The Leadership Legacy
Global Initiative | Started November 2025 (indefinite)
Artist’s statement
Hello and welcome. I’m Penny Bird, a portrait photographer drawn to stories of purpose, courage, and connection.
The Leadership Legacy captures inspiring leaders around the world and invites them to share their role models and lessons they’ve learned on their paths to leadership.
Their reflections reveal wisdom gained through experience - insights into courage, resilience, and purpose that help others grow.
A leader’s legacy is the lasting impression they leave: the people they uplift, the values they nurture, and the cultures they shape. Through portraiture and conversation, The Leadership Legacy celebrates that influence - the steady, enduring impact of people leading with integrity, empathy, and vision.
By sharing these stories, my hope is to spark reflection and enable future generations to see themselves as part of that continuum - to learn, to lead, and to create legacies of their own.
“If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, then, you are an excellent leader.” Dolly Parton
FIRST STOP: CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA
I photographed Irene on the rooftop of the Cape Town International Conference Centre, with Table Mountain behind her, shortly after the October 2025 Forum. She carries the elegance of her years in Trieste, a warmth that draws people in, and a deep passion for helping others rise.
Irene Ochem, CEO and Founder African Women Innovation & Entrepreneurship Forum
“Being bold is an act of leadership”
When Irene visited Nigeria in 2012, her mother asked a question that would change the course of her life: “What do you want to do?” At the time, Irene was between jobs and countries and uncertain of her next step. Her mother’s advice - “Make sure it matters” - ignited a spark that became the Africa Women Innovation & Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF).
Founded before the global wave of female empowerment began, AWIEF was Irene’s bold answer to that call - a legacy built to uplift and connect African women in business. Now in its 11th year, the Forum provides a platform for learning, networking, and funding - empowering women to grow and scale their enterprises across the continent.
For Irene, being bold means daring to dream beyond the limits of circumstance, having the passion and courage to take the first step, and finding resilience to rise each time you fall. It’s about thinking big, acting bravely, and staying steady in the face of challenges. As she says, “Being bold is an act of leadership.”
AWIEF is a non-profit, award-winning pan-African organisation dedicated to women’s economic empowerment. Granted Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), AWIEF is committed to closing the gender gap by driving women’s business leadership and entrepreneurship in Africa. Activities and initiatives are designed to foster an environment where women-owned businesses can thrive and contribute to sustainable economic development across the continent.