In one of our recent articles, we wrote about the barriers faced by women in the workplace, especially at management level. This week, our woman of the week is Antje von Dewitz. She is currently the managing director and CEO of German outdoor sports brand VAUDE, which has a heartening 35% of women in senior management positions.
Von Dewitz holds a degree in Economic and Cultural Studies as well as a PhD for her research in entrepreneurship. She is the daughter to Albrecht von Dewitz, who founded the brand over 40 years ago. In 2009, she took over the company. Beyond the direct appointment within the family firm, von Dewitz’s appointment is firmly aligned with EY’s finding that “family businesses believe in the value of women in leadership overall”. She embodied the VAUDE’s long-term orientation and translated it with the help of her visionary and dedicated management style. While running the company in the last 11 years, she has proven herself to be, quite literally, a force of nature.
Beyond her managerial responsibilities, von Dewitz sits on the Advisory Boards for ‘Natural Capital Germany – TEEB DE’ as well as the ‘German Federal Environmental Foundation’. Her success at VAUDE is, however, not impartial to her own sense of purpose. It has been said that she initially intended to work in environmental protection to “save the world”. Now, her position at VAUDE has allowed her to make an immense reduction in the environmental impact and at the same time facilitate systemic change in industry. The brand now runs on a sustainability-oriented strategy and has won several awards to underline the superior commitment and change it has encouraged thus far.