise this is three different ways to look into the tech ecosystem," she says. "Being able to constantly change hats and think what would the investors say, what would the board members say, what would the operators say. It really helps with that empathy aspect."

This perspective proves invaluable in boardroom dynamics. Her approach emphasizes the human side of governance alongside the formal requirements.

"If that personal connection and real empathy and understanding isn't established, boards become dysfunctional," she observes. "The least the CEO is comfortable, the least they're sharing, the least the board actually has the visibility they need to do a good job."

Maya advocates for spending significant time with CEOs outside formal board meetings, offering guidance that extends beyond her NED role when appropriate. "I try to be as generous as I can with my marketing expertise and saying where can I help you refine your marketing plan – only if invited obviously."

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Building Trust at Scale: The Pharmacy2U Experience

During her time at Pharmacy2U, Maya faced the challenge of building consumer trust for an entirely new concept, online prescription ordering and home delivery, while scaling at breakneck speed. With no search volume for "online repeat prescription," the team had to create demand while establishing credibility.

Her solution combined strategic anchoring to NHS licensing with innovative demand generation. "Going on TV both generated demand and built trust. "

The experience taught her that operational excellence must match marketing ambition. "You're not delivering socks, you're delivering medications. You can't overwhelm your operations team to the point they're making mistakes or can’t keep up with volume resulting in delays."

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Corner 3: The Future – Looking Beyond the Infrastructure. AI as Applied Problem-Solving

Looking ahead, Maya draws parallels between today's AI revolution and the early internet era. "The ventures which created the most combined value weren't the infrastructure players of the internet," she notes. "It was the businesses built on that infrastructure that really created the most combined value."

Her prediction for AI follows the same pattern: while foundational models are being built and refined, the real value creation will come from the application layer. "It's really that app layer that will generate the value. We just need to think: what is the right application of AI in the problem space you're solving?"

For boards navigating AI transformation, Maya advocates for humility and external expertise. "Board members are not going to become experts overnight and they're not suddenly going to resolve it for their board. Get that external expertise, and remember this is not a one and done – this is going to transform much faster than we've ever seen anything transform in tech."

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Blind Corners: Quick-Fire Insights

Which leader would you most like to share a board table with? "Steve Jobs. Both for his fiery nature but also extraordinary vision and pixel-perfect designs. A complicated character by all accounts, but what a visionary."

One business buzzword you'd ban forever? "'Circle back' – some kind of weird 'I don't want to have this conversation right now' or 'I disagree with you, but I'm not going to have this disagreement right now.' I'd rather know which one it is."

First app you open in the morning? "I do my best to not to reach for my phone first thing, partially so I can be present for my daughter as we get ready for school. But it will most probably be WhatsApp to coordinate pickups and drop offs!"

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Final Thoughts: The Power of Cultural Fluency

Maya's journey from cultural outsider to boardroom insider illustrates how early experiences of displacement can become profound leadership advantages. Her ability to adapt, empathize, and translate between different perspectives, whether cultural, functional, or stakeholder-based, enables her to support CEOs and drive business success in ways that more conventional backgrounds might not.

In a world where businesses increasingly operate across cultures, markets, and stakeholder groups, Maya's approach reminds us that the ability to navigate differences isn't just valuable – it's essential. Sometimes the greatest superpower comes not from fitting in perfectly, but from learning to thrive in the spaces between worlds.

After all, as Maya puts it: "I really feel like a citizen of the world and have empathy across religions and nationalities and cultures." In today's interconnected business landscape, that's not just a personal asset – it's a strategic advantage.

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