WeQual: Eight Exceptional Women Executives Honoured in EMEA Diversity Awards
15.12.2020 18:17:00 EET | Business Wire | Press release
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).
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201215005796/en/
WeQual EMEA 2020 - Winners (Photo: Business Wire)
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.
(Ends)
Notes to editors
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.
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wequal-awards
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/WeQualGlobal
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBpixTLeUsQVjwrivAP9-KA
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WeQualAwards
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wequalglobal
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201215005796/en/
Contact information
Katie Litchfield
katie@wequal.com
Mobile: + 44 7796 147466
UK office: +44 20 3290 3389
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Angel Aligner Unveils Six Innovations for 202711.11.2026 18:23:00 EET | Press release
Angelalign Technology Inc. (6699.HK) (“Angel”), a global clear aligner leader, has unveiled six new clinical innovations, including SuperElastic (MC-SE)* aligner material, a Deepbite Solution for significantly expanded indications, and the Adapt-MATMsystem for next generation growth guidance for young patients. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261110338654/en/ Unveiling Angel's 2027 Innovations. Orthodontists and opinion leaders have long remarked about Angel’s clinical excellence. Orthodontics educator and thought leader Dr. David Sarver said: “In over 4 decades, I’ve never had a parent say I’d be happy if you ensure that my child’s treatment results are average.” Angel is committed to elevating the orthodontic specialty well above the average, especially as more competition and harder referral cases demand outstanding results. Bindu Saran, VP of Product Strategy, added: “Angel was founded by orthodontic profe
Abu Dhabi Future Health Summit Concludes with Research Partnerships and New Programmes to Advance Prevention and Health Innovation11.11.2026 16:58:00 EET | Press release
Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, Abu Dhabi Future Health Summit 2026 concluded with agreements and initiatives spanning drug discovery, clinical research, preventive and reproductive health, alongside research and entrepreneurship programmes that will sustain collaboration beyond the Summit. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261111545964/en/ The Summit is the annual flagship gathering of Future Health – A Global Initiative by Abu Dhabi, curated and convened by the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DoH) together with Founding Partners PureHealth, M42, Institute for Healthier Living Abu Dhabi (IHLAD) and Mubadala Bio. Held from 20–22 October, the Summit attracted more than 17,300 visitors from 85 countries. It brought together health leaders, researchers, policymakers, investors and inn
De' Longhi Group: Record Results for the Quarter, With Revenue Growing by 7.7% and Net Profit Pertaining to the Group Progressing Significantly by 19%11.11.2026 16:58:00 EET | Press release
The Board of Directors of De' Longhi S.p.A. approved the consolidated results1 for the nine months of 2026. In the nine months the Group achieved: revenues for € 2,621.3 million, up by 6.5% with respect to 2025 (+7.7% at constant currency); an adjusted2 Ebitda of € 455.2 million, equal to 17.4% on revenues (vs. 15.8% with respect to last year); a net income pertaining to the Group equal to € 225.8 million (+20.4% with respect to last year); a positive net financial position equal to € 606.0 million. CEO Fabio de' Longhi commented: “The Group delivered its thirteenth consecutive quarter of organic revenue growth, underscoring our proven ability to capitalize on industry opportunities and respond promptly to market evolution, while ensuring consistent performance across both divisions. The professional business recorded a strong acceleration, spanning all geographies and brands, with revenues growth exceeding 35% for both the quarter and the nine-month period, this against an already par
Starr Chile Assigned A Rating from AM Best11.11.2026 15:30:00 EET | Press release
Starr, a global insurance and investment organization, today announced that the global credit rating agency AM Best has assigned Starr International Seguros Generales S.A. (Starr Chile) a Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and a Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of a+ (Excellent). The outlook for both credit ratings is positive. The rating reflects Starr’s strong balance sheet and Starr Chile’s successful implementation of Starr’s business model. AM Best also cited Starr’s operating performance, a favorable business profile and enterprise risk management as key factors supporting the positive rating. “This strong rating is another important endorsement of Starr’s business model as we continue to build our presence in Latin America,” said Jeff Greenberg, chairman and co-CEO of Starr. “It reflects the financial strength, underwriting discipline and experienced teams that underpin our business around the world, reinforcing the confidence brokers and clients can place in Starr.” Starr
Epinal, Inc. Emerges from Stealth with First-of-Its-Kind Breakthrough Semiconductor Electrochemical Biosensor (SEB) for Detection of Narcotics and Disease Biomarkers in Human Breath in Minutes11.11.2026 15:22:00 EET | Press release
Epinal, Inc., after over six years of under-the-radar development, has officially emerged from stealth mode, introducing a breakthrough Semiconductor Electrochemical Biosensor (SEB) designed to detect narcotics and disease biomarkers directly from human breath in minutes. By combining advanced semiconductors, electrochemical sensing, tailored protein engineering, and artificial intelligence, Epinal has addressed the historical sensitivity, selectivity, scaling, stability, and signal-to-noise limitations that have long bottlenecked biosensors. Epinal’s Semiconductor Electrochemical Biosensor (SEB) will be integrated into the next generation of low cost, disposable, single-use breathalyzer cartridges where the integrity of test results is of utmost importance. In the case of narcotic detection, a rapid, non-invasive, and objective result changes an outcome. End customers for Epinal’s SEB include breathalyzer manufacturers, healthcare, mobile computers & clinical smartphones, handheld bio
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom