Female CFO Network - The Podcast Female CFO Network

Claire Peel from DWS GroupYour host in this episode - Jalila Carrillo from DHL
In this episode Claire and Jalila talk about their careers and the success factors for women in companies. They speak about important lessons they have learned about managing a career and the most critical defining moments in their career. Claire and Jalila discuss the development of skills and the importance of influencing themselves and being open-minded. Both also talk about the benefits of diversity projects and how balance in work and private life can be achieved.
About Claire:
She is DWS’s Chief Financial Officer and member of its Executive Board. Her role spans all financial and risk responsibilities. Prior to her current role, Claire was the CFO of the Asset Management division of Deutsche Bank where she managed the separation of the division from Deutsche Bank Group, the creation of DWS as an independent company and its flotation on the Frankfurt stock exchange in March 2018.
She joined Deutsche Bank on the Graduate Programme in London and has held a number of positions including CFO for the Equities business, Finance Director for the Corporate Banking & Securities business and Financial Controller for a start-up Joint Venture company between Deutsche and a software house. Claire Peel holds an Honors degree in Business Economics and Finance from the University of Surrey and is CIMA qualified.
About Jalila:
She is CFO of DHL Central and South America, doing business in 16 countries of Latin America ranging in market size from Nicaragua and Paraguay to Chile, Venezuela and Colombia. Jalila joined DHL as controller Central America, later she became CFO Central America and Caribbean.
Over the last 15 years she has driven significant transformation and growth of the business while dealing with the regulatory and financial complexities of the region. Jalila successfully managed several business integrations and oversaw the migration of financial services to a centralized shared service center in Costa Rica and Argentina. She has an enabling leadership style and her focus is on people and talent development, being recognized as such by her peers. She broadened her experience through a number of stretch assignments including job shadowing with two country managers, and standing successfully in the CEO role for six months. Jalila is a member of the Advisory Board of Costa Rica’s Economy Minister.
About the Female CFO Network:
The Germany-based Female CFO Network was founded by Maria Ferraro, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Inclusion & Diversity Officer at Siemens Energy. 9 CFOs from DAX, MDAX and other German companies have joined forces, and are open to more leaders joining their group.
These inspirational leaders aspire to use their influence and drive positive change for women in Finance. They want to build valuable connections, a support system for each other, and utilize the power of exchange to learn from one another.
Giving women a strong voice and addressing inclusion and diversity-related issues unites these leaders as a passion. They are paving the way for women in middle management positions with the clear goal of supporting tomorrow’s leaders. The Female CFO Network was founded by Maria Ferraro, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Inclusion & Diversity Officer at Siemens Energy.
We want to use our influence to drive positive change for women in Finance. We want to build valuable connections and a support system for one another. We want to utilize the power of exchange and learn from one another. We want to give women a strong voice and address inclusion and diversity-related issues. And we want to develop and empower women in financial middle management positions, because they are also leaders of tomorrow.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Astrid Hermann from Beiersdorf AGYour host in this episode - Anastassia Hätttich from DWS
In this episode Astrid and Anastassia discuss getting out of comfort zones. They share their experiences about new perspectives after changing jobs or positions and challenges that might occur. Astrid and Anastassia also speak about the reasons why women very often don’t take enough time for networking and what strategies can be used to change this. In addition they discuss women’s approach to investing.
About Astrid:
Astrid Hermann, born in 1973, graduated with a Master of Business Administration at New York University Stern School of Business. She started her career as a Financial Analyst at Alcatel SEL AG in Stuttgart. In 1997, she joined the Clorox Company in Oakland, USA, as Senior Financial Analyst in Forecasting & Budgeting. After becoming Sales Finance Manager at Clorox Company, she moved to New York and started working for Colgate Palmolive, where she held various roles from Finance Manager, to Associate Finance Director, Finance Director and VP of Finance. After seventeen years at Colgate Palmolive, she took up her position as Chief Financial Officer at Beiersdorf AG in January 2021. She is responsible for Finance, Controlling, IT, Law & Compliance and tesa SE.
About Anastassia:
Anastassia Hättich, born in 1988, received a bachelor’s degree in Corporate Communications from the University of Hohenheim, and a master’s degree in Public Relations from the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz. She has over a decade of experience working in social media in the finance industry, covering areas like editorial work and content production, digital marketing and advertising, as well as strategy development, analytics and reporting. After eight years at Commerzbank, where her last role was Head of Social Media Strategy & Analytics, Anastassia joined DWS as Global Head of Social Media in October 2021.
About the Female CFO Network:
The Germany-based Female CFO Network was founded by Maria Ferraro, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Inclusion & Diversity Officer at Siemens Energy. 9 CFOs from DAX, MDAX and other German companies have joined forces, and are open to more leaders joining their group.
These inspirational leaders aspire to use their influence and drive positive change for women in Finance. They want to build valuable connections, a support system for each other, and utilize the power of exchange to learn from one another.
Giving women a strong voice and addressing inclusion and diversity-related issues unites these leaders as a passion. They are paving the way for women in middle management positions with the clear goal of supporting tomorrow’s leaders. The Female CFO Network was founded by Maria Ferraro, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Inclusion & Diversity Officer at Siemens Energy.
We want to use our influence to drive positive change for women in Finance. We want to build valuable connections and a support system for one another. We want to utilize the power of exchange and learn from one another. We want to give women a strong voice and address inclusion and diversity-related issues. And we want to develop and empower women in financial middle management positions, because they are also leaders of tomorrow.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ute Wolf from Evonik Industries AGYour host in this episode - Kerstin Schulz from Beiersdorf.
In this episode the two women discuss their experiences and key success factors on their journey in their careers. They dive into their view on diversity especially in finance departments and why young female talents should think about a career in finance. Furthermore Ute Wolf and Kerstin Schulz are talking about how to build networks and how they help to develop over time. Last but not least they will also focus on role models and what leaders can do to foster women in finance career paths.
About Kerstin:
Since 2020 Kerstin is Global Head of Tax (and Customs) from Beiersdorf AG currently transitioning to Lufthansa AG, starting July 2022. In both multinationals Kerstin is responsible for the Group’s tax (and customs) issues and projects while driving business development, digitalization and finance transformation. Before Kerstin worked 9 years as Corporate VP for tax for Fresenius SE & Co KGaA with a focus on future tax function set-up, M&A, financing, tax controlling and international tax advice. Kerstin started her career as an advisor, working 13 years in a Big4 company and a tax advisory boutique. Diversity and fostering diverse team set-ups is close to her heart and drives her vision of a future finance and tax function.
About Ute:
Ute is the Chief Financial Officer of Evonik Industries AG since October 2013. In 2006 she became Head of Finance at the company, which is today known as Evonik. Between 2000 and 2005 she worked as Head of the Department of Financial Management at Metro and was a member of the Management Board of Metro Finance in the Netherlands. In 1995 she joined Deutsche Telekom as a Teamleader in Risk Management and Financial Planning and her team prepared for an IPO of the company. Previously she worked at Deutsche Bank AG, first as an Equity Analyst and later in Key Account Management.
About the Female CFO Network:
The Germany-based Female CFO Network was founded by Maria Ferraro, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Inclusion & Diversity Officer at Siemens Energy. 9 CFOs from DAX, MDAX and other German companies have joined forces, and are open to more leaders joining their group.
These inspirational leaders aspire to use their influence and drive positive change for women in Finance. They want to build valuable connections, a support system for each other, and utilize the power of exchange to learn from one another.
Giving women a strong voice and addressing inclusion and diversity-related issues unites these leaders as a passion. They are paving the way for women in middle management positions with the clear goal of supporting tomorrow’s leaders. The Female CFO Network was founded by Maria Ferraro, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Inclusion & Diversity Officer at Siemens Energy.
We want to use our influence to drive positive change for women in Finance. We want to build valuable connections and a support system for one another. We want to utilize the power of exchange and learn from one another. We want to give women a strong voice and address inclusion and diversity-related issues. And we want to develop and empower women in financial middle management positions, because they are also leaders of tomorrow.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Martina Niemann and Ann-Kathrin Meyer from DB CargoYour host in this episode - Denise Erkul from Evonik Industries.
The three female executives discuss how important it is to rely on networks. They talk about how it's perfectly okay to have doubts once in a while. What do the next steps have to look like in order to advocate for more equality in leadership positions?
About Denise:
Denise Erkul joined Evonik Industries AG in November 2020 as head of Group Consolidation & Support Business in the accounting department. The trained businesswoman and graduate in business administration started at Evonik in 2002 in Financial Services and worked in various management positions in the Finance department in the following years. In 2017, she moved to the controlling department of an operating chemicals division, where she took over as Head of Financial Analysis, Risk Management & Planning and two management positions at Group subsidiaries. In 2019, she went to the USA as Director Accounting & Financial Services North America and took her current position upon her return. Denise Erkul is married, lives in the greater Frankfurt area and is based at Evonik's corporate headquarters in Essen.
About Martina:
Martina Niemann has been appointed Chief Finance/Controlling Officer of DB Cargo AG in Mainz as of July 1, 2020. After graduating with a doctorate in economics, she initially worked as a venture capital manager. Soon her professional focus has been on mobility and logistics. She worked at Deutsche Lufthansa AG, the Kaufhof Group as head of controlling for the travel branch. Starting in 1995 Martina Niemann has held various management positions at Deutsche Bahn AG. At the beginning of 2012, she joined the airline Air Berlin as Head of Human Resources, and in 2018 she took over Human Resources Management for Lufthansa Airlines in the Lufthansa Group. Martina Niemann is married and has two grown-up children.
About Ann-Kathrin:
Ann-Kathrin Meyer is working as the assistant to the Chief Financial Officer at DB Cargo AG in Mainz since October 2020. She completed her training as an office communications clerk in 2011 and has since then held various positions in Finance/Controlling. In 2015, she assisted the system migration of the foreign subsidiaries. In 2017, she was responsible for the pilot project of electronic invoicing at DB Cargo and worked on process optimization of the external dunning system in 2018. Ann-Kathrin Meyer is married and volunteers in various organizations. Among other things, as a representative of Sparda Bank Südwest.
About the Female CFO Network:
The Germany-based Female CFO Network was founded by Maria Ferraro, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Inclusion & Diversity Officer at Siemens Energy. 9 CFOs from DAX, MDAX and other German companies have joined forces, and are open to more leaders joining their group.
These inspirational leaders aspire to use their influence and drive positive change for women in Finance. They want to build valuable connections, a support system for each other, and utilize the power of exchange to learn from one another.
Giving women a strong voice and addressing inclusion and diversity-related issues unites these leaders as a passion. They are paving the way for women in middle management positions with the clear goal of supporting tomorrow’s leaders.
The Female CFO Network was founded by Maria Ferraro, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Inclusion & Diversity Officer at Siemens Energy.
We want to use our influence to drive positive change for women in Finance. We want to build valuable connections and a support system for one another. We want to utilize the power of exchange and learn from one another. We want to give women a strong voice and address inclusion and diversity-related issues. And we want to develop and empower women in financial middle management positions, because they are also leaders of tomorrow.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Maria Ferraro, CFO and CIDO at Siemens Energy.Your host in this episode: Petra Küster from DB Cargo AG. Petra is the Head of Entity Controlling at DB Cargo AG, responsible for the group-wide controlling function. She has worked for various Deutsche Bahn business units in Germany, Canada and the UK over the last +15 years. Petra sees herself as a leader of change processes and a consensus builder, always looking for new ways to improve the status-quo and to grow as a person.
Petra has invited Maria Ferraro, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Inclusion & Diversity Officer at Siemens Energy.
Maria describes how she made her way in a business world.. She describes why she chose the field of finance in particular. A path that has taken her across several continents. For Maria, it is clear that a firm will and clear self-set goals lay the foundation for success. Without a massive support system, however, it doesn't work, Maria says in this second episode of the Female CFO Network podcast. What should such a support system look like? Why is it so important to talk openly about your ambitions? And how can private life and business success be combined? Petra and Maria discuss these and other questions.Maria will also explain why she founded the Female CFO Network.
About Maria Ferraro:She was born in Canada and started her career in 1993 with PricewaterhouseCoopers. She later moved to Nortel Networks in France and spent some time in Asia.Her career at Siemens began in 2004, at Siemens Canada. For the next few years, she held various senior leadership positions in finance in Canada and the U.S., before she became CFO of Siemens in Canada in 2013, and then CFO of Siemens in the UK. In 2020, she joined Siemens Energy as CFO and Member of the Executive Board.
Feel free to reach out to Maria on LinkedIn:https://de.linkedin.com/in/maria-ferraro
About the Female CFO Network:
The Germany-based Female CFO Network was founded by Maria Ferraro, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Inclusion & Diversity Officer at Siemens Energy. 9 CFOs from DAX, MDAX and other German companies have joined forces.
These inspirational leaders aspire to use their influence and drive positive change for women in Finance. They want to build valuable connections, a support system for each other, and utilize the power of exchange to learn from one another.
Giving women a strong voice and addressing inclusion and diversity-related issues unites these leaders as a passion. They are paving the way for women in middle management positions with the clear goal of supporting tomorrow’s leaders.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Melanie Kreis from Deutsche Post DHL GroupYour host in this episode - Beate Jaeggle from Siemens Energy.Beate has been with Siemens for 13 years - working in different leadership positions in Finance, Sales and Project Management as well as Consulting. She is passionate about Sustainability and mindful Leadership. In addition, she is a fervent advocate of digitalization and its imperative to achieve future business success.
She has invited Melanie Kreis, Chief Financial Officer at Deutsche Post DHL Group to share her expertise and insights in this first episode of a new podcast series.Melanie describes how she found her way into the business world after studying physics. During her professional career she was encouraged to pursue a successful career by jumping multiple times although lacking female role models. By telling her story she aims to inspire young talents to explore uncharted territory in the world of business and finance.
About Melanie Kreis:She is a physicist by training and started her career as a consultant at McKinsey & Company. She then joined the private equity company Apax Partners, before starting at Deutsche Post DHL Group in 2004 where she managed large M&A deals before heading Corporate Controlling and becoming CFO of DHL Express. She was appointed to the Board of Management in November 2014. Since October 2016 she has been Chief Financial Officer. Feel free to reach out to Melanie on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/melaniekreis/
About the Female CFO Network:
The Germany-based Female CFO Network was founded by Maria Ferraro, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Inclusion & Diversity Officer at Siemens Energy. 9 CFOs from DAX, MDAX and other German companies have joined forces, and are open to more leaders joining their group.
These inspirational leaders aspire to use their influence and drive positive change for women in Finance. They want to build valuable connections, a support system for each other, and utilize the power of exchange to learn from one another.
Giving women a strong voice and addressing inclusion and diversity-related issues unites these leaders as a passion. They are paving the way for women in middle management positions with the clear goal of supporting tomorrow’s leaders.
Please reach out and follow us on LinkedIn!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.