The first German Chapter networking event was a great success. On April 20th the German Chapter invited their members to the GS1 Knowledge Center in Cologne for an interesting evening of talks and networking. The event attracted 25 attendees, with, amongst others, ladies from Metro Group, Procter & Gamble, EY, Mars as well as a representative of the Cologne Chamber of Commerce.

The evening started with an introduction by Gaby Riedmann de Trinidad, Chair of the German Chapter Committee who shared her personal experiences and her views on the importance of gender-diversity.

During the following tour through the live-components of the GS1 Knowledge Center, the attendees were able to get a deeper insight into the role of GS1 and the standards and technologies involved throughout the entire value chain.

The official programme then started with Sharon Jeske, Executive Director, LEAD Network, presenting LEAD, followed by Güncem Campagna, Business Director Kopfspringer GmbH and Founder of StartBoosters who talked about the reasons why there is only a small number of female founders and what can be done to change that. With her network at StartBoosters she encourages and supports female founders in their efforts in setting up their own business. One part of her work is to support in developing the personal qualities it needs to become a founder, qualities often rather associated with men, such as self-confidence, assertiveness or the will to take on risks. Güncem pointed out the importance of female founders when it comes to influencing the development of innovative technologies and solutions that will impact our lives, through taking into account the female needs. A lot of potential is lost through the lack of diversity in the teams.

The evening then concluded with a lot of interesting discussions during the networking part.

The next German Chapter networking event is planned for July/August. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, all German LEAD members are invited to join the meetup group to become part of the community and to register for the coming events.