Women in the Industry: Sybille Michèle Rexer

Nicole Wolfe Stout, Partner, Strawinski & Stout, P.C. AIA Treasurer

What did you dream of doing when you were young?

Name: Sybille Michèle Rexer

Title: Counsel

When I was very, very young I dreamt of living in the countryside with family, children, horses and sunshine. As an adolescent I was involved in human rights questions and decided it would be a good move to attend law school and gain some knowledge about regulations and how the world is moving …

Company: Arnecke Sibeth Dabelstein (ASD law)

Location: Hamburg / Germany

Years in the industry: 20

How did you get started in the aviation insurance industry? What was your first job?

My first job was as a lawyer in an international maritime boutique law firm doing ship financing and registration. From maritime to insurance and transportation / aviation was a logical step when I moved to ASD law (where I still am) and became more involved in multimodal transportation and aviation insurance (already 10 years ago).

Did you have any mentors when you first started out?

All lawyers at ASD have a mentor. I still work with my mentor Marco Remiorz on a day to day basis and we have grown together — Marco became managing partner of ASD, and I became counsel with my own clients six years ago. Today we share many client relationships and attend aviation insurance conferences together like AIA on a regular basis.

What is the biggest factor that helped you be successful?

Success was shaped by two factors: in-depth knowledge and experience in the business as well as a formidable mentor and team.

Who inspires you today and why?

From a professional perspective I am inspired by women who successfully combined their career with being a mother and spouse, good friend, and open-minded team player. I appreciate my

IAWA (International Aviation Womens Association) friends a lot and love being involved in that organization as a regional chair (Germany, Austria, Switzerland). I met so many inspiring women at IAWA and I encourage aviation ladies to reach out to IAWA and join us. From a personal point of view, the young generation and their dynamic to get things changed in our world and to tackle problems like environment and equality questions is a strong inspiration and I try to help as much as I can and share my experience.

As a woman, what has been the most significant barrier or challenge you’ve encountered thus far in your career?

When I was a young mother of three children, (institutional) child care in Germany was still in its infancy. Hard times to get all done and part-time seemed the only option.

If you could, identify 1–2 “value added” items unique to women that they bring to your business.

I think that in general women have more of the client’s and team’s interests in view and are able to find solutions without the need to fight for winning at any price. Often in settlement talks women are able to leave their personal ego aside to find economically-balanced settlement agreements and thus finalize difficult (litigation) cases.

How do you balance work and life responsibilities?

My children are nearly grown up but still love their mother to care for them. I try to involve them in household duties and to raise young adults who manage their own responsibility. Of course I have help at home and I could rely on my friends network, my mother and many others for the last 15 years also helping me to raise the children. Being flexible and home office opportunities are a big help. It takes a village to raise a child — thanks to all my village!

What is one of your most memorable experiences in the industry so far?A litigation case where an airplane crashed into the Mediterranean — all could be saved but we had litigation and investigations for over five years in Germany (in the end for the insurance very successfully settled) and so many personal topics from all parties involved that it is really memorable.

How do you see the roles of women in your business changing over the next 5–10 years?

We have more well qualified young female lawyers and women in the insurance and aviation industry. For the big law firms it will be the next step to work on their career plans for women and keep them on board when they start being mothers – blue skies hopefully in view…

Do you have any suggestions on how the AIA can support women in our industry?

The IAWA women group is a good step. Also to involve women in the AIA education program and with speaker slots could be helpful. Perhaps also a What’sApp group to share also our good moments (not only professional) and remain better connected throughout the year.

As a leader, if you could give one piece of advice to a young woman starting her career what would it be?

My advice would be: find a good mentor; be strong, reliable and loyal with your colleagues; and work intensely and on the same basis with and for your business relationships. Build your expertise, of course, but build your network as well. Get involved with other women, share your experience, and get and appreciate support from others to build a village.

Nicole Wolfe Stout leads the AIA Women’s Initiative and interviews women in aviation for this series. She has served on the AIA Board of Directors in several capacities, including her current role as Treasurer on the AIA Executive Committee. Nicole is a partner at the law firm of Strawinski & Stout, P.C.