Um I will talk about why leadership and company culture are actually two sides of the same coin. Uh Let me just add that. So um where I'm working um that's global saving group. That's also an I already mentioned, right?It's a group of very talented individuals um that have shaped over the last year, Europe's largest and most trusted shopping reward platform. We empower millions of people every day to make better purchase and decisions. Um And what am I doing in there? Right. I'm the group um CFO in there. I started in March, worked in the digital field. Um almost all of my career. Um I'm a big believer in growth. Um I love to grow myself and I love to support other people growing. And this is why today I want to talk about some growth um topics I have seen over the last years towards leadership and also corporate um culture. So, first thing first, right? So where, what is actually driving work? Right? So is leadership um creating the cul culture or does culture create the leadership? So in the end, um it's somehow both, right? You can be the person on an island um being happy that you can see a boat. Um But you can also be the person in a boat um that could see an island, right? So somehow both comes together in leadership and company culture. And I can tell you that like positive leadership culture, right? Has even the power to overcome negative culture.

So what do I mean by that? So um this is because companies um somehow reflect the ethics of the leader that run the company. So um the ethical standards that the leader take out become part of the organizational culture. I think a very um famous um example for that is a check we whose commitment to being the best, created a company environment and a company culture for excellence at GE, right? But today you combat this in many fields, for example, also the founder of body shop, right? Her passion for environment, created a company and a company spirit for environmental lookouts in beauty companies, right? So that's somehow the power of leadership to give company culture a positive spin. Um I will share now three examples um out of my experience that are important when you want to drive positive and open company culture. First is engaging with vision. What do I mean by that? Right, a boss would tell you what to do. A leader would inspire you, you want to do what is to do, right? That means if you lay out a vision for people and that buy into the strategy, they understand and create a culture of engagement that drives the company's success. That means people know where the organization is going to, what is the next step? They know what role, which important role they play in each game.

Um I give you an example at Global Savings Group, I already told you, our vision is to empower people to make better purchasing decisions every day. But it means that every employee at Global Savings Group knows every day how to balance some of his decisions and in which direction to go to how to prioritize the topics. Because the main topic is to empower people with the decisions you are doing, it can be your user, it can be your colleague. It's about empowering the people around you to make the best decisions that they can. That is what we mean with engaging with vision. So every piece of the company knows how to act towards the company. The next thing would be leading with ethics, right? And parts of it we already heard also in the panel discussion before is as a leader. Um your ethics support your values. So people look at you, they see what you are doing every day, they see how you act and values are just words, ethics are actually the actions that you are taking. So when a leader demonstrates values through the action people can see in which direction the leadership is developing and in which direction also the company touches um developing and therefore have a good example by deed, for example, and they can create an ethical culture.

Also here, I want to give you an example from Global Savings Group, right the morning after the terrible attack for Ukraine in our select journal, our Ceo Gerard posted um that of all our minds over the people that are under terror right now, right, that everybody who would feel in stress, physical psychological um should reach out and we will be able to empower those people, right?

Um to come back to a healthy state that they can live in, right? And that we support them actually out of this statement, create came a group of people within the company that said, actually, we also want to be part of like becoming and doing an action. And what happened afterwards that is that parts of our meetings room within Global Savings Group were recreated in places for refugees so they can stay in our office while they are in Germany, away from their home and having a feeling of having a bit of shelter in those crazy times.

That is what leading with action means. You give something, you lead with action, people respond to it and therefore you create company engagement and company culture out of it. The last thing that I want to share today is empowerment and trust, right? There are two requirements I have seen in the past years. For success. There is responsibility and accountability. But how do you give people responsibility and how do you give them accountability? That actually happens if you as a leader empower people to make decisions that affect their life, give them the authority to act and take the responsibilities for their requirements and their decisions. And this will create leadership in all levels of the organization. Otherwise you come to a situation where only one person can decide and therefore also only one person will take accountability. If you create a net of everybody being responsible and accountable for his decisions, you can be way faster and way more empowering for the full company.

A good example. Again on Global Savings Group for this is our policy towards remote working, right? So during Corona Times, it actually was just something like everybody needed to work at home. But for Global Savings Group, we decided that we also want to keep this after coming back out of the pandemic because we have seen that like for some people, we also had this independent before. It just get easier to partly work from home or maybe to work from another part of the world where you are, maybe your parents are and your parents are sick and you still want to be with the company. So like to find the way of like remote working, but as we can also read the news, right, not all big companies or big leaders are happy. With working remotely. But we believe that like everybody that feels like accountable, responsible for the job that he's doing and the decision that he's taking, he will take this decision and do his job wherever he would work, regardless if he will be working in the office or he will be working at home because he feels he's part of the full community and he's responsible for the success of the full company even working from home.

So, um this is actually where I already come to an end, right? Because I think that's already um give you a bit of impression, first of all, on the savings group. Um But also unlike how leadership is actually one of the responsible driver um for company culture uh in our days today, right? Um And at this point, right, my team also gave me a quick catch up, right? We have a booth, right? So everybody can just check in, look in our open positions, find out more about the company and ask questions getting to know us more closely. Um We are very much looking forward.

Thank you very much for this fantastic presentation, Katherine. Thank you so much. It was really interesting to learn more about your career and some insights that you shared with us. And I just wanted to know everyone in the chat. So if you have some questions for Catherine, we still have time. And as you mentioned, Global Savings Group, they have a book, I believe Global Savings Group is already supporting the Global Conference for the second time in a row, which is fantastic. Thank you so much. And we are happy to have you Catherine with us today and your fantastic team. I see that people are thanking you also in the chat. Thank you. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, maybe something that meanwhile, you know, we have time I would like to ask you. So maybe one piece of advice that you would like to give everyone who is looking to become a chief in tech one day. So what what would you give them? You know, as regardless if it's, you know, chief marketing officer, chief financial officers, chief information Officer, what is, what is that that you would love to?

So I think I, I um I can only answer as a chief financial officer, right? So on that one, I think the special thing about like being a chief financial officer in the tech world, you somehow have to live with insecurities, right? So tech world is super agile and things are changing and not everything is perfect, right? And somehow you have to take pragmatic decisions. And I know that this is sometimes super hard for people that live in the finance world, but I always say that's actually also the fun part of it, right? You can create something, it's not yet there, you can start creating something, you can think it completely new and then you can find your way around, right? This is like, actually what I like, maybe the most about my job that it's not the same thing every day and that I can shape something new that nobody else has shaped before. And I think that counts for most of the tech companies um because they don't come with that much of legacy as like um the super big Corporates um that will have like some freedom to create your environment.

And, and I think um as it is a women in tech conference, also, there is a chance even to regards to like the leadership tips that I shared that are actually something that sometimes come a bit easier if you are a woman, right? You share your vision, you engage with passion, um um you um engage people um on working on the empowerment part and sometimes I have the feeling it that's, it's a little bit easier for women to be open, right? For this kind of um culture than it was for my male colleagues, right? So it's both, right? So I like the tech environment because I think it's part of like fitting where I um professional fit both in and like also um diversity wise.

So really great tips and I really love the way you described, you know, uh being comfortable with insecurities. But at the same time, it gives you creative freedom, you know, because you work in a tech world and it's so fast moving and it's so exciting at the same time. Um Yeah, people asking about your linkedin profile and I will drop, you, drop, drop it in the chat. So maybe some uh tips, some career tips. So for everyone who would love to work at the Global Savings Group, maybe one piece of advice, what uh you know, would like to share.

So like um um I can only say like from the people that because I started in March, right? So, first of all, I can tell you that your interview process will fully mirror the expectations and that you will get when you start, right? So that's like a very positive thing about like our process. You get to know the important people, you get to know how they work. Um You get to know the spirit of the company and how we take decisions um for myself. Um What I love the most that people are super open for change, right? So whenever they come and you come with certain experience and you say I have seen this differently, I would like to try, can we do it differently? Everybody is super open for change, right? So you have a change of um mindset and also a growth mindset, right? Saying, OK, I have some experience already. I want to grow it even more. Um So um that's actually um the mindset that we are looking out for, right? Being up for change and being up for growth. Um You are at the completely right address with us.

I'm sure you have, we have amazing people today with us who have that mindset. So check out Global Savings Group, I will also show it now AJ just shared it also. So yeah, just check it out. Say hi, don't be shy because people at Global Savings Group are very open minded. So I love to hear your questions and yeah, many things here. Fantastic. Ok, very much. Um Thank you very much and yeah, maybe something also that I would love to um to to discuss today is um one of the things that I think we hear often about company culture and you know about, you know, belonging at uh the the company. So how was it for you with your previous companies, maybe Global Savings Group? Did you, did you feel right ahead that this is the place you want to work for? Did you feel like that is the place that you belong? And when do you know that it's time to move on?

Yes. Um So my mantra is always, always love it, leave it or change it, right. So actually I'm like, um I always feel within the interview if I would fit in, right? Um I'm like, always basing my decision on like the people that I meet and like if it like fits to what I would like to grow in over the next years, right? So that's my first advice, right? You really use your interview process, right? Most people are like super scared and interview process and just like, want to make sure that they are presented the same way, the best way. But it's also like about the employee uh employer right to show his best picture and like, ask the questions that you want to know and that are really interesting you. Um and um on the other hand, um I'm always like the point where I think that I move on is always when I have the feeling I'm in my comfort zone, right? Um But that's a good point. Everything is under control and nothing is shaking and everything is perfect, right? I'm always, oh yeah, I think like I need to go out of the comfort zone again like that, that the that the crazy stuff is happening, right?

I always say like I know that the the unicorn area is out there, right? It's not happening in your comfort zone. This is always like where I then decide to move on.

Yeah, this is so relatable, you know, I'm also myself like that, you know, looking always for a challenge and for, you know, room for growth. So what you're sharing totally makes sense for me and let us know for everyone who's tuning in. Uh right now listening to us this, that's something resonating with you. And I think something that you also said about an interview, you already know and also use your time, not just present yourself and talk about your experiences and how maybe you can contribute to the company, but also ask the questions that you care about, right? The to make sure, you know, to kind of also test and challenge the company and to make sure that this is the company where you want to spend um year years ahead and the company where it will help you grow, that's super important. I did really love that we had time for a chat with you. So everyone who was shy and would love to, you know, to use uh maybe to, to drop a note to Catherine on linkedin. I will share her profile right now, Catherine. It was fantastic to have you with me. Thank you so much for the presentation and have the great rest of the day.

Thank you. Bye.