The TCG Women Leadership Program
The TCG Women Leadership Program aims to support the next generation of women who are early in their careers or looking to take that next step into management by enabling them to benefit from the experiences of successful senior leaders in the TCG industry. Ten talented women will be selected for this program, the first industry-wide international mentorship program of its kind.
Each high potential mentee will be assigned a mentor who will support her by sharing experience and advice. Mentee program participants will be invited to the next TCG Summit from the conference organization and are entitled to attend the conference for free.
By participating in the program, each mentee not only has the opportunity to have a valuable exchange of insights and experience outside their own company at a senior management level, but they will also build up an international, senior-level network within the TCG industry. Participation in the program is free of charge and does not require any travel.
Last year’s Mentees

Rachel Mendes Dias
MediaMarkt

Marieke van der Wal
Coolblue

Alev Dalboy
TeknoSA

Diana Elena Ion
eMAG

Carolin Behnke
Microsoft

Ebru Gener
Beko UK

Else-Mieke de Bruijn
United Retail

Jessica Soederlindh
Elon Group

Gözde Üçur
BSH

Asmae Lahdab
Microsoft
Last year’s Mentors

Alyona Babushkina
Channel Sales Leader
CEE Region,
Microsoft

Ragip Balcioglu
Chief Commercial Officer,
Arcelik

Hans Carpels
President,
Euronics International

Emmanuel Fromont
Corporate VP,
President EMEA,
Acer
President EMEA,
Acer

Marta Gnjatovic
Head of Commercial Teams,
Coolblue
Coolblue

Ulrik Gürke
Head of International Key Account,
BSH Hausgeraete

Anna Ohlsson-Leijon
Chief Commercial Officer,
Electrolux

Stejara Pircan
SVP Commercial,
eMAG
eMAG

Remko Rijnders
Group CCO & CEO Benelux,
MediaMarktSaturn

Sitare Sezgin
CEO,
TeknoSA

Alyona Babushkina
"I’m thrilled to be part of the TCG Women Leadership program and very excited to contribute to this unique project. There are 3 very important aspects attracted me the most: female talents development, international coverage and cross-industry engagement. I have passion in people development and would like to contribute to the project that empowers women to reach their full potential. Im looking forward to the TCG Women Leadership Program and very proud to be a mentor. This is a unique opportunity to step outside my normal circle to gain new perspectives and insights. Great way to share my career journey and maybe help someone to learn and grow."

Ragıp Balcıoğlu
"Our industry is male-dominated, especially at higher management levels, regardless of geography. My experience of over 30 years covers working with multinational teams and a span of different cultures. I worked with and purposely employed and supported female colleagues over the years. Wherever we have a more diverse organization, not only have those organizations performed markedly better, but also, we have developed great female leaders in our business. I aim to offer my experience supporting young talents in their success journeys. I am very proud to have personally supported two female leaders in Arçelik, who then became industry leaders in two of the top three largest European white goods markets. I am very much looking forward to meeting new passionate talents who will be the future of our industry."

Hans Carpels
"From a rational analysis, as we have approx. equal numbers in population, a more balance presence of leading female in our business should be a no-brainer. From my experience, a balanced representation (and not only in HR or marketing functions) in the board of companies would avoid unilateral approach. Sad to say but unfortunately true: male executives underestimate the personal offences that female workforce have to put up with."

Emmanuel Fromont
"It is a fact that in the IT industry the talent pool of executive women is limited which is a handicap for companies that would greatly benefit from having a more diverse management teams with higher percentage of women. Based on this I can only encourage an initiative such as this program and accepting to be a mentor is my way of participating and supporting. I would be happy to share my experience with candidates in the program and give some advice on how to manage their careers to get leadership roles. I look forward also to understand from the candidates if there are behaviors and/or barriers they believe are unfair/unfriendly to women in their environment which I would need to watch for in my own organization."

Marta Gnjatovic
"Our industry is still male-dominated while it is proven that diverse teams perform better. I would love to help female talents grow into good senior managers. Let’s shake up the current situation."
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Ulrik Gürke
"I am very excited to become a mentor of the TCG Women’s Leadership Program. The first industry-wide international mentoring program for female talents who want to take the next step into management. Diversity is a challenge in our industry. My responsibility includes 27 international key accounts in the electrical and kitchen retail trade. If I look at the last 12 months, I've only had three top management meetings with key accounts that have female executives. For me, diversity is one of my two most important values. This applies to both my private and professional life. Within BSH I'm currently nominated as one of five male Diversity Champions worldwide. I am happy that my colleagues recognize my passion, my behavior and my decisions regarding diversity. I am also a global talent guide within BSH. Building on this, I would like to make an important contribution to this unique program as a mentor by passing on all my experiences."

Anna Ohlsson-Leijon
"I am very excited and honoured to be part of this initiative. It is undisputed that diverse teams deliver the best results. It is also clear that our industry is lagging behind. To close this gap we need strong leadership ready to take this challenge on and accelerate. This will also enable us to be even more in tuned with our consumers and with that futureproofing ourselves. Let us do it together!"
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Remko Rijnders
"During my international career, I have been blessed with great mentors. These mentors helped me to escape from daily routine and discuss personal development in a strategic, objective way. Now, given my own experience, I believe it’s time to contribute to the career of someone else by sharing knowledge and experiences. Of course, I do hope that these mentoring sessions will be beneficial for both myself and the mentee."

Sitare Sezgin
"Gender Equality and Diversity is a big issue both in my country and in the world. Especially in the technology sector, the role of women is limited. I strongly believe that as women leaders we should take responsibility and support women in all areas of life. Supporting women today, creates a stronger, more equitable and inclusive future for all tomorrow. So, I decided to become a mentor to share my experiences, learnings and make a positive impact on the lives of other women."
Who can participate in the program?
- Talented women with a successful track record and promising managerial potential
- Who are looking to take the next step into management
- Can be from a tech retailer or a brand
- Full professional proficiency of English required
Application process
- Potential mentees must be nominated by the senior management of their company (up to two nominations per company are possible). Potential mentees cannot nominate themselves.
- Applications for the Women Leadership Program 2024 can be submitted till October 6



Selection process
Each nominee will produce a one-minute video introducing themselves to the mentorship group. Each mentor will provide an assessment based on this. The 10 nominees with the highest score will qualify for the program. Only one mentee from each company can participate. If there are nominations for two mentees from the same company within the top 10, the candidate with the higher score will be selected.

Mentorship sessions
The mentors provide guidance, advice, feedback and support to the mentee, serving as advisors or coaches on the specific goals and objectives agreed with the mentee at the start of the first session.
The mentorship sessions will take place virtually on a Zoom/Teams basis. Travel is therefore not required. In total, there will be six sessions of 1 hour each during the year.

For enquiries:
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