Moderator:

-         Anne Houtman, Lecturer at Sciences Po, former senior civil servant at the European Commission  

Speakers:

-    Sarah de Carvalho, CEO at Happy Child International Foundation 

-    Thaima Samman, Partner, Partner, SAMMAN Law and Corporate Affairs

The objective of the session was to discuss the ways and means to successfully manage career changes in a constantly evolving world. 16 female talents from WIL’s Women Talent Pool program participated in the workshop, moderated by Anne Houtman.

    
From left to right: Thaima Samman, Sarah de Carvalho, Anne Houtman

Insisting on the importance of transmission, Thaima Samman, WIL President, reminded the audience that the WTP program is for its member the opportunity not only to networkwith peers and senior women but also to provide them with a broad picture of various careers. This way, they are encouraged to open their horizons on how to transform career changes into an opportunity.

Anne Houtman, Lecturer at Sciences Po and former senior civil servant at the European Commission, Thaima Samman, Partner, SAMMAN Law and Corporate Affairs and WIL President and Sarah de Carvalho, CEO at Happy Child International Foundation shared their own testimonials with great transparency and modesty. They also gave some useful advice on how to manage both expected and unavoidable career changes.

According to Anne, we need to be opened and see where are the opportunities, while keeping in mind that anything offered to us is the chance to have another experience that will enlarge our skills and make us more capable for the future. Not only diversity of our experience is an asset for our career by enabling to build the skills needed to be a leader, but it also brings freedom “to innovate, be yourself, create, think out of the box”. Anne went further saying that she was very lucky to fail many times since it brought her to places she would never have gone otherwise. Adding to that, she quoted Pasteur: “chance favors the prepared minds”. Indeed, you need not only to be prepared to be successful, unlike a lot of people who miss career opportunities because they think they don’t have the adequate skills, but also to be prepared to failures since we don’t have control over everything but still we can always rebound. While she was a mathematics statistics assistant in Louvain, she had to teach statistics and realized the importance of pedagogy, a key skill in a career according to her, both in the private and public sector. Indeed, it is important to “know how to motivate your people” because it gives meaning to work.

Like Anne, Thaima emphasized on the importance “to be open to opportunities” and the fact that each experience will provide you with valuable skills for your career. For example, she was chosen by Claude Bartolone to be his assistant although she did not have the adequate diploma nor was part of his political spectrum. Another piece of advice she gave to the audience is the necessity “to move out of your comfort zone to progress”: for example, when she entered the corporate world to be a business lawyer, she was identified for skills she totally ignored and had no guarantee that she was doing the right thing. However, her past experiences enabled her “to think differently and to bring a fresh perspective” to her new employers. Like Anne, Thaima occupied different positions in both the public and private sector: each of those experiences gave her knowledge and soft skills useful for what she is doing today. Breaking choices such as when she left Microsoft where she had a well-established position, to create her law firm, were not moments of pleasure. But they were necessary and were the cost for what she is today, the successful leader of a recognized public affairs and law firm. She concluded asserting that “Weaknesses can be your strengths once you identify them” and that the key for success in life is finding “a balance between being opened to opportunities but also having the right to make choices”.

Sarah explained the incredible work she carried out with her charity that rescued over 11000 children, and the lessons learnt from being a leader in both the corporate and the third sector. She first exposed her motivation for changing her career and working in the charity sector: having seen what it is like on the ground for children in Brazil is what motivated her to try to make a change. She made a parallel between her leadership experience in the third sector and in the private sector: “it is all about service delivery”. As head of an NGO, Sarah is still a leader across geographical and cultural boundaries but this time the service delivery is targeted for vulnerable children and communities. The challenges of a CEO in a charity are the same as the ones in the public and private sector. She defines herself as a social entrepreneur. Leading her charity was challenging at first, but thanks to her MBA and experience in communication she gained confidence to go through. Digital disruption had a positive impact for her charity, by making a global impact possible: the campaign itsapenalty.com has so far delivered its key messages to over 519 million people worldwide. She gave the audience useful advice for career development: “Advancing in your career is about creating and forging relationships.” Mentors, role models, feedback providers and coaches can help us connect, gain support, develop and excel in our careers.

On the 15th and 16th of May 2017, WIL Europe organized in London a two-day gathering for its members and the young women of its talent pool program. More than 60 "happy few" had the opportunity to participate in our panel discussions, networking sessions, and customized trainings.  

   

To kick off the Brussels-based sessions, we thought that the symbol of the International Women's Day would provide us an excellent opportunity to reflect on the meaningful concept of "women in leadership". We are witnessing in the recent years an increasing number of women entering leadership roles, and the discussion will focus on how it has transformed not only the bottom line of business models and companies’ development, but also organizational behaviors, vision and practices. At the time of major economic and social shifts, leading transformation successfully requires change in management styles, and we believe that women have key roles to play.  

Speakers:

- Laurent Derivery, Partner at Activ’ Invest/ President of Alpha CDI/ Founder and CEO of Valeurs & Développement

- Avinash Chandarana, Director of Learning & Development Group at MCI Group

- Diane Einterz, Executive Vice President, Directrice de la Direction des Grands Clients, Orange Business Services

Moderated by: Thaima Samman, WIL President

Wrap-up remarks: Raluca Anghel, Head of Office, European Parliament and WTP 3rd Edition Emerging Leader 

    

  

On December 6^th, 2016, WIL Europe organized its last Breakfast Debate of the season at the European Parliament in Brussels, which focused on Innovation in Healthcare, as it is on the brink of massive change by facing unprecedented challenges.

To discuss this timely subject, WIL Europe was honored to have a panel of diverse and high-level speakers such as:

- Elena Bonfiglioli, Senior Director Health Industry, Europe Middle East Africa (EMEA) at Microsoft

- Karin Kadenbach, Member of the European Parliament

- Elinaz Mahdavy, Director of European Affairs and Strategic Partnerships at Orange Healthcareand

- Deborah Papiernik, VP, New Business Development, Technology and Strategic AllianceUbisoft Entertainment.

Moderator: Thaima Samman, WIL President

Wrap-up remarks: Claire Jones, Head of Procurement for Roche Diagnostics Ltd. and Women Talent Pool Emerging Leader

   

        

On the afternoon of Monday, December 5th, 2016, WIL Europe was honored to be welcomed at the French Representation to the EU in Brussels, for a very high quality networking cocktail with Ann Mettler, Head of European Political Strategy Centre at European Commission.

As the discussion was meant to be informal and warm, in order to foster shares of experiences and exchanges between Ann Mettler and a restricted number of 30 WIL members and WTP Alumni.

François Riégert, Minister-Counsellor, Head of the economic service at the French Representation to the EU in Brussels, opened the evening networking cocktail with few words welcoming to the guests and the talents. He expressed his satisfaction to witness major changes in terms of gender parity in EU institutions in the recent years.

Pinuccia Contino, Head of the Unit “Communication and Strategic Planning” of DG Justice and Consumers and Paulina Dejmek-Hack, Member of Cabinet of J. C. Juncker, as WIL Board Members, introduced the keynote speaker of the evening Ann Mettler to the guests, and emphasized her resilience through the tortuous path toward leadership.

Ann Mettler then took the stage to reflect with the audience on her inspiring path through the European Institutions, entrepreneurship and think tank. Sharing her successes, but also her doubts and difficulties on her way to leadership, she gave a wonderful testimonial of resilience, and a tremendous example that authenticity, passion and hardwork can overcome any barriers. She acknowledged that the path toward leadership is not always easy, but “find a job you’re keen about, and it will worth it”. Either way, she advised women to dare: to dare having great ambitions, and to dare to pursue them. Stepping out of their comfort zone is also risking failure, but that shall not prevent them from trying again, and succeed. “I have not always succeeded, I had major failure too. But I’ve always tried, as hard as I could. And that I can be proud of.”

Anne Mettler, Head of European Political Strategy Centre at European Commission

Talking about her experience in entrepreneurship (as the co-founder of The Lisbon Council, a Brussels-based knowledge economy think tank and innovation policy network) she encouraged any woman, and especially working moms, to try this experience. Being her own boss not only makes you the sole responsible of your success, it also gives more flexibility to adjust working hours with family life requirements.

Ann Mettler closed the session by giving precious pieces of advices to the Talents : Being authentic, be yourself and do not try to be a man, make yourself indispensable to your boss, and bring passion to everything you achieve.

On November 8th, WIL Europe was thrilled to be hosted by the French Ministry for Families, Children, and Women’s Rights, for a powerful yet intimate dinner with the French Minister Laurence Rossignol in Paris. The dinner gathered 16 top-notch women business executives, members of the European Institutions, representatives of non-governmental organizations and academics, to discuss the theme: “How to promote women in leadership roles in Europe / Accèlerer l’accès des femmes aux postes de responsabilité en Europe.” The participants shared with the French Minister Laurence Rossignol insights, best practices, and fostered a common reflection on women’s empowerment at the European level. 

The discussion was structured into 3 sub-themes: Promouvoir les femmes dans des postes de direction/Promoting women in leadership positions; La gestion des talents féminins/Managing women's talents; Les politiques européennes en matière de promotion des femmes, à l'échelle nationale et européenne/European policies to promote women in Europe and the European countries.