At the Marianne event in April 2024, Verena Titze shared her powerful story of overcoming burnout and alcohol addiction, revealing tools to make everyday life easier. Anna Abermann, founder of the organic beverage brand Pona, spoke about her journey through success, insolvency, and new beginnings. Both speakers left the moderators Gudrun Stangl and Miriam Simsa, as well as the attendees inspired and equipped with valuable insights.

For our third Marianne event we discussed the topic of switching from external counsel to in-house positions. Barbara Edelmann, VP Finance & Tax of Bitpanda, started her career at Deloitte in 2006, focusing on International Corporate Tax and M&A Tax. Starting in 2009 she led the Deloitte Tech Startup Initiative YESTech. Barbara was promoted to Partner in 2015. In 2022 Barbara switched sides and joined Bitpanda, an Austrian headquartered Fintech focusing on digital assets, as VP Tax. Rita Wittmann is Head of Group Legal & Compliance of UNIQA Insurance Group. She started her career in law and gained valuable experience in national and international law firms as both associate and attorney, before switching sides: In September 2016 she joined UNIQA as Head of Group Legal & Compliance, focusing on national and international transactions, compliance, capital markets, banking and insurance regulatory law as well as corporate law.

Our first Marianne event: Marianne was a woman who wasn't intimidated by conventions, who wasn't afraid to take the non-traditional route and who paved the way for women following in her footsteps. That is why we hosted two amazing to share their stories with us: Viktoria Schnaderbeck and Zarja Cibej.

Apart from being a Schoenherr alumna, Zarja is an entrepreneur and the founder of myTamarin. myTamarin is a workplace benefits provider, supporting employees through critical life stages such as fertility, birth and menopause. Secondly, we were also pleased to welcome Viktoria Schnaderbeck and her story. At the age of 7, when football came into Viktoria's life, she wouldn’t have dreamed of representing Bayern Munich, Arsenal London, Tottenham Hotspur, or the Austrian national team as a captain. Now, more than 20 years later, she has experienced all the highs and lows in football. 

Ella Negruzzi was the first Romanian woman to practice law. Despite facing multiple rejections, she persisted in her pursuit of admission to the Bar, finally achieving her goal after six years of relentless effort.

For our inaugural Ella event, we invited two inspiring female role models with distinct career paths to share their stories with us: Lavinia Ivas and Cristiana Oprea. Lavinia, who is currently the CEO of Parfumerie Douglas Romania, is one of the most admired CEOs in Romania, having won several awards for her leadership roles in various sectors, from pharma to beauty. Cristiana is a Romanian rally driver who was the first female driver from Romania to compete in both the World Rally Championship and the European Rally Championship. Both of these remarkable women shared stories and insights from their professional journeys, emphasising ways for overcoming prejudice and obstacles. Schoenherr partner Georgiana Badescu hosted the first edition of Ella and moderated the empowering discussion.

The aim of the first edition of Helena was to empower and connect women by highlighting stories of resilience, success and leadership.

Jolanta Kwaśniewska, former First Lady of Poland, opened with reflections on her initial experiences in a public role. She spoke about the importance of mentorship, the unique qualities women bring to leadership, and the power of vulnerability in authentic connections. Her advice to women seeking high-level roles was to embrace resilience and build supportive networks. Lidia Kazen shared her journey from a small town to a national media career, underscoring the unique challenges women face in the male-dominated media industry. Emphasising adaptability, collaboration and open communication, she credited her sports background for developing key leadership skills and encouraged others to view unconventional career paths as valuable assets. She also spoke about balancing the demands of media with personal life, highlighting the crucial role of supportive relationships.