Ellen L.
Founder and CEO at PokerDivas
Women Empowerment
Education: American University - Fordham University
New York, NY, USA
Biography
Ellen Leikind is a frequent Keynote speaker, entrepreneur, published author, and creator of PokerDivas. Her mission: to show how to bet on yourself and win at the corporate game using the strategies of poker…. even if you have never played the game.
A Fortune 500 executive who launched over a billion dollars in health and beauty products, Ellen was intrigued when poker began to rival golf as a popular corporate business development opportunity. Returning to the game she learned from her mom as a teenager, she noticed strong parallels between the strategies of poker, business, and life itself.
Ellen created PokerDivas, a company that has empowered 75,000+ women to excel professionally in male-dominated industries. Leikind describes poker as a “people game you play with cards” that encourages initiative and assertiveness and rewards calculated risk-taking.– the same skills that helped her succeed as a senior executive at companies such as Pfizer and L’Oreal.
An acknowledged expert on poker as a business-training tool, Leikind is a Cornell-certified diversity and inclusion authority who runs PokerDivas programs that include corporate team building, diversity and inclusion, and women’s initiative. She has authored a book: Poker Woman: How to Win at Love, Life, and Business Using the Principles of Poker, written columns on the life lessons of poker for Parade, hosted the PokerDivas podcast, and been featured in myriad news stories in Forbes, Crain’s, CNBC, ABC News, Success, and more.
Her Speaking topics include:
-Betting on yourself- Ellen’s story of taking the leap from Corporate America to Entrepreneurship using Poker strategy.
-Making people pay to play with you -The formula for being the “bettor” and commanding what you want and are worth with clarity, confidence, and no apology.
- Negotiating for a Win-Win- Identifying personality types in business negotiation and mixing up your game based on different behaviors.
-Knowing When to Fold 'Em - Kenny Rogers was a genius. Sometimes the smartest strategic move is to walk away rather than stay stuck in a bad job, business, or relationship.
Passion
Women's empowerment
Navigating male dominated industries
Getting up from the wrong table without guilt
Equal pay for women
Leadership
Animals
I am willing to travel
More than 100 miles
When it comes to payments
I always get paid for speaking
Topics
Best Story
How I got free Netflix for life.
How got a book deal at Harvard Law School
Origin Story
I had no idea a deck of cards would shape my career. As an only child I played cards with my mom after school. Mostly Poker. I did not realize it at the time, but the game teaches so many life skills.
Fast forward to my corporate career in the Fortune 500. I got tired of seeing women, including myself not get what they were worth. I started playing more poker recreationally and noticed that poker was more than just a game—it was a powerful networking tool, akin to golf. The strategies used in poker mirrored those in the corporate world, especially in deal negotiations.
In 2006, after a one-year sabbatical from my dynamic but draining career, I decided to take the entrepreneurial leap and merge my childhood poker know-how with the strategic insights I gained in the corporate arena. This fusion led to the creation of PokerDivas. Fueled by my passion for empowering women, I was determined to help them claim their worth without guilt or fear, using the very game that epitomized male dominance. My mission was clear: teach women to harness the strategies of poker to succeed in business and life.