Mother's Day Series
A closer look at the women balancing careers, family, and everything in between.
Meet Daphne Liu
US CEO at Softescu and leader in digital transformation and AI adoption, Daphne advises organizations from Fortune 100 companies to high-growth ventures, helping them navigate complexity through human-centered strategy. As a mother of teenage twins, her perspective is shaped by constant motion and decision-making, leading organizations through change while raising two individuals finding their own paths.
Daphne shares how she navigates work, motherhood, and everything in between. Scroll to the end for her Luxeire picks.
What do you do, and what do you genuinely love about it?
My work centers on AI adoption and how frontier language models shape human behavior. What I love is that humanity is actually at the center of everything I do, from product design to change management. I sit at the intersection of cutting-edge technology and the very human questions of how we lead, adapt, and grow. My work asks me to show up fully, polished, curious, and human, and to dress for a day that could go anywhere.
What’s something about your job people don’t see or think about?
Most people picture AI work as deeply technical, engineers, data, and codes. The part they don't see is how emotional it is. So much of my day is helping leaders be empathetic, navigate fears, uncertainty, and identity shifts as their organizations transform. The hardest problems aren't the algorithms; they're the very human ones underneath. I need to walk into those rooms feeling confident and grounded, and what I’m wearing is part of that.
How has becoming a mom changed the way you move through your day?
It's made me highly focused about what matters, and what works. With teenage twins, I learn fast that I can't optimize everything, so I choose: presence over perfection, depth over breadth. The same logic applies to my closet. From subway to scooter, school meetings to client calls to official receptions, I need pieces that move with me without me having to think about it twice.
What’s been the hardest part of being a working mom lately, and what’s been the most rewarding?
The hardest part is the invisible math, the constant recalibration of where to spend my time and energy, who needs me most in any given moment and where I put ‘ME’ in the picture. The most rewarding? Watching my twins grow into people with their own curiosities, kindness, journeys, and realizing they're watching me build something and I don’t have all the answers. Modeling ambition for them, and showing them I can be soft and sharp at the same time, is its own kind of learning & growth.
Daphne with her husband and children.
What does a typical day look like for you, from start to finish?
Mornings are tea and chaos, getting the rhythm right, the twins out the door, and our dog running/walking in NYC is its own sport. From there it's a mix of client calls/meetings, market research, writing, and showing up for the networks I care about. A day might take me from a downtown meeting to an uptown event with a scooter ride in between. In the evenings I try to reserve time for family/friends. And weekends sometimes involve a climb, a flight, a dive somewhere or visits to museums. The beauty of nature, culture and adventures keep me grounded.
What’s something you’re really proud of right now?
Co-hosting AI communities in my network such as Chief and The Explorers Club has been deeply rewarding, building a space where women executives and explorers can learn and wrestle with technologies on their own terms. I'm also proud that I keep saying yes to things that scare me a little, whether it's a new venture or a mountain. And I love supporting brands doing things the right way, like Luxeire, a mother-daughter label made right here in the NYC garment district. There's something powerful about clothing made by women who understand the lives we're actually living, in a neighborhood that built American fashion. It's legacy and lower carbon footprint in the same stitch.
What do you throw on when you need to get out the door quickly and still feel put together?
Something black and versatile, a great pair of trousers, a beautifully cut top, a simple dress, and one strong piece of jewelry, a ring, a backpack and often a pair of cute sneakers.
Shop Daphne's Look
Shop Daphne's Look
What’s one thing you’d tell another woman trying to balance work and motherhood?
Stop trying to balance. The moment we’re in is dynamic and life is too short to not live it to the fullest. Get clear on what’s in this chapter, give yourself grace on some rest, and experience life with loved ones and make an impact on our world.
