Female Allstars Board 2022 – These are the winners

Melissa Di Donato: “You Can’t Be What You Can’t See”

Melissa Di Donato is a role model in many ways. As a programmer, she gained a foothold in the MINT industry early on. In Germany, women are still greatly underrepresented in the IT and technology professions. Di Donato promotes more visibility of women in MINT jobs, also to strengthen their role model function.

“You can’t be what you can’t see,” says the native American, referring to the offspring.

As head of the software company Suse, Melissa Di Donato is also the first woman in Germany to launch a billion-dollar IPO. In 2021, Di Donato led the Nuremberg medium-sized company onto the floor with an issue volume of 1.12 billion. At least since then, the CEO of the open source provider has been one of the leading figures in the international tech industry.

Beyond the borders of the MINT world, the Suse boss is valued for her social commitment. “I want to be a role model for young women,” she says.

With the company Suse, whose software can be found everywhere – in vehicles, airplanes and mobile devices – Di Donato not only represents the hidden champions of the IT industry, but also a company that wants to see more women at the top of the economy.

Melanie Kreis: “Analyze problems in a structured way”

Melanie Kreis defies the lack of alternatives. The 51-year-old has been in charge of the financial fortunes of Deutsche Post AG as CFO since 2014. She is seen as a clear head with an eye for sustainability and social issues. In an industry that cannot do without ships and planes, at least for long-haul routes, Kreis is committed to sustainability and climate neutrality, for example by providing seven billion euros for the decarbonization of postal fleets on water and in the air.

The sensitivity of the CFO is well received by observers and shareholders. This summer, Kreis, together with Post boss Frank Appel, presented the best quarterly results that the company has ever been able to show. During the pandemic, Kreis managed to buy back shares and increase the dividend.

The CFO’s value chain starts with sustainability and ends with profitability. “Melanie Kreis is the CFO you shouldn’t do without,” says Helene von Roeder, Head of Transformation at Vonovia SE.

As a physicist, she knows the power of numbers: After studying in New York and Bonn, Kreis began her career at management consultants McKinsey & Company. “In physics, I learned to analyze problems in a structured way,” explains Melanie Kreis. In 2004 Kreis returned to Bonn.

After her short time as CFO of the important “DHL Express” division, she was appointed to the board of Deutsche Post AG in 2014.

Amanda Rajkumar: “Everything starts with data”

For diversity, justice, inclusion: As head of HR at the sporting goods group Adidas, Amanda Rajkumar has taken unprecedented measures to check the status of equal opportunities in the company. “For me, the topic was a priority,” explains the 49-year-old, who was appointed to the Adidas board of directors in 2021.

The graduate psychologist had demographic data collected on all employees worldwide on a voluntary basis in order to be able to assess the status of diversity within the workforce. “It all starts with data,” says Rajkumar. Her main work at Adidas, the Data Diversity Dimension Project, is decisive for the HR analyzes of the future.

“We can’t just scratch the surface,” the HR boss told the Handelsblatt in the year she took up her post. It takes constant and sustained commitment to an inclusive corporate culture.

Rajkumar promotes diversity as a matter of course: “We don’t lower standards; we open doors,” says the award winner in the Human Resources category. Before joining the adidas board, Rajkumar held various positions at the major French bank BNP Paribas and was responsible for various HR departments at the bank JP Morgan.

Rajkumar’s keen sense for employee welfare was demonstrated when she organized lunchtime concerts for the workforce during her time at BNP Paribas in London. The Music in the Workplace project was intended to contribute to the same positive corporate culture that Rajkumar champions at Adidas today.

Anna Dimitrova: “Transformation will count in the future”

At the interface between strategy and technology, Anna Dimitrova has a lasting impact on the business of Vodafone Germany. As Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer, Dimitrova’s responsibilities are broad.

The business graduate is valued across all sectors for her versatility and skillful handling of different challenges. The jury honors her as a woman “who embodies transformation and innovation”.

Dimitrova has been with Vodafone for 21 years. From 2018 she was CFO of Vodafone Germany – a task that has had a lasting impact on her work today: “CFOs are the eyes and ears of the company – and also a mirror of their success.”

As the head of strategy, she now lives in two time zones, explains the native Bulgarian: “Today, the quarterly figures count. It’s about not disappointing the capital market. In the future, it is the transformation that counts.”

Milestones in Dimitrova’s long career at the wireless company include the mobile operator’s acquisition of Unitymedia. The manager brings international experience with her from the Czech Republic, where she was CFO of the local Vodafone subsidiary from 2012.

Saori Dubourg: “Trust from young and old”

When Saori Dubourg joined the German chemical group BASF in 1996, not everyone was talking about environmental protection and diversity. But according to the motto “If you’re late, you can only react”, the current BASF board member was already back then for more sustainability in the company.

“The future has always interested me more than the past,” she says.

Saori Dubourg is the moral voice of an entire industry. The 51-year-old, who advises the federal government as a member of the German Council for Sustainable Development, stands for the agreement of ethical sustainability and consistent market coverage.

Dubourg is also valued for her negotiating skills. In 2018, she coordinated the acquisition of Bayer’s seeds division – the largest acquisition in BASF’s history. In an industry where ethical discussions often cause conflict, Dubourg successfully mediates between the parties.

Observers list Dubourg as a candidate for a Dax board chair. She combines her future visions with international experience. For BASF, she went to China, Singapore and Japan, among other places. For the BASF board member, however, sustainability not only includes global action and diversity, but also the preservation of knowledge.

“We have to establish a relationship of trust between young and old in order to maintain the know-how in the company,” she says.

About the Female Allstars Board:

The aim of the initiative is to create a platform for women in management positions – both for those who already hold them and for those who will follow them.

The scientific partner is the Handelsblatt Research Institute. It creates a shortlist of potential candidates based on scientific research and predefined criteria. The jury then decides on the winners.

The 2022 jury included Paul Achleitner, former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Bank; Simone Bagel-Trah, Chairwoman of the Henkel Supervisory Board; Handelsblatt Senior Editor Hans-Jürgen Jakobs; Gesche Joost, Professor of Design Research at the Berlin University of the Arts and member of the SAP Supervisory Board and Walter Sinn, Managing Partner, Bain & Company in Germany.