On October 7th, 2023, our Prague community came together once again for the third annual Femme Palette conference. Just like the previous year, our event took place at the same stunning venue, WPP Campus, with a remarkable turnout of over 200 attendees. The 2023 conference continued to build upon the success of its predecessors, offering a full day of engaging panel discussions, enlightening talks, networking, and interactive workshops.
As we reflect on this year's conference, let's revisit the memorable moments and highlights from this remarkable day!
After a few opening words from Femme Palette’s CEO and Co-founder Lucie Neumanova, we kicked off the conference by giving the floor to Hana Souckova, Managing director at SAP Czech with her talk titled How to build your leadership presence. Hana shared some valuable learnings from her extensive experience as a woman in high-level leadership. She presented what she calls her ‘5 senses for leadership presence’, providing valuable advice for both new and seasoned female leaders, and even aspiring ones.
The use of AI has irreversibly made its way into a number of fields and professions recently, and management is no exception. Our next speaker, Daria Hvizdalova (Education & AI | Forbes 30 under 30), delivered an inspirational talk where she shared 5 steps for successful AI-assisted management which leaders should take to make AI work in their favor.
The next talk titled Developing the leader in you, delivered by Dita Stejskalova (Business Director & Partner at Ogilvy Czech), was both moving and inspirational, with many attendees mentioning the impact it had on them. Through deep and moving personal stories, Dita spoke about her journey to becoming one of the most recognizable Czech female business leaders, what being a truly great leader means to her, as well as struggles with work-life balance.
After starting with a series of talks, the next portion of the morning program was dedicated to a panel discussion on How to navigate and excel in male-dominated workspaces, where we welcomed speakers Petra Ondrusova (Chief Diversity Officer at Ceska sporitelna), Katerina Lesch (Senior manager - AI & Data at Deloitte), and Frederika Adamcikova (HR Manager at Ciklum Western Europe). The three women reflected on their individual challenges while working in male-dominated environments, and shared their different perspectives on how women can navigate these challenges successfully.
Before taking a lunch break, we welcomed Magdalena Heveriová, Trainer at Loono - a non-profit organization with a mission to educate about health and prevention. Magdalena shared a number of valuable facts about the risk of breast cancer, and followed up with a practical demonstration of how each of us can perform a regular breast self-examination.
After a lunch break and some networking among attendees, we returned to our seats again for another panel discussion. The topic this time was Leadership trends for the future of work, and we were joined by Senta Cermakova (SEO at Czechitas), Cem Ozesen (Medical Director - Europe-East/South/Central at Organon Pharmaceuticals), and rejoined by Hana Souckova (Managing director at SAP Czech). The three leaders shared their approaches on managing teams in unsteady times, adapting to the ‘new normal’ of the post-pandemic world of work such as managing hybrid or remote teams, and how each and every one of us can prepare for the future of work.
After a full morning of sitting, a very welcome energy boost was provided by Nela Dopanova, CEO and founder at Fpohybu. Nela already joined us last year and inspired everyone with her mission to change company movement culture and conquering her own challenges as someone born with a cleft spine. This year’s focus was a series of simple, fun, yet effective exercises for regaining energy during a long workday.
Inspired and energized, it was time for the final part of our main program. We gave the stage to Dita Formankova (Director and founder at Czechitas) who delivered a brilliant talk on an important topic - Early motherhood & top leadership: Must you pick just one? Dita spoke about how by making it difficult for mothers to balance family and career, companies are losing valuable female talent. She also touched on the phenomenon of ‘maternity wall’, and, finally, shared a set of strategies for both companies and mothers to handle this balance successfully.
This year, we gave attendees the opportunity to choose their own afternoon programming. One part signed up to attend workshops in two themed tracks - Leadership and Career growth. Participants in the Leadership track attended one workshop on Strategic thinking with Senta Cermakova (CEO at Czechitas), and second one on Leading Remote/Hybrid teams with Simon Steffal, Founder & Chief Vision Officer, Mindset Mentors. Those who chose the Career growth track attended a workshop on Assertive communication with Simon Steffal, and another titled Get what you want with Ivana Sediva (Board Member | Mentor | Business Coach | exCMO McDonald's, Johnson&Johnson).
For the rest of the conference’s attendees, the afternoon was an opportunity to network and connect with other professionals. Many made the choice to gather at dedicated networking tables to meet people working in the same field.
The whole Femme Palette team was incredibly grateful at the end of the day to celebrate another successful conference. We realize that this wouldn’t have been possible without all the attendees who decided to join us, as well as our partners. A huge thanks goes out to Ceska sporitelna, Ciklum, Ogilvy, Organon, Sirva, and WPP!
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