Mastercard foundation launches podcast to inspire future leaders

The Mastercard Foundation has launched a new podcast called Transcending Boundaries Conversations with Reeta Roy that seeks to inspire the next generation through candid discussions with global changemakers.

Mastercard Foundation announced in a statement that the new podcast will be hosted by Reeta Roy, President & CEO of the Mastercard Foundation and features conversations with influential figures, including former heads of state, human rights advocates, and social innovators.

“In my life as a leader, I have learned it is vital to begin a conversation by listening. Through the conversations in Transcending Boundaries, we offer a rare opportunity to learn from people who have changed the course of their own lives and the world. Understanding the formative years that shaped the lives and the journeys of these extraordinary leaders is a source of wisdom and encouragement. We all have the capacity to be leaders and to make a difference,” says Reeta Roy.

The podcast debuts with a first episode featuring Nobel Laureate and former President of Liberia, the Honourable Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. A trailblazer in governance and women’s rights, President Sirleaf discusses the formative experiences that shaped her vision, the mentors who guided her, and the values that sustained her through times of challenge and triumph.

“I did have the experience of being strong in success while maintaining self-confidence in defeat,” says Sirleaf. “My mother’s strength, in being able to provide that care, and at the same time being able to coach her children that they stayed focused on getting an education, staying in school, preparing themselves, I think therein lies my own strength of character. My own ability to forge ahead if I see there is something that will improve not only me but the society in which I live.”

Airing on March 10, 2025, Transcending Boundaries is an eight-episode weekly series that invites listeners to be part of a vital conversation on leadership, values, and transformation that is highly relevant in today’s world. It will be available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and the Mastercard Foundation’s website.

Episodes feature a distinguished lineup of guests who have made a profound impact in their fields, including former Liberian President Ellen Sirleaf, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda Louise Arbour, and former Irish President Mary Robinson.