{"id":7746,"date":"2025-11-17T14:01:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-17T14:01:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/?p=7746"},"modified":"2025-11-17T14:01:08","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T14:01:08","slug":"being-daring-learning-and-supporting-others-women-executives-share-leadership-perspectives-at-bucharest-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/?p=7746","title":{"rendered":"Being daring, learning, and supporting others: Women executives share leadership perspectives at Bucharest event"},"content":{"rendered":"

The attributes needed to reach the top of the business hierarchy, how to motivate and support the teams one works with, and how to tackle the unavoidable challenges that arise along the way were among the topics discussed at the event Inspiring Women in Business<\/em>, organized by La French Tech Bucharest.<\/p>\n

Making it to a top position is not an easy game, and although the title held might be shiny, the elements that make up the road there are not, said Oana Dumitrache, Vice President of Marketing Europe Central & Central Asia at Michelin. It takes a lot of work to deal with the complexity of the situations one encounters, as well as willingness and a touch of luck to make it to the top. Around 30% of the top management positions at Michelin are held by women. The ratio is higher than in other companies, but the journey won\u2019t stop there, she explained.<\/p>\n

In her turn, Miruna Enache, Partner, Head of Transaction Tax Advisory Department with EY Romania & Moldova, spoke of her experience of becoming aware of another glass ceiling, while recounting her journey to the executive position she holds today. \u00a0She explained that she hadn\u2019t realized the glass ceiling was there and that she needed to break it until she became a partner. \u201cWhen you look inside yourself, you will still find a glass ceiling, something that will hold you back if you don\u2019t know where you want to go.\u201d She also spoke of the importance of staying true to oneself. \u201cWe can be ourselves while growing, evolving, and teaching others how to grow and be themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other speakers emphasized the importance of learning throughout one\u2019s career and of allowing sufficient time to realize the value one can bring to a project. \u201cLeadership is not about being the smartest person in the room but someone who keeps learning and connecting,\u201d Andra Ghibu\u021biu, CEO & Co-founder of Beyond Business School, argued. S\u00eenziana Per\u021bea, Head of Communication at Bonapp, shared her experience of discovering what she could bring to the startup. \u201cIn time, I understood that it\u2019s not about walking into a room knowing your strengths, it\u2019s about discovering them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Being daring matters as well, Sandrine Wilnius, Vice-President Transformation at TotalEnergies, said, a point further developed by Marina Vernetti But, the COO of Genpact Europe, the UK & Africa. \u201cYou\u2019re not being courageous or ambitious enough. We can reach our true potential,\u201d she argued before telling the story of how, while in her twenties, she was turned down for a promotion because she was considered too young and because she was a woman. However, she decided not to let anyone cut short her ambition, and shortly afterwards, she landed the job she couldn\u2019t get in Italy in Mexico. It takes courage to take ownership of one\u2019s career, she explained.<\/p>\n

Later, after taking over a new corporate role, she learned that she had to free herself of the fear of saying \u2018I don\u2019t know; let\u2019s find the answer together\u2019 and become an authentic leader. \u00a0Courage, resilience, and authenticity are all essential components of the mix needed to succeed, she explained, emphasizing that modern leadership is defined by human-centric values, as success is not about strategies, but about people.<\/p>\n

Florence Verlut, Head of Aviation Safety & Quality at Airbus Helicopters, spoke of three aviation-inspired phases of a career or project: takeoff, cruise, and landing. \u201cYou are the pilot of your life, you decide, you are the pilot in command,\u201d she said, contrasting it to simply going with the flow. Being prepared for the cruise \u2013 with the proper procedures, training for emergencies or other situations \u2013 is essential, she argued. Landing is the most critical and difficult phase. This is why she urged the audience to have their landing point in sight. \u201cFind your purpose, have this in sight. It will bring you further.\u201d<\/p>\n

When it comes to the superpowers of leaders, a panel of women executives shared insights into their abilities and drawbacks. Iulia Surugiu, the CEO of SII Romania, spoke about the superpower of making things happen, as well as about bringing energy to and pushing her team to make things happen. Daniela Vercellino, the COO of Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 G\u00e9n\u00e9rale Global Solution Centre, pointed to always trusting the experts and the people in her team, while Anne-Sophie Bauwens, the CFO of Carrefour Romania, contrasted the ability to be empathic and create teams with listening too much to the voice saying one should have done better.<\/p>\n

On the topic of team culture and cohesion, participants highlighted strategies such as fostering trust and focus, as well as being aware of groupthink. Daniela Vercellino recounted how she had to specifically ask her team to challenge her, while explaining the importance of dialogue. \u201cPeople stop trying to propose new ideas, solutions. That\u2019s when you stop developing. New ideas come from debates, not consensus.\u201d<\/p>\n

Patricia Coconea, Sales & Marketing Director at DHL Romania, emphasized the importance of being present for her team and supporting them. \u201cWe decide how we want to show up,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n

La French Tech is an initiative launched by the French government in 2014 to create a snowball effect that propels tech startups\u2019 growth in France and across Europe. It has evolved into an international brand with communities in 70 cities outside of France.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In Romania, La French Tech launched in 2019. The local entity is a non-profit association with more than 1,000 members locally. In Bucharest, it holds five business events annually. Its mission is to connect the French and Romanian tech ecosystems and act as a bridge between local startups looking for growth and corporate organizations in need of innovation.<\/p>\n

(Photo: La French Tech)<\/em><\/p>\n

simona@romania-insider.com<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The attributes needed to reach the top of the business hierarchy, how to motivate and support the teams one works with, and how to tackle the unavoidable challenges that arise along the way were among the topics discussed at the event Inspiring Women in Business, organized by La French Tech Bucharest. Making it to a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7746","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7746"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7746\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}