On the 27th of February, an exclusive group of senior leaders from the WIL network engaged in a valuable discussion with Gary Litman, Senior Vice President of Global Initiatives at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington. The conversation shed light on recent developments across the Atlantic, particularly in the areas of international trade and diplomacy. Many thanks to Gary Litman for sharing his expertise and to our President, Thaima Samman, for moderating this thought-provoking session.

On Friday, 20th September 2024, WIL Secretary General Pinuccia Contino led an inspiring session on "Compassionate Leadership: The Key to Sustainable Success," empowering our emerging leaders to foster resilience, drive innovation, and strengthen employee engagement through a compassionate approach to leadership.

Innovation for Impact: Unlocking the Potential of EU Sustainability Standards" with WIL Board Member Paulina Dejmek-Hack took place on 12th June 2024. Paulina dived into the EU's sustainable finance agenda, highlighting key initiatives and strategies driving sustainability within the financial sector. She discussed the new European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) and their significance, implementation, and impact on businesses and investors. The session included break out discussions and a Q&A with our guest speaker.

On Tuesday, 3rd April 2024, at 13:00 CEST, WIL Members gathered for a compelling session on Building Gravitas in the Boardroom. WIL Board Members Maria Pernas, Group Executive Committee Member and Group General Counsel at Capgemini, and Nathalie Wright, Non-Executive Director at Keolis, Amundi, and Quadient Boards, shared their invaluable experiences. This session aimed to inspire members to pursue boardroom roles and offered insights on becoming strong candidates for board nominations.

On Wednesday 18th October, EU Anti Trafficking Day, WIL Members Elizabeth Kassinis, Executive Manager of Caritas Cyprus, and Sarah de Carvalho MBE, CEO of It's a Penalty, unpacked the challenges and opportunities of migration and shared the best ways to combat human trafficking in an enlightening, touching session for the whole network. 

On 7th July 2023, the WIL Network had a unique opportunity to participate in a workshop held by WIL Member Fiona O'Brien on 'Becoming an Agent of Change'. Fiona drew up from her 20+ years of experience to provide ideas on how to actively participate in change and use it for career advancement. Participants had the chance to ask their burning questions and pick up great advice and new insights from Fiona.  

On the 23rd February 2023, we held a special online event – a Meet and Networking, which gave our current and former Talents in the Women Talent Pool Leadership Programme the chance get to know and exchange with each other.

The event was opened by WIL Fellow Pauline Henaff, Regional Vice President Financial Services at Salesforce, who talked about her journey from being a Talent in the WTP Programme to holding senior leadership positions at her company.

Attendees were then invited to break out rooms where they got to know each other over a virtual networking session in small groups. Before the event event ended, WIL Fellow Cristina Hoffmann shared a poem by Kae Tempest, "Hold Your Own".

In a special online event, WIL Board Member Paulina Dejmek-Hack, Director for General Affairs at DG FISMA at the European Commission, shared her expertise on how to effectively managing a complex negotiation, drawing on her time working alongside Michel Barnier on the EU-UK Trade Agreement while she was Director in the Taskforce for Relations with the UK at the Commission.

To commemorate International Women's Day, we hosted our "How to Become a Board Member" workshop in partnership with Voxfemina. WIL Member, Rania Ekaterinari and Voxfemina Member Isabelle Hilali shared key insight into what it takes to become a strong candidate for board nomination.

On 19^th January, WIL Europe organised its first event for Members in 2022 – a New Year’s Virtual Networking.  

The event was opened with an introduction by WIL Board Member Pervenche Berès, Chair of the AEFR, who presented the discussion topic: gender pay gap and how to ensure that the Covid-19 pandemic does not continue to disproportionally impact upon women. After this, the participants move to breakout rooms for two networking rounds. 

Thank you very much to all the Members who were able to join us for this virtual networking session to build new connections and reignite old ones!