99. What's Your Story with Anouk Pappers

In this episode of On Boards, hosts Joe Ayoub and Raza Shaikh speak with Anouk Pappers, CEO of Signitt and founder of CoolBrands People. As a brand anthropologist, Anouk advises board directors, C-suite executives and leadership teams on developing their executive narrative and building their digital reputation. 

Throughout her career, Anouk has interviewed more than 900 CEOs, board members and business owners around the world, publishing 15 books around their stories.

Anouk shares why networking for a board seat is a long-term process built on relationships, reputation and trust. She also explores how AI is changing the way board candidates are discovered and evaluated, and why leaders need an online presence that is both human-readable and machine-readable while remaining authentic.

Key takeaways

• Your personal brand is already there 

  • A personal brand is not a logo or tagline. It communicates who you are, what you stand for and what you bring to the table.

  • Start by identifying your goals, target audiences, unique experiences and the two or three areas for which you want to be known.

  • Your combination of experiences and accomplishments can differentiate you, even when your individual skills may not seem unique on their own.

• Purpose makes leaders and organizations memorable

  • People with a clear purpose and vision tend to leave a lasting impression.

  • Purpose extends beyond maximizing profits to considering people, the planet and profit, and integrating broader stakeholder value into a company's business model.

  • A company's brand can evolve over time while its core values remain consistent.

• Networking for a board seat requires long-term relationship-building

  • Board opportunities often begin with existing relationships and recommendations within a board's professional network.

  • Building relationships with board directors, CEOs, executive teams, and executive search professionals helps increase visibility and credibility.

  • Successful networking requires consistent engagement, trust and a reputation that others feel comfortable putting forward

• Visibility and positioning are just as important as credentials

  • Education, experience and professional credentials are foundational, but they do not automatically lead to a board seat.

  • Candidates need a clear narrative that makes it easy for others to understand their expertise and recommend them for opportunities.

  • Articles, videos and speaking engagements can create proof points that reinforce credibility of your expertise.

• AI is changing how board candidates are discovered and evaluated

  • Traditional search engines reveal a person's digital footprint, while AI tools can interpret that information and generate a narrative about the individual.

  • Board candidates should develop an online presence that is both human-readable and machine-readable.

  • Authenticity, human connection, trust and critical thinking remain essential in the boardroom.

Quotes

• "You need to make an impact. You need to share your story over and over again. And you need to make sure that people can remember you."

• "Everybody has a personal brand… You can take control and define your brand, or you can let it be defined by others or maybe even worse, let it not be defined at all."

• "AI is really moving fast, but this personal connection, that's what we need. And I think that's what we need to really reinforce in the boardroom."
  

Links

Signitt

Guest bio

Anouk Pappers works with board directors and senior executives on a part of leadership that has become impossible to ignore: how they are professionally perceived when board roles are being considered.

She is known for guiding leaders with turning strong executive experience into clear board relevance. Her work focuses on defining the story behind a leader's judgment, perspective, and contribution, strengthening how they are spoken about among their professional peers, and aligning their online presence with the roles they are ready to take on. For aspiring board directors, this creates greater clarity and confidence. For sitting board members, it sharpens positioning, visibility, and influence.

A brand anthropologist, author, speaker, and founder of Signitt, Anouk brings together narrative, visibility, and online presence with a clear focus on board positioning. She draws out what matters in a board context: how a leader thinks, what they see, and the value they bring as a non-executive.

Anouk's perspective has been shaped by a global career that began in 2002 with "Around the World in 80 Brands," a project that took her across continents in search of brands with purpose and people with vision. From Amsterdam, she expanded her work to Dubai, São Paulo, and New York, collaborating with companies including PepsiCo, Apple, Google, Mercedes-Benz, Harley-Davidson, and Unilever.

Over the years, Anouk has interviewed more than 900 CEOs, CMOs, board directors, and senior business leaders, and published 15 books built around their stories and insights. That body of work gave her a rare understanding of how credibility, trust, and leadership value are communicated across industries, cultures, and board-level settings.

She is a frequent speaker at board and leadership forums, including NACD, PDA, EWOB, WCD, C200, Deloitte Board Readiness, 50/50 Women on Boards, Women in the Boardroom, DDI, TLN, and ELC.

Anouk believes that experience may open the door, but positioning, visibility, and narrative often shape who is remembered, who is trusted, and who is invited into the room.