6th WIB Leadership Conference Hits New High

When the curtain lifts on the 6th Leadership Conference March 8^th, it ushers in a new high for the Women in Business Club’s main event that has become a must for the IE Business School community-- and anyone who wants to learn about the latest trends and practices from leading global experts.

This year’s two-day agenda packs keynotes, panel discussions, workshops and networking focused on the theme Change-makers: Leading & Redefining the Future.

“The 6th Leadership Conference won’t be like any before it,” said Caroline LoMonaco, President of the Undergraduate Chapter of Women in Business (WiB) and one of this year’s organizers.

“We want to push the idea that gender equality isn’t a women’s issue but a business issue and to address it we will need incredible diversity, spanning across all sectors, nationalities, and of course, genders.”
Caroline LoMonaco, President of the Undergraduate Chapter of Women in Business (WiB)

“It’s not just the opportunity to be inspired by the amazing work of women leading in all domains, one unique aspect the conference is to learn about the different ways men are supporting this urgent mission of diversity and inclusion. Having men as our allies is necessary for a complete change,” said IE Business School Professor Kriti Jain, who participated in last year’s conference.

Maite Gomez Fraile, Head of Youtube Spain & Portugal, Béatrice Dupuy, Proctor & Gamble President and General Manager FBNL, Claudine Aoun, President of the National Commission for Lebanese Women, and Margarita Mayo, author of Yours Truly, Staying Authentic in Leadership and Life, will deliver keynote addresses, with panels on empowering community and overcoming barriers rounding out the program.

“Being a change-maker means to have an impact: to take action and leave things better than how they were found,” said Charlotte Wedekind, President of the Graduate Chapter of WiB and one of this year’s organizers.

“No matter your background and circumstances. Change-makers challenge social norms, don't feel confined by the status quo and are not defeated by failures.”
Charlotte Wedekind, President of the Graduate Chapter of WiB

This year organizers expect a record turnout of in-person guests, plus hundreds of online attendees thanks to the ability to host the in-person event in the newly-inaugurated IE Tower for the first time—as opposed to in Madrid’s Google Campus or the online version of the pandemic years.

“Much of the past two years took place online. This restricted the ability to develop meaningful connections and discouraged participants to attend at all. This year the Leadership Conference will be taking place in person,” Wedekind said, highlighting the big first of holding the conference in the IE Tower. “The tower epitomises all of IE's values- sustainability, technology and innovation, entrepreneurship, diversity and a focus on the humanities.”

The Leadership Conference, sponsored by Amazon, Zalando, Campus Life and IE Foundation, will address current trends in the workplace and how to be resilient in a world of change.

“It is clear that we are at a turning point in history where technology, the workforce, the economy and society are intertwined more than ever. This means that the world in 2030 won’t look like the world of 2022, we are living in a formative time for the next generations to come,” said LoMonaco.

Women in Business Vice-President Lidia Barrera agrees, “It is vital to act with emotional intelligence and be resilient before the uncertainty and constant changes that we face daily and thus be able to redefine our future.”

IE Business School Dean Lee Newman will participate in the Harnessing the Power of Community panel, along with Marta del Castillo (CEO of Spain Startup and South Summit), Begoña Tiscar (Head of Main Line Area Siemens Mobility) and Véronica Rodríguez (Lead Client Solutions Manager LinkedIn).

Castillo said the event will address current issues like the “decentralization of services, radical collaboration as a competitive advantage, diversity as a driver of innovation, human skills as the future of work and purpose as the key catalizer of business.”

For Paula Traore, IE Alumni Women’s Network board member, the goal is to elevate the issues that matter the most and place them on the conversation table of decision-makers across industries and countries—and inspire the alumni community and beyond to become change-makers themselves.

Other issues addressed this year are the effects of technology, climate change and the pandemic, mental health, loneliness, individualism, inequality and exclusion-- especially in the new digital world.

IE University Provost Manuel Muñiz said there are numerous trends of change that need to be discussed and understood, but the “most important debate of our time is how to govern technological transformation and its many implications.”

“It's key to understand how these trends unfold into social change and the speed to which it happens. Why is it key? Because we need a pathway to navigate into the future.”
Paula Traore, IE Alumni Women’s Network board member

Tanya Mair, IE Alumni Women’s Network board member, said she believes the trend that is on everyone’s mind is best represented by Tik Tok.

“Now more than ever we are able to get access to information in fun and creative ways. This type of technology has the power to dismantle so many barriers and help people connect in authentic ways.”

The Dismantling Barriers and Accelerating Equity panel includes: Sarah Cordivano (Head of D&I Governance & Strategy at Zalando), Bedor Alrashoudi (CEO Jazan Energy and Development Co-JAZADCO), Luisa Gomez Bravo (BBVA Global Corporate Head of Corporate and Investment Banking), Marta Encinas (Education Gender Ambassador for the OECD), and IE Business School Associate Dean for MBA and Tech Programs Jose Esteves.

Cordivano cautions the way forward must include a diversity of voices—from different sectors and demographics—to avoid stepping on others to make room for women. T

“I would say making sure to take an intersectional approach to current trends is important so we are not perpetuating other types of inequality in our projects that seek to support women,” Cordivano said.

Mair, who planned the event for the past two years, said she is most excited about hearing Alrashoudi speak.

“She is an incredible business mind. She represents the transformation of an entire nation. She’s a light and a force in Saudi Arabia,” Mair said.

For Alrashoudi, she’s ready to talk about change and encourage others to be the agent.

“A changemaker is that person who sees opportunity, can imagine a new reality, and takes actions to lead and collaborates to bring this new reality to life,” she said.

Those who have attended or participated in the conference in previous years, have marked their calendars and note the conference offers a unique environment and enhances the global conversation.

“Personally, I am a huge fan of all the efforts of Women in Business club! Seeing a student-led group lead these important conversations makes me optimistic that our future is in safe hands,” Jain said.

And the event leaves a mark.

“On a personal and professional note, this experience has given me the confidence to take on new challenges,” said Isa Rosberg, Women in Business Undergraduate Chapter Co-President 2021, who helped organize last year’s event.

Kristina Miller, who also helped organize the 2020 and 2021 Leadership Conferences, said she has been transformed by the power of the experience.

“Two years post-IE, I continue to be involved in gender equality initiatives, both through the IE Alumni Women’s Network and within my company as a Women@Criteo ambassador, albeit with a new perspective that IE Women in Business has given me.”
Kristina Miller, Women in Business Club President 2019-2020