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High-impact results for your career

Unleash your leadership potential and thrive as a women leader.

High-impact results for your career

Unleash your leadership potential and thrive as a women leader.

Celebrating 20 years of Strategies for Leadership

To mark the 20^th anniversary of IMD’s Strategies for Leadership program, we’ve been speaking with some of the remarkable women who have participated in the program over the years to find out how the experience impacted them.

Strategies for Leadership participant Dorthe Lybye

“It’s easier to deal with challenges when you don’t feel like you’re alone.”

Dorthe Lybye, Consultant, Innovation and scale-up, DTU Technical University of Denmark

Strategies for Leadership helped Dorthe Lybye tackle challenges she faced as a woman leader in a male-dominated environment.

“It paved the way for me to develop my own version of authentic leadership.”

Raisa AlMaki, Senior Director and Head of Governance and Operations, Priority and Retail Banking, Emirates NBD, UAE

For Raisa, Strategies for Leadership was a transformative experience that helped her find her leadership voice.

Strategies for Leadership participant Janet Bett with members of the Jamii Bora Trust in Kenya.

“Women can do it all – not even the sky’s the limit!”

Janet Bett, Senior Manager, Jamii Bora Trust, Kenya

Read about Strategies for Leadership participant Janet Bett’s remarkable journey from being a homeless mother on the streets of Nairobi to a senior manager at a ground-breaking micro-finance organization.

Feena May, Strategies for Leadership participant and initiator of the annual retreat organized for alumnae.

“There is so much wisdom in the room.”

Feena May, CEO, The Inspiring Company, Switzerland and Ireland

From the circus to conflict zones, Feena has spent her career understanding the importance of holding space to create safety and connection for others. After completing Strategies for Leadership, she initiated an annual retreat for participants.

Strategies for Leadership participant Yuko Adachi

“It made me realize how important it was to bring my own unique take to leadership.”

Yuko Adachi, Japan Director, Silicon Valley Japan Platform, Japan

In the second in our series of stories celebrating the 20^th anniversary of Strategies for Leadership, Yuko talks about how she overcame gender bias and embraced her femininity to come into her own as an authentic leader.

Strategies for Leadership participant Martha Oberndorfer

“Many of these contacts have turned into friendships.”

Martha Oberndorfer, Associate Partner, Venionaire Capital, Austria

Martha took part in Strategies for Leadership in 2011. Here, she shares her experience in the first of a series of stories celebrating the program’s 20^th anniversary.

“What I really learned in this program is having some practical tools that fit my own leadership style.”

Isabel Workel-Tijhuis, Group HR Director, Triodos Bank, The Netherlands

Isabel describes IMD’s faculty and coaching as “extraordinary” and found the program well-balanced, powerful and very valuable.

“The major impact that it had on me is that it made me very self-aware.”

Marina Corti, International HR Director, Workplace and Social Responsibility, Cartier, Switzerland

Moments of very honest, caring feedback from her classmates allowed Marina to learn a lot about how other people perceive her and what she can improve.

“Inspirational, empowering, invaluable.”

Nicole Watson, CEO, Econic Earth Foundation, USA

Nicole says the program made her realize what she needed to shift within herself to become a stronger, clearer leader.

“I had a chance to work with the best coach I’ve ever had.”

Jessica Bobet, Global Expert Lead, GSK Consumer Health, Switzerland

Jessica describes the program as “life-changing, powerful and challenging with care” and says, for her, it was key to bringing clarity to areas where women build their own biases and limitations.

“The major impact of this program for me in one word is empowerment.”

Minna Wilkki, Head Of Department, European Research Executive Agency, Belgium

Minna appreciated the contribution of the other women in the program to her learning journey, and they continue to provide a support network to her and offer feedback long after the program.

Amazing things can happen when you get a group of highly intelligent, capable and inspiring women leaders together for an intensive few days. You build deep relationships with complete strangers, you gain deeper insights about yourself as a leader, and you gain a global network of like-minded women leaders you admire and want to work with again. All this within an environment that is safe and full of compassion and support. What more can you ask for?

The highlight of this program is really the connections that you make because you establish very authentic relationships. They really impact you as an individual, as a person.

I gained quick and easy tips which I use on an ongoing basis and shared with more junior women in my group. I also took a lot from the coaching sessions which I am applying in my daily life.

The Strategies for Leadership annual alumnae event deepens the connections made during the program. You meet a wider network. It’s a moment in time to re-energize, connect, learn, and continue inspiring positive impact in the world. And it’s so much fun.