Katie Litchfield, WeQual Founder speaks to Umang Vohra Managing Director & Global CEO of Cipla
Our latest episode of the CEOs Uncut podcast is available now. Katie talks to Umang Vohra, the Managing Director & Global CEO of Cipla – a leading global pharmaceutical company.
Umang shares Cipla’s ethos on diversity and his personal views on gender equality. The podcast dives into how his upbringing and experiences as a global citizen have influenced him as a CEO and as a person.
“You don’t have to prove that you’re better than the rest. I think women try harder at doing that. Men assume that because they’re being called for an interview that they’re good, otherwise they wouldn’t have been called. Some women that I’ve met come feeling at a disadvantage about their gender… don’t feel guilty about the fact you’re not a male.” ~ Umang
Listen here> http://hub.wequal.com/page/podcast or wherever you listen to podcasts, including Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Deezer, TuneIn, and Overcast.
Past episodes include interviews with CEOs from around the world, including Kellogg’s, Dole, Coca-Cola HBC, Rolls-Royce, Wipro, and HCL Technologies – to name just a few.
Katie Litchfield, Founder of WeQual, talks with Zoran Bogdanovic, CEO, Coca-Cola HBC
A new episode of our podcast – CEOs Uncut – is available now. Katie Litchfield, WeQual Founder, talks with a long-time friend of WeQual, Zoran Bogdanovic, the Chief Executive Officer of Coca-Cola HBC. He shares with Katie what he has learnt in his 26 years at the company, the challenges faced in the last few years, and how the business is supporting gender equality.
“I have met so many exceptional women leaders who do astonishing things … but often I see that they need a nudge, support to boost their confidence that they should aspire to the same dreams as men and that the next promotion can be theirs.” ~ Zoran, on his experience as an Executive Interviewer for the WeQual Awards.
In this engaging interview, Zoran tells Katie about what he has learnt in his 26 years at the company and the challenges that Coca-Cola HBC have had to face in the last few years.
With the global pandemic that affected everyone, and the war in Ukraine that had a particular effect on the company, Zoran talks about Coca-Cola HBC’s tilt towards Environment Social Governance – a big deal for a company that bottles and sells beverages in 29 markets on 3 continents to more than 715 million customers.
That’s a lot of bottles.
Zoran also talks about the challenges he has worked through to get Coca-Cola HBC onto Forbes’ ‘World’s Best Employers’ list, for the first time ever in 2021, and also to become Europe’s most sustainable beverage company, according to S&P Global’s annual yearbook.
Listen here > http://hub.wequal.com/page/podcast or wherever you listen to podcasts, including Spotify, Deezer, Amazon, Google, Apple, TuneIn, and Overcast.
Past episodes include interviews with CEOs from around the world including Kellogg’s, Dole, Rolls-Royce, Wipro, HCL Technologies – to name just a few.
WeQual is driving gender equality at the top of the world’s largest companies.
WeQual Awards, The Americas 2023 Announces Eight Exceptional Women as Winners
We would like to congratulate the eight category winners of the WeQual Awards, The Americas 2023.
The WeQual Awards are the only business awards which celebrate the achievements of senior executive women who have proven leadership traits for future C-suite positions. These global awards are a vital part of WeQual’s mission to achieve 50/50 gender equality at the top of the world’s largest companies.
To reach the finals, each woman scored exceptionally high in an assessment process which tested her leadership, strategic planning, resilience, integrity, emotional intelligence, approach to equality, and business knowledge.
The WeQual Awards are unique in that each category winner is determined by one of a prestigious panel of eight global CEOs. For The Americas 2023 chapter, finalists were judged by Executive Interviewers which included the CEOs of Moody’s Corporation, Sanofi, and CGI Inc, amongst others.
Please join us in congratulating the winners in each category of the WeQual Awards, The Americas 2023:
– People: Sherry Cassano, Chief Talent Officer, Senior Vice President People Experience at Pfizer
– Digital & Technology: Vrinda Menon, Managing Director, CTO, Managed Accounts and Client Services at J.P. Morgan Private Bank
– Transformation: Gemma Kubat, SVP & President, Financial and Retail Services at Target
– Strategy: Jean Harvey Johnson, Senior Vice President and General Manager at Fiserv
– Innovation: Asha Keddy, Corporate VP / General Manager, Next Generation and Standards, formerly at Intel
– Operational Excellence: Mary Petryszyn, Corporate Vice President and President, Defense Systems, formerly at Northrop Grumman
– Specialist: Ester Banque, SVP & GM of U.S. Hematology at Bristol Myers Squibb
– President: Adriana G. Mendizabal, Group President – Latin America at Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.
WeQual is on a mission to drive 50/50 gender equality at the top of the world’s largest organisations.
We are delighted to congratulate the women selected as finalists for the WeQual Awards, The Americas 2023.
The WeQual Awards identify and showcase women currently reporting to their group Executive Committees, with the aim of promoting 50/50 gender equality at the top of the world’s largest companies.
This year’s finalists join an elite group of women acknowledged for their contributions to their companies, industries, and wider business community. Over 51% of previous alumni now have a larger role, and 21% have a seat on their Executive Committee.
“We are thrilled to recognise these exceptional women and their remarkable achievements,” said Katie Litchfield, Founder of WeQual. “They are shining examples of the power and potential of women in leadership roles, and we look forward to witnessing their continued success and growth in the future.”
The winners of the WeQual Awards, The Americas 2023, as determined by eight global CEOs, will be announced on Wednesday May 10, 2023.
Here are the finalists by category:
President
Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. – Adriana G. Mendizabal, Group President – Latin America
Pfizer – Paivi Kerkola, Country President at Pfizer Italy
WeQual Founder, Katie Litchfield, is back with the first episode of season 2 of WeQual’s CEOs Uncut podcast.
Katie talks with Pier Luigi Sigismondi who, as President, Food and Beverage Group at Dole Sunshine Company, is determined to leave a strong legacy for future generations at this well established global food producer.
Pier Luigi shares what he perceives as the problems for a diverse workforce in the past, and how he views progress for women towards the top of Dole and in general.
Listen now on our podcast page or wherever you listen to podcasts. Subscribe to our CEOs Uncut series where you can listen to our previous interviews with CEOs from around the world, including Kellogg’s, Rolls-Royce, Wipro, HCL Technologies, and Direct Line.
Ensure you don’t miss interviews with some of the big names in the business world, coming up over the next few episodes.
WeQual is driven by a determination to tackle the lack of diversity & equality in the leadership of the world’s largest businesses.
LONDON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The WeQual Awards are designed to recognise and showcase senior executive women who have the leadership traits for future Executive Committee positions. They are a vital step towards WeQual’s mission of achieving gender equality at the top of the world’s largest companies.
This year’s winners are:
Finance: Novera Khan, Chief Risk Officer, Uniper
People: Abbie Cowan, former Chief Diversity Officer, Atos
Operations: Arancha Torres González, Chief Human Resources Officer, Southern and Central Europe, Capgemini
Procurement & Supply Chain: Angelique van der Burg, Chief Procurement Officer, Infineon
Strategy: Anca Marola, Group Chief Data Officer, LVMH
Technology: Hanna Helin, Global Head of Technology Innovation, CTO Office, London Stock Exchange Group
Specialist: Anna Maria Reforgiato Recupero, Chief Investment Officer, Generali International, Generali
President: Elaine Jones, Vice President and Head of Respiratory & Immunology Regulatory Affairs, AstraZeneca
All entries for the awards were anonymously assessed, with the finalists being appraised by a panel of executive interviewers. This year’s panel included the Chair of Rolls-Royce, CEO of Bureau Veritas, CEO of Sanofi and CEO of Coca-Cola HBC.
WeQual founder, Katie Litchfield, said: “At the current speed of change, we wouldn’t achieve gender parity until 2154. That’s simply not acceptable. It’s been proven time and again that companies with more women in executive roles do better. Until there is equality at C-suite level, we’re not only discriminating against women and sending a negative message to younger generations, we’re not allowing our businesses to boom.”
To help accelerate gender equality, WeQual has also launched the online platform “WeQual Global”. This platform provides members with regular events, think tanks, peer-to-peer coaching and instant access to a global directory of WeQual women, creating the perfect conditions to collaborate with thought leaders at some of the largest companies in the world.
ABOUT WEQUAL
WeQual’s mission is to create a better business world by increasing gender equality at the top of the world’s largest companies. The WeQual Awards are a key way to identify and showcase outstanding women ready to take the step up to their global executive committee.
WeQual Founder, Katie Litchfield, is back with the next episode of WeQual’s CEOs Uncut podcast.
In the latest episode, WeQual goes further than we have ever been before – to Australia, no less – with an exclusive interview with the CEO of GrainCorp, Robert Spurway.
As a father of three daughters, Robert takes us through the difficulties of creating a diverse and inclusive operation in the global agribusiness industry – especially at a crucial time for food distribution.
Listen now on our podcast page or wherever you listen to podcasts. Subscribe to our CEOs Uncut series where you can listen to our previous interviews with CEOs from around the world, including Kellogg’s, Rolls-Royce, Wipro, HCL Technologies, and Direct Line. Ensure you don’t miss interviews with some of the big names in the business world, which will be coming up over the next few episodes.
WeQual is driven by a determination to tackle the lack of diversity & equality in the leadership of the world’s largest businesses.
LONDON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Eight talented businesswomen, holding prominent executive roles in leading companies listed across the Asia-Pacific region, have been named winners in the WeQual Awards.
The WeQual Awards were created to accelerate gender parity at the top of the largest companies in the world. More than 35% of WeQual Awards winners are now at global executive committee level, and more than 50% of the category winners of our first awards have made it to the top – including one chief executive.
The 8 category winners of the WeQual Awards, Asia-Pacific, 2022, are:
Finance: Rajani Kesari, Chief Financial Officer – Ambuja Cements Ltd., Holcim Product: Sarala Menon, Executive Vice President – Manufacturing & Product Supply Chain – India & South Asia, Colgate-Palmolive Marketing: Paula Pinto, Global Head – Business & Marketing Excellence, UPL Strategy: Mehrnavaz Avari, Area Director UK & General Manager, St. James’ Court, A Taj Hotel & Taj 51 Buckingham Gate, Suites & Residences, London, Indian Hotels Company Ltd People: Sarah Southwell, General Manager, Human Resources, GrainCorp Communication: Frances van Reyk, Head of Investor Relations, Ampol Limited Operations: Kavita Jain, Vice President Supply Chain & Operations, South Asia, Hindustan Unilever Innovation: Deborah Peach, Executive General Manager – Health, Safety & Environment, Cleanaway
All entries for the WeQual Awards are anonymously assessed, meaning that our assessors see neither their name nor the company for which they work. After the assessment, the 24 finalists are appraised by one of our executive interviewers before eight category winners are chosen.
WeQual’s Executive Interviewers include:
Dame Inga Beale, Chair of Mediclinic and Former CEO of Lloyd’s of London, Mediclinic
Pier Luigi Sigismondi, President, Dole Sunshine Company
Shumit Kapoor, President, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, Kellogg Company
Umang Vohra, Managing Director & Global Chief Executive Officer, Cipla
Tamara Box, Managing Partner – Europe & Middle East, Reed Smith
There are now more than 160 major companies worldwide that can boast a WeQual Award finalist – known as WeQual Alumni – among their senior leadership.
Katie Litchfield, Founder of WeQual, said: “WeQual’s mission is to achieve corporate gender parity. The WeQual Awards are designed to identify, celebrate and encourage talented women who are ready and willing to take the next step to Group Executive Committee level.”
WeQual Global To help accelerate gender parity, WeQual recently launched the online platform “WeQual Global”. Members benefit from regular events, ‘Think Tanks’, peer-to-peer coaching and instant access to a global directory of WeQual women, creating the perfect conditions to collaborate with thought leaders at some of the largest companies in the world.
Contacts Founder, Katie Litchfield Chief Executive Officer, Mark Bateman awards@wequal.com
What we suspected was the case post pandemic has been confirmed by the World Economic Forum: the progress towards gender parity is stalling.
The new figures out this month, which come from research in 146 countries worldwide, show that at the current rate it will take 132 years to reach full gender parity. In 2020, we were on course to close the gender gap in 100 years.
The share of women hired into leadership roles has seen a steady increase from 33.3% in 2016 to 36.9% in 2022.
But only select industries have levels near gender parity in leadership, such as Education (46%), and Personal Services and Wellbeing (45%).
At the other end of the range, Energy (20%), Manufacturing (19%), and Infrastructure (16%) continue to have consistently low gender parity.
And, while the share of women in leadership has been increasing over time, women have not been hired at equal rates across industries, the report reveals. On average, more women are being hired into leadership roles in industries where women are already highly represented.
“Sadly, these figures confirm what we have suspected from the hundreds of conversations we have been having with major companies across the world since the pandemic,” said Katie Litchfield, WeQual Founder. “But there is hope, as we are seeing more and more senior leaders, particularly women, engaging and really pushing the agenda to accelerate the change which companies now know needs to happen.”
In the latest edition of our CEOs Uncut series on the WeQual Unfiltered podcast, WeQual Founder, Katie Litchfield, speaks exclusively to Ann Cairns, Executive Vice Chair of Mastercard.
Katie talks with Ann about her experience as a woman leader and about her work to advance gender equality at the top of business.
In her role at Mastercard, Ann has a remit to represent the financial services company around the world, focusing on inclusion, diversity and innovation.
Ann’s work on gender equality includes her position as the global chair of the 30% Club, which is a global campaign to achieve a 30% representation on all executive committees – the point at which voices together can be heard.
She is also on the board of the Financial Alliance for Women, a network of financial institutions working across more than 135 countries to champion the female economy.
Listen on our podcast page or wherever you listen to podcasts. CEOs Uncut is a WeQual Unfiltered podcast.
Today is International Women’s Day, a time to celebrate women’s achievements and increase visibility, while calling out inequality.
To mark the day we are launching the latest episode of our CEOs Uncut podcast series – an exclusive interview with the CEO of HCL Technologies, one of the major partners of International Women’s Day 2022.
In an interview with WeQual founder Katie Litchfield, C Vijayakumar speaks with passion, drive, and positivity about how women’s empowerment is not only an important part of HCL Technologies holistic diversity agenda, but essential for businesses everywhere.
Congratulations to the eight executive businesswomen who were announced to the world on 26 January as the winners of the WeQual Awards, EMEA 2022.
All eight winners hold prominent executive roles in leading companies listed on the major EMEA indices. Each woman showed an extraordinary level of leadership and successful track records in setting and reaching high standards within their organisations. They now join WeQual Global as Alumni members.
The winners of the WeQual Awards, EMEA 2022 are:
Cecile Bartenieff, Chief Executive Officer for Asia Pacific, Societe Generale – Technology category
Christiane Lindenschmidt, Chief Digital and Data Officer, Markets and Securities Services, HSBC – Transformation category
Anne O’Leary, CEO – Vodafone Ireland, Vodafone Group – Commercial category
Arancha Cordero, SVP, Chief Growth Officer – Danone Waters, Danone – Business Development category
Jessica Nordlinder, Chief Procurement Officer, Vice President – Global Sourcing, Essity – Procurement and Supply Chain category
Tina Kao Mylon, Senior Vice President – Talent and Diversity, Schneider Electric – People and Culture category
Noémie Ellezam, Group Chief Digital Strategy Officer – Group Innovation Division, Societe Generale – Brand category
Anna Dimitrova, CFO and Strategy and Corporate Development Director, Vodafone Germany, Vodafone Group – Finance category
All applications to the WeQual Awards are assessed anonymously, with none of their personal details revealed to our assessors. The 8 winners are selected from a shortlist of 24 finalists interviewed by one of our executive interviewers. The executive interviewers were:
Steve Cahillane, Chairman, President and CEO of Kellogg Company
Mark Cutifani, CEO of Anglo American
Dame Inga Beale, Chair of Mediclinic and former CEO of Lloyd’s Register’s
Shelley O’Connor, Vice Chair and Head of External Affairs at Morgan Stanley
Zoran Bogdanovic, CEO of Coca-Cola HBC
Ralph Findlay, former CEO of Marston’s PLC
Douglas Peterson, President and CEO of S&P Global
The WeQual Awards are designed to suport WeQual’s mission to create a better business world by increasing gender equality and diversity at the top of the world’s largest companies. We identify and champion successful senior women to help tackle the slow progress in appointing women to executive roles. More than 35% of the winners of previous WeQual Awards have been promoted to the leadership teams of major global companies.
Katie talks to Penny James about gender equality, networking, leadership skills, mentors, when to hire a coach, and her journey to the chief executive’s role, in the latest episode of WeQual’s CEOs Uncut series.
The CEO of Direct Line Group talks eruditely, candidly, expansively and exclusively about the challenges she faces as head of the insurance group, and what it means to have an ExCo with more women than men.
Penny also reveals the surprising way in which the few women CEOs of FTSE-listed companies support each other – and her own tips for “being made up” to the C-suite.
London, 8 November 2021– Twenty-four women executives have been recognised by the WeQual Awards for their outstanding contribution to business from some of the biggest companies in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region. WeQual’s mission is to tackle the slow progress in appointing women to executive positions.
Since its creation, more than 35% of the winners of previous WeQual Awards in the UK, EMEA, APAC and The Americas have already been promoted to the executive committees of major global companies.
The 24 finalists, all one level below Group ExCo or Group C-Suite leader, automatically become members of the WeQual Club. They join the 144 senior female executives already enrolled. The winners in each category will be announced in January 2022.
Colette Delaney, CEO of FirstCaribbean, provides us with an insight into leadership in the developing world in our latest edition of the WeQual Unfiltered CEOs Uncut series.
You can listen to episode five – and the rest of the series – which includes exclusive interviews with the CEOs of Rolls-Royce, Kellogg’s and Marston’s and the former CEO of Lloyd’s of London on our podcast page or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Watch this space for Katie in conversation with Direct Line Group, Penny James.
We have another first for the WeQual Unfiltered CEOs Uncut series this week with a look at how one FTSE company achieved a 50/50 gender equal executive committee.
In Episode Four, WeQual Founder, Katie Litchfield runs the rule over Marston’s and with CEO Ralph Findlay.
Ralph has overseen the FTSE 250 brewer and pub company becoming more diverse, equal and inclusive and ultimately more profitable.
This change was highlighted by a £780m deal with Carlsberg during the Covid-19 pandemic.
You can listen now on our website and listen back to early episodes, which include exclusive interviews with the CEOs of Rolls Royce and Kellogg’s, as well as Dame Inga Beale, the first women CEO of Lloyd’s of London.
Eight businesswomen holding prominent executive roles in leading companies in the Asia-Pacific region have been named as winners in the WeQual Awards
London, 7 September 2021– Eight businesswomen holding prominent executive roles in leading companies listed in the Asia-Pacific region have been named as winners in the WeQual Awards.
The WeQual Awards identify and recognise world-class women executives, one level below the group C-suite, and WeQual works with the largest companies in the world to promote diversity, equality and inclusion within group executive committees.
The winners were selected from a shortlist of 24 finalists.
Founder of WeQual, Katie Litchfield, says: “The glass ceiling has been an issue for decades, and the drop-off is steepest just below Group C-suite level. That’s why it is vital we champion gender equality at the top.”
The winners of the APAC WeQual Awards 2021 are:
Manjaree Chowdhary, Executive Director and GC, Maruti Suzuki – Business Security category
Kendra Vant, Executive General Manager – Data, Xero – Business Transformation
Srimathi Shivashankar, Corporate Vice President, HCL Technologies – Business Turnaround
Jo Egan, General Manager Product and Portfolio, AGL Energy – Commercial Innovation
Wan Norashikin (Nonie) Mohd Nasir, VP, Global Risk Management & Business Continuity Management, Indorama Ventures – Leadership Excellence
Farrah Losper, Senior Director: Head HIV, Tender & Government Affairs, Cipla – Operational Performance
Nadene Serman, Group Head of IT Transformation, The a2 Milk Company – Technological Impact
The 24 finalists were assessed against specific criteria and neither their name or the name of their company was shared with the assessors. The eight winners were chosen after being interviewed by one of our executive judges. The judges were:
Shelley O’Connor, Chairman and CEO, Morgan Stanley Private Bank
Tulsi Naidu, CEO APAC, Zurich Insurance Company
Ashu Suyash, CEO, CRISL
Dame Inga Beale, Chair, Mediclinic
Pier Luigi Sigismondi, President, Dole Sunshine Company
Ron Kalifa OBE, Chairman, Network International
Tamara Box, Managing Partner EMEA, Reed Smith
Zoran Bogdanovic, CEO, Coca-Cola HBC
More than a quarter of WeQual Award winners (UK and US) have been promoted to executive level in FTSE and Fortune 500 companies. There are now 144 women members of WeQual globally.
ABOUT WEQUAL
WeQual makes businesses more inclusive by identifying exceptional women executives to address the gender imbalance across the world’s group executive committees.
When Activision Blizzard – the company behind Call of Duty and World of Warcraft, two of the biggest game franchises ever – was sued last week by California State for breaking workplace protection laws, it went on the attack.
It accused California’s action as “disgraceful and unprofessional” and labelled the state’s legislature “unaccountable state bureaucrats”.
The accusations against Activision Blizzard – a Fortune 500 company – were not inconsequential: male staff were accused of drunken harassment of female employees; there was a culture of ignoring complaints and retaliation against women who made them; and widespread discrimination against women in areas such as equal pay and promotion opportunity.
One woman, the allegation claimed, committed suicide because of the treatment she received.
While the gaming company felt justified in going on the attack, in little over a week they have made a complete volte-face – but only after 2,000 of their 9,500 workforce signed a petition calling the company’s response to the lawsuit “abhorrent and insulting”.
And then the workforce backed their petition up by organising a walk out. And then the shares dropped almost 10 per cent in trading.
It was only then that the chief executive Bobby Katick began dialling back the company’s original aggressive response. “Our initial responses to the issues we face together, and to your concerns, were, quite frankly, tone deaf,” the CEO said in an open letter to company staff. “I am sorry that we did not provide the right empathy and understanding.”
As the fallout continued the company continued to reverse ferret: it has promised a leadership review and to sack any management found to have been involved in toxic behaviour.
While the pressure on the share price may have been a factor, it is the power exerted by a workforce to stand up for themselves that has made such a difference so quickly here. And the staff’s bravery in standing up for themselves has had a snowball effect: 500 staff at rival Ubisoft have banded together to sign an open letter in solidarity and to call out their management.
Last summer, Ubisoft – the Paris-listed software company – was hit by a number of allegations of sexual misconduct by senior executives. In their open letter to the CEO Yves Guillemot they say that “it should no longer be a surprise to anyone” that these “heinous acts are going on”.
“It is time to stop being shocked. Those responsible must be held accountable for their actions.”
At the time, when individuals at Ubisoft made their accusations, mostly on Twitter, little was done. It appears that the very act of staff coming together to go public is more likely to shine a light on the lack of diversity, equality and inclusiveness in some of these companies.
While the wrongdoing is often permeated in the ranks, it is the attitude of the people at the top – or the simple act of turning a blind eye – that creates the toxic culture.
At BrewDog, for example, hundreds of former staff were very clear that the alleged toxic culture of bullying and harassment prevalent at the brewer was as a direct result of the actions of James Watt and Martin Dickie, the company’s founders.
“You spent years claiming you wanted to be the best employer in the world, presumably to help you to recruit top talent, but ask former staff what they think of those claims, and you’ll most likely be laughed at,” the letter from former BrewDog staff claimed in June. “Being treated like a human being was sadly not always a given for those working at BrewDog.”
Companies take their lead from the top – and so those leading need to step up. Or get out of the way of the change that is coming, whether they like it or not.
Another reason why an open letter is so effective is because it’s there forever – even the search engine’s can’t hide it from those searching.
The letter of more than 2,000 staff at Google’s holding company, Alphabet, is still easily found by a simple Google search. Their open letter pleaded with the tech giant to stop protecting workers accused of sexual harassment. For the same reason, 20,000 walked out last year – though a lot of people have already forgotten that.
“This is a long pattern where Alphabet protects the harasser instead of protecting the person harmed by the harassment,” the letter said. “The person who reports harassment is forced to bear the burden, usually leaving Alphabet while their harasser stays or is rewarded for their behavior (sic).”
Employees taking a stance against toxic leadership behaviours is welcomed by us at WeQual. Our mission is to build a better business world, with more diverse and equitable companies. We know that the only way we will see change we all desire is if the companies themselves want it.
Activision Blizzard staff protest the company's reaction to California State's legislation against them
If it is the staff that accelerate that change – we will celebrate and support them.
It looks like waiting for investors may prove too long. All of the companies are publicly listed or, in BrewDog’s case, crowdfunded by up to 180,000 shareholders. But in the absence of any significant pressure on internal wrongdoing at these companies, it has taken those who know these companies best – the staff that go to battle for their CEO every day – to stand up and risk their livelihoods to see the change that we all want to see.
But with such big risk, it would appear, comes big reward. And faster results, too, if the above examples are anything to go by. So, when there is no appetite at the top for change and a lack of pressure externally, don’t be surprised to see more Watercooler Revolutions over the coming months and years.
Society has already turned. Society wants to see a more diverse, equitable and inclusive society. Companies have to change. Those at the top can do it themselves, or they can be hounded out from within by the people who count the most. Their staff.
In the latest edition of the WeQual Unfiltered podcast, which is published today, Katie Litchfield talks to Dame Inga Beale.
In what is a fascinating interview for CEOs Uncut, a series of exclusive interviews with present (and former) CEOs, Dame Inga, talks frankly about a career in which she has been chief executive several times – including the first female chief of Lloyd’s of London.
In the podcast she adds her weight to a number of subjects, including the decision-making process within a diverse leadership team.
“It can take a bit more time, and as a manager it is more challenging,” she tells Katie during the podcast. “If all you’ve got is people who think like you – boy, isn’t that easy: you just go ahead with your decision because they are all going to agree with you. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it is the right decision, that you get the best decision, or you get the right outcome.”
A long-time friend of WeQual, Dame Inga is a doyenne of the Diversity, Equality and Inclusion world: she is currently a member of Stonewall’s Development Council and most recently she chaired the HIV Commission.
“So often we see wonderful marketing campaigns, we see Pride flags hanging up,” she says. “They talk a good talk. But are they actually doing something about it?
“My test is to look at who is on the Executive Committee. If I don’t see true diversity there then I know that these organisations are not taking it seriously enough.”
Actions always speak louder than words? Sometimes. Though it can often depend who the messenger is. Take the fine words of the Gender Equality Action Committee – an independent group of experts assembled by the UK Government to champion freedom, opportunity, individual humanity and dignity for women and girls around the world.
Their big moment was the G7 summit earlier this month – but the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson fluffed the moment and the GEAC’s really vital road map to gender equality post lockdown was lost.
Their words, though, are worth repeating. And liking. And sharing. And reposting.
Here is what the GEAC wants to see:
An acknowledgement of the disproportionate effect of COVID-19 on women and girls, globally, and increased funding for, and dedicated action towards gender-transformative development programming, sexual and reproductive health services, and addressing the ‘shadow pandemic’ of violence against women and girls (VAWG).
A pandemic response and recovery that takes account of the needs of women and girls, and tracks the effect of recovery initiatives on men and women, taking into account factors such as age, income, disability and ethnicity.
At least 12 years of gender-transformative education for all, building on G7 Foreign and Development Ministers’ commitments on girls’ education and, domestically, supporting schools to implement gender-responsive policies to benefit girls’ physical and mental wellbeing.
Strengthened domestic and international social care infrastructure, and access to affordable quality care, including childcare, through increased public investment to address gender imbalances in care work, both paid and unpaid.
Equal access to capital and labour markets, through removing barriers and creating opportunities for jobs and funding for women to thrive in the modern economy, and tailoring policies to support women-owned micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
Recognition of the impact that global trade has on women as traders, workers and consumers, with G7 Leaders building trading relationships that benefit women and girls around the world.
A gender-responsive approach to climate financing, investment and policies, including at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 26), and for G7 Leaders to target investment in girls’ education, re-skilling of women, and lifelong learning to ensure that women and girls can benefit from the ‘green revolution’.
Acknowledgement of the risk to global prosperity and women’s economic empowerment caused by a gender imbalance in STEM education and careers, and commitment to prioritising progress towards gender parity through concrete action.
Action to address the digital gender divide by supporting initiatives that provide women and girls in all areas with affordable, reliable and safe internet and mobile services; and to counteract algorithm bias which puts women, girls and marginalised groups at a disadvantage.
An end to the stereotyping and unequal treatment of women in the media, including by endorsing the Generation Equality Forum Charter of Commitments for Cultural and Creative Industries.
Global action to end violence against women and girls through increased investment in prevention and response; the ratification of relevant conventions, including the Istanbul Convention; and enhanced support for eradicating female genital mutilation (FGM).
Action to tackle online harassment and abuse of women and girls, through the introduction of legislation that establishes a duty of care on technology companies to improve the safety of users online, including appropriate controls for online pornography sites.
Condemnation of sexual violence used as a weapon of war as an international red line, by developing an International Convention to denounce it, in line with other prohibited weapons in war such as landmines and chemical weapons.
Continued action to drive monitoring of progress on gender equality, and accountability on commitments, including the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, through the establishment of a G7 GEAC observatory mechanism to measure and report on G7 progress.
WeQual’s mission is gender equality in the executive committees and board rooms of the world’s biggest companies. While we deal specifically in the corporate world, our experience has taught us that the gender imbalance at the top of companies is systemic – the issues women in business face often mirror those they face outside work.
Which is why we think the words of the GEAC are worth reading and repeating. Over and over again.
London, 14 June 2021 – Twenty-four female executives of some of the biggest companies in the Asia-Pacific region have been identified as having the leadership qualities for top-level executive management positions. The WeQual Awards (wequal.com/awards) recognise outstanding women in senior roles. WeQual’s mission is to tackle the slow progress in appointing women to executive positions.
Since its creation, more than 35% of the winners of previous WeQual Awards in the UK, EMEA and The Americas have already been promoted to the executive committees of major global companies.
“We run the WeQual Awards all over the world, and while the result we are aiming for is the same everywhere – 50/50 gender equality in the Executive Committees of the world’s biggest companies – we are finding that the hurdles women have to overcome vary from region to region,” said Katie Litchfield, founder of WeQual.
“In the Asia-Pacific region, women striving to get to the top of business have to overcome many of the same issues that women globally have to deal with, but also more localised implicit bias. But their fight to reach their full potential underlines the exceptional nature of the talent that we have found in the APAC region – and this year’s finalists are right up there with the best in the world,” Katie added.
The APAC finalists come from a wide range of sectors and companies. The finalists’ companies are: Maruti Suzuki, ANZ, CSL, Bank of China (Hong Kong), Fletcher Building, Xero, Mineral Resources Limited, HCL Technologies, Rio Tinto, The Heineken Company, AGL, News Corp Australia, Unilever, Wipro, Transurban, Indorama Ventures, Reliance Industries Ltd, AMP, Cipla, Cochlear, Auckland Airport, Contact Energy, The Star Entertainment Group and The a2 Milk Company Limited.
The 24 finalists in eight categories were assessed against specific criteria: Leadership, Cognitive Ability, Drive & Resilience, Integrity, Emotional Intelligence, Personal Development, Approach to Equality, and Knowledge of the Business. All candidates were assessed blind with no name or company revealed in their application.
Eight executive judges will hold 30-minute interviews with the three finalists in their category before choosing a winner. The categories are: Business Security, Business Transformation, Business Turnaround, Commercial Innovation, Finance, Leadership Excellence, Operational Performance, Technological Impact.
The winners will be announced in September 2021.
Among supporters of the awards are: Ann Cairns, Executive Vice Chair of Mastercard and Global Chair of the gender equality campaign group ‘30% Club’; Sir Ian Cheshire, Chairman of Barclays; Dame Inga Beale of Mediclinic; and Ron Kalifa OBE, of Network International.
Ann Cairns says: “WeQual promotes the equality of women in the business world by recognising outstanding professional achievements and impact. While many consider that this should be a normal thing, in reality we need sound initiatives like WeQual to act like catalysts in creating a more fair and equal society.”
This senior group of 24 executives will become members of the WeQual Club and join the existing 120 senior female executives who are one below – or already on – the Executive Committee.
Assessment Methodology:
The eight assessment questions were developed from a research-based meta-analysis of the factors and characteristics that mark leaders as different from non-leaders (Kirkpatrick and Locke, 1991). They were designed to help the women best describe how they deliver on leadership characteristics and how they are seen by others as a leader, and indeed engage people who see them as fit to lead.
About WeQual:
WeQual’s mission is to make businesses more inclusive by identifying exceptional women executives and address the gender imbalance across the world’s Executive Committees. Katie Litchfield, Founder of WeQual, devised the new platform which calls for women senior executives to build their case as to why they are deserving to be appointed to the Executive Committee.
Today we publish the second in our CEOs Uncut podcast series – with an exclusive interview with Rolls-Royce’s Chief Executive, Warren East.
Founder of WeQual, Katie Litchfield, spoke to Warren about how the company is overcoming the huge difficulties it has experienced in hiring women executives.
In our exclusive interview, the CEO of Rolls-Royce also spoke honestly about the personal challenges over the last year. In addition, he offers candid advice on how to get promoted to the Executive Committee.
WeQual believes that to make a difference you have to get involved in the conversation. We need to share valuable information to enhance the business world around us by engaging with others.
Club members share experiences with each other within the WeQual network, but it is always worthy of note when they make a splash outside the WeQual World.
Two WeQual finalists – Monique Elliott, Senior Vice-President of Industrial Automation Global Marketing at Schneider Electric, and Isabella Panizza, Head of Communications for Global Customer Operations at Enel group, were both contributing at Media360, a flagship event hosted by Campaign – the magazine for the advertising and media industry. This was hosted by Anna Foot and Dana Whitaker, SVP of international media sales and UK sales director of The Wall Street Journal respectively.
Talking about the importance of building on the community spirit post-pandemic, Monique told the symposium the story of Schneider Electric Exchange, an open business platform designed to bring Schneider’s partners and customers together. She explained that recently, two customers – engineering companies from Canada and India – connected over the digital platform and decided to collaborate to meet a customer need. “Normally they wouldn’t have found each other and perhaps, before, they might have been competitors. But in this new environment, and with a digital community to connect them, they worked together profitably,” Monique said.
Isabella, meanwhile, sharpened an engaging discussion about the link between a brand’s purpose and its ability to build an authentic and engaging sense of community.
“Purpose is central to any content and community strategy,” she told Media360. “Clear purpose makes content more effective. Our commitment to sustainability helps us find a new global audience.”
Two WeQual Club Members have been appointed to the Executive Committee of Direct Line Group, it has been announced.
Aurore Lecanon, who was a WeQual Awards finalist in 2020, will take on the role as Chief Risk Officer later this year. She is currently Chief Risk & Compliance Officer at Prudential International. Aurore succeeds Jose Vazquez who will be retiring.
Jessie Burrows, a WeQual finalist in 2020, has taken on an extended role as Managing Director, Customer Sales, Service & Claims and will join the Executive Committee immediately. Jessie joined Direct Line in 2016 as group financial controller and is currently Managing Director of Claims.
The appointment of Jessie, along with Jazz Gakhal who has been made a permanent member of the ExCo as Chief Strategy Officer, means that when Aurore Lecanon takes up her position, Direct Line Group’s Executive Committee will have
The company’s Board of Directors has 33% female representation. Direct Line Group is one of only a handful of FTSE 250 companies that has a woman as its CEO, Penny James, and a woman as Chair of its Board of Directors, Danuta Gray.
Penny James, chief executive of Direct Line Group, said:
”I’m delighted to welcome Jessie, Jazz and Aurore to the Executive Committee, whose experience, drive and leadership will help us to forge ahead with our strategy to drive benefits and growth out of the investments we have already made.”
Houston, 2018. ABB’s Oil, Gas and Chemicals (OGC) business is looking to build its position with EPC (engineer-procure-construct) firms and taps Group Strategic Projects Manager Heather Cykoski to lead the effort.
A 13-year veteran of ABB at this point, Heather has recently managed some high profile OGC projects and is ready for a new challenge. She accepts the new role and dives in.
Meanwhile, in London, the Financial Times’ (FT) Katie Litchfield has had it. After years of working with top executives of the UK’s largest firms, she’s heard the same excuse too many times for the lack of women leaders: ‘If we could find the talent, we’d hire them.’
She quits her job to start a new venture focused on elevating women into senior positions by providing executive coaching and profiling alongside carefully curated talent accelerator programs, speaker bureaus and awards.
Cut to 2020 and Katie’s company, WeQual, has created a 200-strong network of outstanding female executives ready for C-suite leadership. In 2021, Heather wins a WeQual award in the Leadership category for the Americas.
The paths that these women took to reach this moment are different, but both arrived at a similar place. Each saw that there was a steep drop-off in the percentage of women in executive committee roles, even compared to just one level down in the organization. But rather than curse the male-dominated darkness, they each decided to take action that has since become a defining element in their careers and their lives.
First impressions
Heather Cykoski
I first met Heather in 2010 at the Houston Marathon, which ABB was sponsoring. I had just handed off one of our senior managers to a media interview when I walked into the ABB hospitality tent and met one of the account managers in the O&G business. Heather’s direct manner and welcoming personality made a longstanding impression and likely helped her subsequent rise in the organization.
Following that first encounter, I had one or two opportunities to work with Heather on case studies with O&G customers, but that was it. As is often the case in large firms, you just don’t run into people if your roles don’t bring you together. Still, it came as no surprise to me when I learned that she’d been recognized with a WeQual award.
Katie Litchfield
When I meet Katie Litchfield for the first time, she too makes a strong first impression. She starts our Teams call by asking me if I am going to turn on my camera, as she had done with hers. She says it in that particularly British way, implying no offense. Her warm, no-nonsense approach makes me want to turn my camera on.
Katie tells me she worked at the FT for more than 20 years, most recently organizing executive forums that brought her in regular contact with the elite of British industry. It was rewarding work, but the gender equity issue kept coming up.
“I reached a point where I just couldn’t hear one more CEO tell me there were no women to hire for executive committee positions,” she recalls. “I decided then and there to do something that would make it impossible for anyone to use that excuse again.”
Walking, not talking
Heather’s ABB resume reads like an over-achiever’s list of ambitions. Starting in 2005 as an account manager working with BP and Shell, she became ABB’s first female Global Account Manager (serving Dow) just two years later, successfully executing chemical plant projects and new investments in Asia, the Middle East, Europe and North America.
By 2012, Heather was managing Group Strategic Projects, helming ABB’s participation in East Africa’s liquid natural gas development and North America’s gulf coast chemical and liquified natural gas investments. Then came the call in 2018.
“I was asked to create a global sales team, recruiting from country, division and business unit teams. Working with a group of three, I scoped the opportunity in full and defined profiles for each sales leader,” she explains.
Heather believes in the value of a diverse team, but building one from scratch came with some risks, like hiring a 30-year-old female with no engineering qualifications to lead the effort in China. After closing three big orders and positioning ABB for “one belt one road” projects, it was clear that Heather had made the right pick.
“With the new team in place, we developed a playbook detailing our offering and key opportunities,” Heather recalls. “We went customer by customer, in oil and gas where our efforts had been to date, but also in new sectors like food and beverage, water, and data centers. I think we’ve had a strong impact commercially and culturally.”
That’s one way to put it. In fact, Heather’s 24-person team racked up some truly remarkable results:
Exceeded targets for cost-cutting by 10 percent without losing a single headcount
Posted 21 percent growth against a forecast of 12 percent and stretch target of 19 percent
Increased sales from $476m in 2018 to $1.013b in 2019
That’s an 82 percent rise in sales for those of you keeping score at home. For every dollar of cost, the team generated more than $42 in revenue. Not surprisingly, Heather has been asked to share the success factors behind such an effective group. She emphasizes diversity, but also has some simple advice.
“I tried to stay open to opinion from the team, customers, advisers and other stakeholders,” she says. “And if you’ve chosen your team well and you look after them, they’ll deliver – especially when we remind and encourage each other to focus on our long-term goal.”
“If you’ve chosen your team well and you look after them, they’ll deliver.”
In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic put that philosophy to the test, disrupting workflows and introducing enormous health and safety challenges. Heather’s team faced a 20 percent cost reduction mandate while a Group-wide restructuring consumed up to a quarter of her time. She also faced a very specific challenge just as the pandemic was taking hold.
In January 2020, McDermott International filed for bankruptcy. The firm was an important customer, accounting for 15 percent of the team’s annual revenue. Heather believed they could come through the situation and suggested ABB continue working on nine projects, each representing $2b to $8b in capex, without being paid.
“We established a direct connection between the ABB and McDermott CFOs,” Heather explains, “and by adapting hardline rules, we helped our engineers give their best.”
By July, McDermott was out of Chapter 11, and by year end ABB had received all of the $30m McDermott owed on the various projects. ABB’s relationship with them is now stronger than ever.
McDermott CEO David Dickson said at the time, “Heather is like a dog that will not drop her bone and she does it with grace.”
She displays that same grace in explaining her reasoning.
“As a leader, I believe my team includes not just our salespeople and their families, but our customers and their families too. I find that a family ethos – nurturing long-term relationships, avoiding hardline rules, focusing on curiosity and kindness – is as effective in business as it is with children.”
The last glass ceiling
Women have made tremendous gains in corporate management since the days of typing pools. However, as Katie observed again and again, there was one glass ceiling that remained stubbornly in place: the one just below the C-suite.
She tells me about a 2018 report published by Hampton-Alexander Review. It showed in the firms making up the FTSE 100, only 27 percent of executive committee (EC) positions and their direct reports were filled by women. The FTSE 250 fared even worse, coming in at 24.9 percent.
Katie formed WeQual to address this disparity by focusing on the cohort of female executives poised for EC positions or jobs reporting to an EC member. The company offers training for female execs and organizations, and operates a speaker’s bureau, but WeQual is perhaps best known for their awards, which launched in London in 2019 and expanded to New York in 2020.
Key to the awards’ success was winning support from an exceptional range of talented executives. Katie leveraged her contacts and as a result the jury list for WeQual awards reads like a who’s who of global business: judges include CEOs from S&P Global, Kellogg’s, CocaCola HBC, JP Morgan, Rolls Royce, Verizon and more.
Despite being just three years old, the WeQual community has become a powerful engine for change and the awards are now global.
Critically, WeQual is also a community.
“Award winners become part of a tribe,” Katie explains, and they are expected to become mentors to other women. They keep in touch. They share successes and failures and draw on each other for support.
“Recognizing that there’s a pipeline of women leaders ready for the C-suite shows us that change is possible and can benefit all of us, Heather adds. She also points out that elevating qualified women need not come at the expense of men.
“This is not a zero-sum game,” she says. “More women leaders means more opportunities for men to define success beyond work. I know so many male leaders who’d like to make more time for their family or other interests, but the dominant culture is not supportive.”
What’s next
For Katie, her focus remains locked on the road ahead and moving the needle on women’s participation at the highest levels of management.
“The right women are out there,” she says, “and we’re making sure everyone knows it.”
“The right women are out there, and we’re making sure everyone knows it.”
Heather, meanwhile, continues to put diversity at the forefront of her job while building her personal skill set.
“Currently, I need additional P&L experience,” she says. “I’m working closely with global product groups and local business units to get that along with mentoring from other senior leaders.”
She is also being coached on investor relations.
Speaking to these remarkable people, it’s hard not to come away inspired. Both Heather and Katie clearly believe in themselves and in what they’re doing, but it’s their determination to take control of their circumstances, to DO something, that sets them apart.
I’m sure each has endured many episodes of sexist or inappropriate behavior over the course of their career but neither said anything about that in the time I spent with them. It wasn’t relevant to where they are going. They weren’t going to let it hold them back, and they certainly didn’t need anyone’s pity.
Women still have a long way to go, of course. There is still a substantial gender pay gap across all sectors, and women—especially those in lower-skill positions—continue to face harassment on the job. But there is now a business case for diversity and inclusion. As McKinsey’s 2019 report, Diversity Wins, points out, businesses with more women leaders are 25% more likely to outperform their competitors.
More females in leadership roles can only be a good thing, and if women like Katie and Heather can realize their goals, we’ll all be better off for it.
WeQual Unfiltered podcast launched with exclusive interview with Kellogg's CEO Steve Cahillane
We are proud to introduce the launch of WeQual Unfiltered – a series of podcasts where Founder of WeQual, Katie Litchfield, will be interviewing the CEOs of some of the largest companies in the world – asking them the questions that need to be asked about gender parity and what they are doing to close that gap.
In the first interview launched today (Sunday 9th May), it was Steve Cahillane’s turn, the CEO of Kellogg’s. Katie quizzed Steve on the lack of women on his leadership team, and left no stone unturned in getting to the bottom of Steve and Kellogg’s thoughts on diversity, equality and inclusion.
Steve was also very open about the women who influence him throughout his life and business career. And our thanks to Kellogg’s for all their help in making our first edition happen.
Alongside his former boss at Nature’s Bounty, and the influence his daughters have over his everyday thinking, Steve talked about his mother’s influence and how she inspired him to become a successful business leader.
A lovely story, and a happy accident that the launch of our episode with Steve’s motherly tribute is on Mothering Sunday in the US.
New York, 8 February 2021 – Twenty-four female executives of some of the biggest companies in the Americas have been identified as having the leadership traits for top-level executive management positions. The WeQual Awards (wequal.com/awards) recognise outstanding women in senior roles. WeQual’s mission is to tackle the slow progress in appointing women to executive positions.
Since its creation, 35% of the winners of previous WeQual Awards in the UK, EMEA and the Americas have been promoted to the executive committees of major global companies.
“This is our second year of running the awards in the region and we continue to be impressed by the sheer quality of the women leaders that we are finding in the Americas,” says Katie Litchfield, founder and CEO of WeQual. “We have to keep our foot on the throttle with gender — and incorporate diversity — to make sure that all companies are looking at leaders from all backgrounds. Equality is really what WeQual is all about.
The Americas finalists are from a wide range of sectors and companies, including ABB Ltd, Analog Devices, AstraZeneca, BlackRock, Capital One, CGI, CIBC FirstCaribbean, Comcast, Diageo, FIS, HSBC, IBM, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Marriott International, Morgan Stanley, Prologis, ServiceNow, SiriusXM, TELUS, Kellogg Company, U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo.
The 24 finalists in eight categories were assessed against specific criteria: Leadership, Cognitive Ability, Drive & Resilience, Integrity, Emotional Intelligence, Personal Development, Approach to Equality, and Knowledge of the Business. All candidates were assessed blind with no name or company revealed in their application.
Eight executive judges will hold 30-minute interviews with the three finalists in their category before choosing a winner. The categories are: Business Security, Business Transformation, Business Turnaround, Commercial Innovation, Finance, Leadership Excellence, Operational Performance, Technological Impact.
The winners will be announced in March 2021.
Among supporters of the awards are: Ann Cairns, Executive Vice Chair of Mastercard and Global Chair of the gender equality campaign group ‘30% Club’; Sir Ian Cheshire, Chairman of Barclays; Dame Inga Beale of Mediclinic; and Ron Kalifa OBE of Network International.
Ann Cairns says: “WeQual promotes the equality of women in the business world by recognising outstanding professional achievements and impact. While many consider that this should be a normal thing, in reality we need sound initiatives like WeQual to act like catalysts in creating a more fair and equal society.”
This senior group of 24 executives will become members of the WeQual Club and join the existing 96 senior FTSE and Fortune 500 female executives.
Methodology:
The eight assessment questions were developed from a research-based meta-analysis of the factors and characteristics that mark leaders as different from non-leaders (Kirkpatrick and Locke, 1991). They were designed to help the women best describe how they deliver on leadership characteristics and how they are seen by others as a leader, and indeed engage people who see them as fit to lead.
About WeQual:
WeQual’s mission is to make businesses more inclusive by identifying exceptional women executives and address the gender imbalance across the world’s Executive Committees. Katie Litchfield, Founder and CEO of WeQual Awards, devised the new platform which calls for women senior executives to build their case as to why they are deserving to be appointed to the Executive Committee.
This article is a translation of an interview by Valeria Arnaldi with Isabella Panizza. The article first appeared in the Italian national newspaper, Il Messaggero, on Tuesday January 12 2021. [You can view the original article here].
Culture, commitment, constancy. These are the principles on which Isabella Panizza has based her career. Born in Rome in 1973, the Head of Global Digital Media at Enel, the Italian energy giant, was the only Italian finalist at the recent WeQual Awards, an award that aims to promote diversity and gender equality in the collective executive committees of the largest companies in the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East, Africa).
How did you start out in the world of communication?
I started writing in 1993. In 2004, I moved to London where I was a correspondent for Condé Nast. There were no bloggers and influencers yet, nor social media. Being in London meant having first-hand access to news about things that came to us in Italy as much as two or three years later. In 2008, I became editor-in-chief of the Italian online edition of Wired Magazine.
From journalism you moved on to corporate communications. Is the narrative approach of journalism effective in a corporate setting?
This is the winning approach for a large Group that does not want to talk about itself in a self-referential way, but that decides to do so by trying to anticipate the needs of its main stakeholders, inspiring them. In 2012, I joined Yoox Net-a-Porter, a global leader in luxury e-commerce, dealing with brand communication on its editorial channels. It was an experience of transition from journalism to corporate storytelling that taught me how similar the challenges are. If you are writing for Wired or for a multinational brand: in both cases you have to be able to engage the audience. I joined Enel in 2015. With my team, I had the privilege of giving a digital home to the new brand by managing digital communication at a global level, the websites and social media channels of the Enel Group.
Digital has greatly changed communication
The advent of digital has completely changed the way companies conceive time. Everything has accelerated. Furthermore, social media obliges them to communicate by constantly producing content. Think of Instagram Stories, which disappear after 24 hours. Digital communication allows you to have the data to understand what people like. But there are so many that you need to understand which ones are really important to eliminate the “noise” of others. Everything has to be dynamic, fresh, interactive. Many visuals are used: you have to give experiences.
And how do you do this?
The creativity. We are bombarded with information, advertisements, stories. If an idea isn’t creative, it won’t leave its mark. Not surprisingly today, multinationals show their values before saying how they are organized, which used to be in the foreground.
Did you encounter any difficulties in your career as a woman?
The biggest obstacle was getting out of the comfort zone. In 2004, I decided to leave Rome, and a permanent post as a journalist in a local publishing house, to go to London. At 33, I decided to go back to studying because the world had changed and so did the rules of communication and marketing. This is why, in 2006, I took a Masters Degree in what is now known as Design Thinking, at Central Saint Martins in London. There too I was the only Italian, like today in the WeQual member list. The difficulties I have encountered in my career are those that a woman encounters in a historically male world. This is a situation that is normalizing thanks to the increase of women who undertake careers once considered only male, from management to sport. As a mother, the difficulties are also linked to trying to make the dual role of manager and mother work better. My three children are called Franco, Costanza and Victoria because if you are a frank and fair man with people, and you have perseverance never giving up, then you will succeed. These are our family values and they are the same ones that I also apply every day at work and with my team. Obviously this is the storytelling I created (in the true sense of the word!) that I care most about!
The issue of the lack of women in management roles is a “hot” one in Italy
There is still a long way to go, but I see the light at the end of the tunnel. We need to have a positive attitude and ask ourselves every day what we can do to proactively create value in our organization without feeling discriminated against or disadvantaged. And companies must also do their part, building contexts that reject prejudice, creating equal opportunities and working on women’s empowerment. There are many initiatives in Enel that are helping women to grow and making the company more inclusive. Moreover, even in the world things are changing rapidly. Who would have thought that a female and black Vice-President would arrive at the White House, yet Kamala Harris has exceeded our dreams.
Is there a poor culture of female leadership in our country?
Unfortunately, yes. But after some uphill struggles, thanks to prizes like WeQual, there are some better times ahead. In general, one must believe in human capital. And it is essential to network and encourage the inclusion and growth of women in professions where their presence is still small. In this, the support of all women who have managed to achieve excellence in these professions is fundamental.
London UK, 15 December 2020 – Eight businesswomen holding prominent executive roles in leading companies in Europe, the Middle East and Africa have been named as winners in the annual WeQual Awards (www.wequal.com/awards).
WeQual identifies and recognises world-class women executives, one level below the group C-suite, and is designed to promote diversity and gender equality within the group executive committees of EMEA’s largest companies.
The eight winners were selected from a shortlist of 24 finalists. The successful award holders are employed in Aryzta, Bayer’s Consumer Health Division, Bureau Veritas, Fresenius Medical Care, Ooredoo Qatar, Sodexo, Standard Chartered Bank and Unilever.
Katie Litchfield, Founder and CEO of WeQual, says: “WeQual identifies already successful senior women who are qualified to be appointed to the group C-suite. Our mission is to tackle the slow progress in appointing diverse women to executive roles and highlight successes where they occur.
“The glass-ceiling concept has been an issue for decades, and the drop-off is steepest just below the group C-suite, so it is important to champion gender equality at the top.”
The awards come at an important time for women in business. The global Covid-19 pandemic is in danger of pushing back opportunities for women to be appointed to the most senior positions. “The fact that we are able to celebrate the achievements of these women in major companies at this time sets a shining example to others,” says Katie Litchfield.
The winners are:
Bola Adesola: Senior Vice-Chairman, Africa, Standard Chartered Bank, Nigeria. Head of Region Category.
Dr Cora Koppe-Stahrenberg: Executive Vice President, Global Head of Human Resources, Fresenius Medical Care, Germany. People Excellence Category.
Munera AL-Dosari: Chief Strategy Officer, Ooredoo Qatar. Strategy Development Category.
Patricia Amaro: Digital Hub and E-commerce Director, Unilever, Spain. Digital Impact Category.
Patricia Corsi: Global Chief Marketing and Digital Officer, Bayer’s Consumer Health Division, Switzerland. Brand Innovation Category.
Nathalie Pousin: Chief Financial Officer, France, Africa, GSIT, Bureau Veritas, France. Finance Category.
Petra Melander: EMEA Account Director, Sodexo, Finland. Commercial Performance Category.
Rebeca Navarro: Chief Transformation Officer for Europe and Head of Procurement, Aryzta, Switzerland. Transformational Leadership Category.
The 24 finalists were assessed against seven criteria: Leadership, Cognitive Ability, Integrity, Drive and Resilience, Equality, Knowledge of the Business, and Personal Development. All candidates were assessed blind with no name or company revealed in their application.
To choose the winners, eight executive interviewers held 30-minute interviews with the three finalists in each category before each choosing a category winner. The judges were:
Sir Ian Cheshire, Chairman, Barclays UK
Viswas Raghavan, CEO EMEA, J.P. Morgan
Warren East, CEO, Rolls-Royce
Dame Inga Beale, Chairperson, Mediclinic
Chris O’Shea, CEO, Centrica
Ron Kalifa OBE, Chairman, Network International
Tamara Box, Managing Partner EME, Reed Smith LLP
Tulsi Naidu, CEO, Zurich Insurance Company UK
All the 24 award finalists have been given access to a range of WeQual support services and networks designed to help them make the step up to the group executive level. A quarter of WeQual award winners in the UK and USA have since been promoted to the global executive committees of FTSE and Fortune 500 companies. There are now 96 senior women involved with WeQual globally.
About WeQual
WeQual’s mission is to make businesses more inclusive by identifying exceptional women executives and address the gender imbalance across the world’s Group Executive Committees. Katie Litchfield, founder and CEO of WeQual Awards, devised the new platform which calls for women senior executives to build their case as to why they deserve to be appointed to the Group Executive Committee.
London, 17 November 2020 – Twenty-four female executives of leading EMEA companies have been identified as having the leadership traits for top level C-suite positions. The WeQual Awards (www.wequal.com/awards) identifyalready successful senior women who are one level below C-suite, and are aimed at tackling the slow progress in appointing women to executive roles.
A quarter of the winners of previous UK and US WeQual Awards have since been promoted to the executive committees of FTSE and Fortune 500 companies.
“The glass-ceiling concept has been an issue for decades, and the drop-off is steepest just below the C-suite, so I launched WeQual to champion gender equality at the top,” says Katie Litchfield, founder and CEO of WeQual.
The EMEA finalists are from a wide range of sectors and companies, including Orange, Unilever, Schneider Electric, Bayer Consumer Health, ENGIE, KCB Group, Sodexo, Enel Group, L’Oréal, Mondi Group, Bureau Veritas, Standard Chartered, Veolia Environnement, Ericsson, Fresenius Medical Care, AkzoNobel, Ooredoo Qatar, Danone, Aryzta.
The 24 finalists were assessed against seven criteria: Leadership, Cognitive Ability, Integrity, Drive & Resilience, Equality, Knowledge of the Business, and Personal Development. All candidates were assessed blind with no name or company revealed in their application.
Eight executive interviewers will hold 30-minute interviews with the three finalists in their category before each choosing a category winner: Brand Innovation, Commercial Performance, Digital Impact, Finance, Head of Region, People Excellence, Strategy Development, and Transformational Leadership.
The finalists will be announced in December 2020.
Among supporters of the awards are Ann Cairns, Executive Chair of Mastercard and Global Chair of the gender equality campaign group ‘30% Club’; Sir Ian Cheshire, Chairman of Barclays; Dame Inga Beale; and Ron Kalifa OBE of Network International. They are part of a roster of well-known C-suite executives who will now choose eight category winners.
Sir Ian Cheshire says: “These awards are among the first to target women at this level. We believe building awareness of these talented people, as well as connecting them to each other, is an important step in improving diversity at top levels of business.”
This senior group of 24 executives will become members of the WeQual Club and join the existing 72 senior FTSE and Fortune 500 female executives.
Methodology:
The eight assessment questions were developed from a research-based meta-analysis of the factors and characteristics that mark leaders as different from non-leaders (Kirkpatrick and Locke, 1991). They were designed to help the women best describe how they deliver on leadership characteristics and how they are seen by others as a leader, and indeed engage people who see them as fit to lead.
About WeQual:
WeQual’s mission is to make businesses more inclusive by identifying exceptional women executives and address the gender imbalance across the world’s Executive Committees. Katie Litchfield, Founder and CEO of WeQual Awards, devised the new platform which calls for women senior executives to build their case as to why they are deserving to be appointed to the Executive Committee.
24 September 2020 – Reports show that while there are more women in the workforce, continued systemic issues still make it difficult for significant numbers of women to progress into senior roles.
Women’s salaries are impacted as a result and they take on a disproportionate share of unpaid labour.
This is why it’s important to celebrate and elevate women who have not only made it to the top but are also helping others around them.
The 2020 HERoes Women Role Model Executives list celebrates 100 women who are leading by example and driving change to increase gender diversity in the workplace.
Two of the top 10, And Cairns at 2 and Penny James at 9, are recognised as WeQual judges…
18 July 2020 – Over these past weeks and months, we had to reimagine our day-to-day life and the world we want to build. With a growing chorus of voices calling for progress, the one thing that remains absolute is the vital need for great leaders. We need visionaries to help drive lasting change within and beyond our walls.
Thankfully, Verizon has the best leaders in the business, and our latest industry recognition further proves it.
Three Verizon executives were named WeQual Award winners for their outstanding career contributions and potential for future impact.
17 June 2020 – … Cindy Rampersaud, senior vice-president, Btec and Apprenticeships at Pearson UK, says this period has opened up discussions about women and work in her networks, including WeQual, an executive group, and has enabled managers to “see a more human side of people – they talk about their lives, it allows you to build relationships in a different way”…
13 January 2020 – Sarah Peers, Head of Group Corporate Communications for Spirax-Sarco Engineering, is the winner of the WeQual Award for Corporate Communications.
WeQual’s mission is to empower women in the corporate world to reach their full potential and navigate the ever changing landscape of senior management.
“Success in business, as in any other field of endeavour, requires the overcoming of belief barriers,” said Sarah, following her award success.
“The WeQual Awards do just that; they are shining a light on women leaders, showcasing their achievements and potential and championing them to further success while, at the same time, providing role models to women who are just starting out in their careers.”
3 October 2019 – The 2019 WeQual Awards culminated in a celebratory awards dinner, brilliantly hosted by Sandi Toksvig (co-founder of the Women’s Equality Party) and guest speaker, Dame Inga Beale, former CEO of Lloyd’s of London.
Sam Delbaere attended the event at the invitation of Transition Tradition client, EDF Energy.
“It was a pleasure to spend the evening with a table of inspirational women leaders at different careers stages, supported by members of the EDF Energy Executive team.”
1 October 2019 – Diageo Managing Director of African Emerging Markets Hina Nagarajan was honoured at the WeQual Awards, which identifies and recognises world-class female executives and leaders around the world acting as mentors and ambassadors for diversity and inclusion.
“Having women from different backgrounds in leadership roles not only creates the inspiration for the next generation, but also brings true representation of the consumer group any business must address,” she adds.
“For me, having a diversity of backgrounds and of course, gender balance, will ensure a culture where everyone can do their best and enhance the winning potential of any organisation through powerful ideas and solutions.”
23 September 2019 – Katie Litchfield is the brains behind a new awards scheme to help aspiring businesswomen to achieve their executive potential. Together with Organisational Psychologist John Amaechi OBE, she talks about the challenges of getting more women in the boardroom.
She was shocked to hear some women say they didn’t feel able to put themselves forward and that they didn’t think they were good enough. That was in stark contrast to the view of the judges who were impressed by the calibre of the entrants.
So much so that one of the judges and chairman of an FTSE company offered to contact the CEO of a finalist to insist that she be promoted to the executive committee…
30 July 2019 – Pub group Marstons has seen four of its female senior managers named as finalists in an inaugural awards.
The WeQual Awards recognise the contribution that women make in businesses and are aimed at tackling slow progress in appointing women in FTSE 100 and 250.
The four finalists all work in senior management roles across different areas of the Wolverhampton-based firm, which has pubs across the West Midlands.
They include Nicola Arrow, head of food category management; Sharon Singh, head of operations for Pubs and Bars; Amelia Cree, head of marketing for Pubs and Bars; and Maria Franklin, head of HR business partnering.
27 September 2019 –Eight talented women in business across a variety of FTSE 100 and 250 companies were recognised by the WeQual Awards last night.
More than 250 senior executives – including 18 CEOs – of FTSE 100 and 250 companies attended a glittering ceremony at The Savoy hosted by Sandi Toksvig.
The WeQual Awards have been designed to boost the number of talented women sitting on the executive committees of the UK’s biggest companies.
14 June 2019 – The Financial Times interviews a number of WeQual Club members about the effects of the coronavirus on senior executive women.
The award-winning international newspaper reported that the global pandemic has put back longstanding efforts to increase their representation at mid and senior levels. Other reported a rise in senior women being made redundant during the lockdown…
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “I approve”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. Read More
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.