Interview

Could you please introduce yourself briefly in 2-3 sentences, your function and how you came to it (short biography).

I started my role as Virtual Centre touchdown Programme Director in May 2021. My background is in leading large-scale Transformations, usually in global companies working across a number of sectors including Aviation, Supply Change & Logistics, Retail, Business Processing Outsourcing, Medical Technology, Finance and Government.

You are coming from a multicultural working background. What were your first impressions when starting to work at Skyguide?

I have lived and worked in several other countries gaining cross-cultural perspectives. Skyguide offered me a great opportunity to work in Switzerland. It is a beautiful country with a rich past. What impressed me most about Skyguide is that whilst the innovation is on par with transformations in global organisations, the company culture remains at the Small to Medium enterprise level which really helps to drive change. The programme that I am leading is about a decade ahead of other Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSP) in Europe and possibly worldwide. It is a generational transformation of how ANSP manage their operations.

Have you ever felt that being a woman could be a barrier in your career and if yes, how did you overcome it?

Yes, when I was in school in Australia, I was told that, as I was a female from a single parent, that should pursue commercial (secretarial) studies rather than university. Despite having excellent academic results. I refused to be categorised and marginalised. When I was looking for work, I was told that they did not like to employ young women as they would only get pregnant. This was in the 80s and thankfully a lot has changed. You really had to leverage networks to overcome this bias, although today I still the necessity.

Do you see cultural differences between the countries of Australia, England and Switzerland (where you have lived and worked), especially in relation to women and how they are viewed in the professional world?

Australia has come a long way from the 80`s. However, like in most cultures, a lot of women have put their careers on hold in order to raise a family and this can cause stagnation and bias in careers. Having said that, the UK has had two female prime ministers whereas Australia has had one. Switzerland seems to have women in high power including Simonetta Sommaruga who looks after Aviation as part of her portfolio as Head of the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications. A key difference I notice in Switzerland is that people put their age and photos on their job application. The question, one must ask is, why? It certainly is not a custom in either Australia nor UK, as how you look nor your age, should not be a factor in recruitment. When I worked in South Africa, I went with my partner. And everyone whom we met assumed it was me following him. Times are changing and taking my reference point from the 80s, I see a huge difference but acknowledge gaps still exist.

If you could have dinner with an inspirational woman, dead or alive, who would she be and why?

Rosa Parks, an American activist in the civil rights movement. Rosa was a strong woman who, despite fear and legal repercussions, stood up to racial discrimination. People who are willing to stand up for their rights are very inspirational.