After her career at the chemical company, Margret Suckale moved into several supervisory boards.
(Photo: obs)
Margret Suckale’s career as a multi-supervisory board member begins in 2017. This year, she is not only leaving the board of the pharmaceutical and chemical company BASF: This year, the statutory quota for women on the supervisory boards of listed companies with equal co-determination will be implemented.
The longtime top manager sees the power and she seizes it. First she will be a member of the supervisory board at Deutsche Telekom and Heidelberg Cement in 2017, then at DWS in the following year and at Infineon in 2020.
Suckale thus serves as a role model. She not only used her historic opportunity, she is also committed beyond the normal level: Because she did not stop at moving into the four supervisory boards and staying there. Suckale is involved in their committees. It pushes into the actual circles of power, the committees. Today she is active in personnel, auditing, technology and innovation committees – and according to the Handelsblatt ranking she is the most influential supervisory board member in Germany.
This is how it should be. The introduction of the quota was an important and correct step. It enables women to participate in power that has hitherto been male-dominated. Women must actively use this power.
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There are many advantages to this. The transformation of the German economy can only succeed if committees with as diverse a team as possible push it forward. The transformation is, after all, not a one-dimensional matter that, sorry, old white men in the fireplace room could solve. It’s about the megatrends of digitization, sustainability and crisis resilience. Good advice is broadly based. Or why were and still are hordes of advisors employed?
Incidentally, even the grand seigneurs of the scene have now admitted that it makes the mix. The discussion in the committees has become more exhausting in the past four years, no question about it. But if the results are correct, it should be worth it.
The 30 percent quota for women that has now been achieved is therefore only a start. It is important to build on it – with all your might, great self-confidence and a lot of will. The recently introduced quota for women on the board of directors should provide a further boost, especially among supervisory boards.
There is no need for any further regulation or quotas. Margret Suckale says the same. The 65-year-old focuses on performance and demands influence. In the meantime, she can also imagine chairing the supervisory board. Said – and received? It would be about time.
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