International Women’s Day
The AIC celebrated International Women’s Day in 2021 by hosting a Zoom event with a panel discussion on “Leadership in Times of Crisis.” Our panel consisted of three distinguished young female CEOs of Swiss companies:
- Alisée de Tonnac, Co-Founder and Partner of Seedstars Group, a venture capital company based in Geneva that focuses on early-stage high-growth ventures.
- Isabelle Harsch, CEO of Harsch, a logistics and moving company located in Carouge with the business motto “The Art of Moving Forward”.
- Ladina Heimgartner, Head Global Media & CEO Blick Group and Member of the Ringier Group Executive Board, a diversified media company based in Zürich.
Our panel discussion, which was moderated by AIC President Paige Holt, focused on three topics: (1) their respective paths to becoming CEO, (2) how they are managing their businesses during the pandemic and (3) characteristics of good leadership.
The speakers discussed their individual career paths to their current CEO roles. Alisée discussed her transition from the corporate world where she had previously worked as Product Manager at L’Oréal to the dynamic and entrepreneurial venture capital industry. Isabelle spoke about how she learned from the ground up before eventually assuming leadership at her multi-generational family business with mentoring support from her father. Ladina shared her story of starting out as a journalist before moving to media management while maintaining her passion for journalism.
The CEOs then revealed how they are managing change during Covid-19. Alisée, who had given birth to her daughter at the start of the pandemic, spoke about embracing change and how her company Seedstars adapted easily thanks to already practicing remote working. She identified authenticity and the importance with being fair and transparent with stakeholders as success factors. She also cited the firm’s bottom-up approach and philosophy of giving employees the training and resources needed to succeed. Ladina mentioned that her company Blick faced a more difficult transition since most people were working at the office. After overcoming the initial challenges of using Zoom and all-day video calls, her firm successfully transitioned to working remotely and are looking forward to a post-pandemic hybrid structure combining work in the office and at home. Isabelle spoke how Harsch as a logistics and moving company does not have the luxury of working exclusively online and that it is considered an essential business by transporting needed medical supplies. She mentioned her company has even thrived during this period thanks to its switch to domestic transport and diversified business model, including fine arts moving.
The event concluded with each CEO identifying characteristics of good leadership. Isabelle stressed the importance of communication and allowing workers to buy into the new reality by giving them the choice to voluntarily come to work or remain at home. Ladina emphasized that empathy and remaining optimistic are crucial even when being transparent and honest during challenging times. Alisée recommends a well-balanced approach of rational optimism or pragmatic empathy when leading during a crisis.
The audience of about 30 attendees was highly engaged as evidenced by the multiple questions and lively discussion on this topical subject.
Click here to see a recording of the event.
Phillip Sundquist, March 8, 2021