Quote: “There’s a lot that’s going to be thrown at you in your journey, and if you believe in what you’re doing and you’ve built resilience, the chances are higher that you’ll survive that.”

#diversity #femaleleaders #leadership #thefemalefactor #D&I #gendergap

Getting personal in part 2 of our finale, Tanja Sternbauer, co-founder and co-CEO of the female factor, shares the ups and downs of creating a business from scratch. She reveals her favorite moments and fails and speaks on building a remote team.

Tanja also goes in depth about being a co-founder and the importance of evolving relationships and working through difficulties to make the shared leadership model work. The episode highlights lessons learned through sharing leadership and things that can make the journey worth while.

Tanja Sternbauer: Tanja is a serial entrepreneur, awarded as "Female Rolemodel in Europe" and named one of the 100 most influential businesswomen in Austria. She co-founded the female factor, a global career and hr platform working on closing the gender leadership gap. The community is supporting aspiring female leaders across 75+ countries to get a seat at the decision-making table and advises inclusive companies like Google, EY, Visa and Mondi on attracting and retaining female talent.

Mahdis Gharaei:
Mahdis is the cofounder and co-ceo of the global career and HR platform the female factor. Prior to that she was the youngest and only female general manager of an airline in Austria & Germany. She’s a passionate diversity advocate, business woman and opportunity maker by heart. Her TEDxtalk around female leadership in business has been watched over 40.000 times.

About the female factor: The female factor is a global community for the next generation of female leaders, enabling them to get their seat at the table. The brand recently launched Europe’s first job platform connecting female job seekers with inclusive companies.

About Senate of Economy: As an independent business network, the SENATE OF ECONOMY is a driving force in shaping a sustainable society and a global eco-social market economy. We offer concrete and practice-oriented know-how for entrepreneurs and political decision-makers.

Stay in touch with us:

• www.femalefactor.global
• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Facebook

This podcast is produced by PODLET.

Quote: “Everyone told us: “There needs to be one who calls the shots and it’s not gonna work if it’s the two of you.” So everyone said “nope,” and we said “duh.”

#diversity #femaleleaders #leadership #thefemalefactor #D&I #gendergap

In part 1 of our finale, Tanja Sternbauer, co-founder and co-CEO of the female factor, talks about the path to making female leaders more visible. She shares the reasons behind the creation of the female factor and the pros and cons of co-founding a company together.

Tanja discusses the future generation of leaders and how the female factor seeks to foster them in their own team. She shares her vision of remote work culture and nurturing mental health in a space where the team is truly passionate about their mission and job. Tanja goes deep into her experience with shared leadership and explains why it’s a model that she and her co-founder Mahdis love.

Tanja Sternbauer: Tanja is a serial entrepreneur, awarded as "Female Rolemodel in Europe" and named one of the 100 most influential businesswomen in Austria. She co-founded the female factor, a global career and hr platform working on closing the gender leadership gap. The community is supporting aspiring female leaders across 75+ countries to get a seat at the decision-making table and advises inclusive companies like Google, EY, Visa and Mondi on attracting and retaining female talent.

Mahdis Gharaei:
Mahdis is the cofounder and co-ceo of the global career and HR platform the female factor. Prior to that she was the youngest and only female general manager of an airline in Austria & Germany. She’s a passionate diversity advocate, business woman and opportunity maker by heart. Her TEDxtalk around female leadership in business has been watched over 40.000 times.

About the female factor: The female factor is a global community for the next generation of female leaders, enabling them to get their seat at the table. The brand recently launched Europe’s first job platform connecting female job seekers with inclusive companies.

About Senate of Economy: As an independent business network, the SENATE OF ECONOMY is a driving force in shaping a sustainable society and a global eco-social market economy. We offer concrete and practice-oriented know-how for entrepreneurs and political decision-makers.

Stay in touch with us:

• www.femalefactor.global
• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Facebook

This podcast is produced by PODLET.

Quote: "The team has to feel that you trust them. You grow when you delegate"

#diversity #femaleleaders #leadership #OBB #D&I #gendergap

In this episode, Sandra Gott-Karlbauer, the Managing Director at ÖBB Train Tech, talks about the importance of empathy and managing complexity when it comes to leadership. She shares her biggest challenges in leadership positions and how she overcomes them, while also shedding light on ÖBB’s initiatives to reduce the gender leadership gap and the progress she sees..

Sandra sheds some light on her leadership style and emphasises the importance of delegation for both the leader and the team. She shares tips on how to retain employees and maintain a solid commitment to DEI in the workplace. Sandra touches on a wide range of topics from cross-mentoring, parenting, how to keep up-to-date with tech and ends with the promising commitment of increasing women's presence in ÖBB over the next years.

Sandra Gott-Karlbauer: Sandra Gott-Karlbauer is the Managing Director at ÖBB Train Tech and one of the most important women in the Austrian mobility sector. Now she is responsible for more than 4,000 technicians and prior to this position she was the CEO of Business Unit Urban Transport at Siemens.

Mahdis Gharaei: Mahdis is the cofounder and co-ceo of the global career and HR platform the female factor. Prior to that she was the youngest and only female general manager of an airline in Austria & Germany. She’s a passionate diversity advocate, business woman and opportunity maker by heart. Her TEDxtalk around female leadership in business has been watched over 40.000 times.

About the female factor: The female factor is a global community for the next generation of female leaders, enabling them to get their seat at the table. The brand recently launched Europe’s first job platform connecting female job seekers with inclusive companies.

About Senate of Economy: As an independent business network, the SENATE OF ECONOMY is a driving force in shaping a sustainable society and a global eco-social market economy. We offer concrete and practice-oriented know-how for entrepreneurs and political decision-makers.

Stay in touch with us:

• www.femalefactor.global
• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Facebook

This podcast is produced by PODLET.

Quote: "We develop durable skills because we believe that those skills would stay relevant for decades whereas lots of hard skills might get outdated"

#diversity #femaleleaders #leadership #robowunderkind #D&I #gendergap

In this episode, Anna Iarotska, the Co-founder & CEO of Robo Wunderkind, talks about her journey of building a global edtech company. She shares her superpower, which constantly helps her in an ever-changing world and market conditions. Anna also speaks about what inspired her to create an ed-tech company and ignited the spark of a female entrepreneur in her. The female leader outlines what she likes the most about generating a product for children, and if there are any differences between crafting a tech product for girls and boys. During the interview, Anna talks about how she managed to combine work on 2 continents with family life, and how she transformed an in-person team into a remote one without losing a sense of belonging to the company. Anna mentions gender diversity in the field of engineering and shares her vision of progress in the industry. She also gives tips to adults who want to upskill or re-skill in the field of technology. Anna ends her speech with the commitment to help other women rise to the top.

Anna Iarotska: Anna Iarotska is the Co-founder & CEO at Robo Wunderkind. She is a London School of Economics alumni who helps kids develop a passion for science, technology, engineering and maths and raises the level of digital education in schools.

Mahdis Gharaei: Mahdis is the cofounder and co-ceo of the global career and HR platform the female factor. Prior to that she was the youngest and only female general manager of an airline in Austria & Germany. She’s a passionate diversity advocate, business woman and opportunity maker by heart. Her TEDxtalk around female leadership in business has been watched over 40.000 times.

About the female factor: The female factor is a global community for the next generation of female leaders, enabling them to get their seat at the table. The brand recently launched Europe’s first job platform connecting female job seekers with inclusive companies.

About Senate of Economy: As an independent business network, the SENATE OF ECONOMY is a driving force in shaping a sustainable society and a global eco-social market economy. We offer concrete and practice-oriented know-how for entrepreneurs and political decision-makers.

Stay in touch with us:

• www.femalefactor.global
• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Facebook

This podcast is produced by PODLET.

Quote: “Passionate for people. Passionate for leading.”

#diversity #femaleleaders #leadership #Miele #D&I #gendergap

In this episode, Sandra Kolleth, Managing Director of Miele Austria, Slovenia & Croatia, talks about her career path from Xerox to Miele. She describes how she developed her "passion for sales" vision and replaced it with a "passion for people" as the biggest element of the communication process. Sandra highlights the biggest challenge in her transition from B2B to B2B2C and B2C sales. Sandra also explains how she decided to accept Miele’s offer and switch companies, after working for Xerox for 23 years. Sandra, who is loyal to the company she works at, shares her vision for different career cycles and the younger generation in terms of switching between professions and companies. She also points out how this affects diversity within the organisation. During the episode, Sandra describes her leadership style, gives advice to leaders, talks about how women tend to underestimate their strengths, and highlights the value of coaching and mentoring - for both mentor and mentee. At last, Sandra talks about her commitments to close the gender leadership gap.

Sandra Kolleth: Sandra Kolleth is the Managing Director of Miele in Austria, Slovenia and Croatia. She has been the President of the American Chamber of Commerce and a contributor to a non-profit organization on social policy and education.

Mahdis Gharaei: Mahdis is the cofounder and co-ceo of the global career and HR platform the female factor. Prior to that she was the youngest and only female general manager of an airline in Austria & Germany. She’s a passionate diversity advocate, business woman and opportunity maker by heart. Her TEDxtalk around female leadership in business has been watched over 40.000 times.

About the female factor: The female factor is a global community for the next generation of female leaders, enabling them to get their seat at the table. The brand recently launched Europe’s first job platform connecting female job seekers with inclusive companies.

About Senate of Economy: As an independent business network, the SENATE OF ECONOMY is a driving force in shaping a sustainable society and a global eco-social market economy. We offer concrete and practice-oriented know-how for entrepreneurs and political decision-makers.

Stay in touch with us:

• www.femalefactor.global
• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Facebook

This podcast is produced by PODLET.

Quote: "You are not a leader until you create another leader."

#diversity #femaleleaders #leadership #technology #womenintech #SAP #D&I #gendergap

For the eighth episode of the leaders talk podcast, host Mahdis Gharaei is joined by Christina Wilfinger, the Managing Director of SAP Austria. Christina talks about how playing music as a child helped her discover not only her creative side, but also assists her in the tech industry now. She also shares her vision of leadership and points out how it’s different from management by metaphorically comparing these themes to playing football. Mahdis and Christina touch on the topic of parenting and work-life balance, and how one can draw energy for new projects. Christina goes on to tell us what an "office day" is like at SAP Austria and how it contributes to team cohesion and interest groups within the company. She sheds light on how more female talents need to gain confidence for taking on a leadership position, and shares how she helps to reduce the leadership gap with her personal example.

Christine Wilfinger: Christina Wilfinger is the Managing Director of SAP in Austria - the first female managing director in Austria. She also teaches at the Danube University in Krems. And she lives with her husband and daughter in Vienna.

Mahdis Gharaei: Mahdis is the cofounder and co-ceo of the global career and HR platform the female factor. Prior to that she was the youngest and only female general manager of an airline in Austria & Germany. She’s a passionate diversity advocate, business woman and opportunity maker by heart. Her TEDxtalk around female leadership in business has been watched over 40.000 times.

About the female factor: The female factor is a global community for the next generation of female leaders, enabling them to get their seat at the table. The brand recently launched Europe’s first job platform connecting female job seekers with inclusive companies.

About Senate of Economy: As an independent business network, the SENATE OF ECONOMY is a driving force in shaping a sustainable society and a global eco-social market economy. We offer concrete and practice-oriented know-how for entrepreneurs and political decision-makers.

Stay in touch with us:

• www.femalefactor.global
• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Facebook

This podcast is produced by PODLET.

Quote: “One thing we can start with as women, is being nicer to each other and to support each other. We need to change the pictures in our heads first. How can we change the picture in men’s heads if we don’t change ours first?”

“I think as leaders, we are not only there for targets but to support, motivate and empower our employees.”

#diversity #femaleleaders #leadership #technology #finance #womeninfinance #Visa #D&I #gendergap

In the sixth episode of the Leaders Talk podcast, host Mahdis Gharaei is joined by Stefanie Ahammer, the Country Director of Visa in Austria. Stefanie reveals her superpower, the benefits of supportive mentors and struggles she has experienced in her leadership career. She shares with us her passion for innovation in the financial sector and providing services that work to connect tech, finance and people all together, so that people can pay and get paid wherever they are in the world. She reveals her mantra of “clarity before harmony” and how this helps her perform her role successfully. Additionally, Stefanie walks us through her journey of overcoming self doubt and self consciousness to become a confident leader and what more we can do to change the images we have in our heads of certain sectors being male dominated. She also openly discusses her experience of motherhood and the support she received from Visa, including the story of finding out she was pregnant just two weeks after being offered her current position as Country Director.

Stefanie Ahammer: Stefanie Ahammer is the country director of Visa in Austria. Stefanie has held various leadership positions in the financial service industry for over 12 years. Before joining Visa in 2019 and moving to Vienna, she worked at American Express in Germany for 10 years. She is passionate about driving online payments, contactless payment and other financial innovations forward in Austria.

Mahdis Gharaei: Mahdis is the cofounder and co-ceo of the global career and HR platform the female factor. Prior to that she was the youngest and only female general manager of an airline in Austria & Germany. She’s a passionate diversity advocate, business woman and opportunity maker by heart. Her TEDxtalk around female leadership in business has been watched over 40.000 times.

About the female factor: The female factor is a global community for the next generation of female leaders, enabling them to get their seat at the table. The brand recently launched Europe’s first job platform connecting female job seekers with inclusive companies.

About Senate of Economy: As an independent business network, the SENATE OF ECONOMY is a driving force in shaping a sustainable society and a global eco-social market economy. We offer concrete and practice-oriented know-how for entrepreneurs and political decision-makers.

Stay in touch with us:

• www.femalefactor.global
• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Facebook

This podcast is produced by PODLET.

Quote: everything we do we measure: are we good in getting up our revenues? Are we good at achieving our cash flow? So why not measure how many women we have on board positions?

#leadership #femaleleaders #networking #D&I #motherhood #careerchange

In this episode, Maria Zesch, the CEO of TAKKT - a large B2B retailer for business equipment, discusses her superpower as a female leader, and the importance of having a broad perspective when it comes to leadership and choosing your team. She shares more about the decision of changing careers at the age of 48 and how the business scene in Austria looks like for mothers who also want to pursue a career. Maria also talks about the importance of being a quota fan and supporting D&I strategies in order to bring more women in board positions and shares the commitment she is making in her company to help more women rise to the top.

Maria Zesch: Maria has been a Chief Commercial Officer and Board Member of a leading European telecommunications company and just recently decided to make an interesting change in her career, becoming the CEO of TAKKT - which is a large B2B retailer for business equipment with 2.500 employees in Europe and North America. And you are also a Supervisory Board Member in the energy and telco sector.

She is a senior customer-oriented executive with more than 10 years in CXO functions. She has a proven growth track record and extensive Sales, Service, Marketing and Digital experience in telco, ICT, consulting. She is driving change and growth by transforming organizations and is a digital innovator and influential leader who drives IOT, 5G, Big Data, NB-IOT, cloud business, agile transformation, Tribe-led organization development.

Mahdis Gharaei: Mahdis is the cofounder and co-ceo of the global career and HR platform the female factor. Prior to that she was the youngest and only female general manager of an airline in Austria & Germany. She’s a passionate diversity advocate, business woman and opportunity maker by heart. Her TEDxtalk around female leadership in business has been watched over 40.000 times.

About the female factor: The female factor is a global community for the next generation of female leaders, enabling them to get their seat at the table. The brand recently launched Europe’s first job platform connecting female job seekers with inclusive companies.

About Senate of Economy: As an independent business network, the SENATE OF ECONOMY is a driving force in shaping a sustainable society and a global eco-social market economy. We offer concrete and practice-oriented know-how for entrepreneurs and political decision-makers.

Stay in touch with us:

• www.femalefactor.global
• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Facebook

This podcast is produced by PODLET.