From the intern to the CCO

LARA GUILLOD, CHIEF COMMERCIAL OFFICER OF THE CONICA GROUP IN INTERVIEW

Author and photos CONICA AG, CH – 8207 Schaffhausen, www.conica.com

Ms. Guillod, how did you come to Conica? My path at Conica began in 2015 with an internship. Actually, I was looking for a permanent position. But the internship offered new opportunities, and since I have always been a sports enthusiast, I found the company very suitable.

How did the internship work? The internship was only intended to last three months. However, we quickly found each other afterwards and agreed on a parttime position to accompany my studies. In my field of work, I was able to gain good insights into the sales organization and all related areas. It was also exciting that I was able to incorporate my practical experience and knowledge into my studies.

What were your next steps? At the end of 2018, I started my first full-time job as assistant to the management. In this position, I was able to gain great insights, as I was involved in strategic projects and was able to assist the management in many areas. The Sales & Business Development area was a particular focus. As the CEO‘s right-hand person, you get to see the company in a very special way.

What happened next? It was only at the beginning of last year that I was offered the position of Head of Product & Business Development. This position was a significant change from everything I had done before. On the one hand, I gained deeper insights into the technical perspectives of our products, and on the other, my role in the company changed completely. Previously, I had been in an advisory expert role, but from then on I was in a management position and was allowed the opportunity to be responsible for leading a team. How have you coped with this rapid development? I really appreciated this opportunity that Conica gave me. Offering this position to a young person without many years of experience is a real vote of confidence. As Head of Product & Business Development, I have found that in a leadership role you have completely different areas of responsibility and no longer „work through“ your tasks in the classic way.

It’s important to me to bring a new dynamic into the organization and to pick up and motivate people. Of course, that involves a lot of effort, but it‘s worth it. The main learning from this time was how to deal with a wide variety of personalities and how to engage with each other. I received positive feedback for my leadership style at Conica, which ultimately led to my decision to apply for the CCO position.

What was the application process like for the CCO position? When the decision was made to fill a second management board position, our parent company Serafin was very open to an internal solution. There were several candidates and I was able to assert myself in an extensive application process, which was also associated with personal development. There were several rounds in which I was able to present my vision for Conica and finally also a final round on site with the shareholder.

What did this step mean to you? This move was a particular challenge for me, as it was very quickly another changeover from my previous position and, of course, there were also high expectations of the additional management position that had been created. But above all, the internal application process also had a strong signal effect.

It became clear that Conica is investing in young people and is looking internally for suitable candidates for management positions. Of course, I am also pleased to go down in the Conica history books as the first woman in the executive management board.

Do you think you have advantages or disadvantages as a woman in your position at Conica? I find that very difficult to assess, as it has much more to do with the person than the gender. In my case, the appointment was a positive surprise due to internal circumstances. An advantage was much more my experience in the company. Previously, various people had held this executive management position. These were often filled externally and tended to come from the sales area. With me, someone with a completely different background has been selected. This was a big change, especially for the sales organization, because I have a different perspective on this area of the company.

Should gender play a role in filling management positions? In my opinion, gender is not the decisive factor when filling a management position. The decisive factors are skills and character traits. There are suitable personalities for different positions in different industries and corporate cultures. In my case, for example, I see myself with my management style in the SME sector and less in a large corporation. In my current position, we discuss controversial issues openly and find solutions together. In this way, I experience acceptance and trust in the same way when I make the best possible decisions for the company and its stakeholders based on the facts presented. I therefore consider an open-minded approach to be important for my position. However, I find this quality just as well in my male colleagues.

The figures from the DACH region make it obvious that women are still clearly in the minority in management positions. Do you think a politically imposed women‘s quota can change anything about this situation? These numbers are undeniable, but I think this issue reaches deeper. I do not think that the introduction of a women‘s quota will lead to purposeful change. For one thing, I find that a fixed quota leads to a stigmatization of women in leadership positions, as they are often accused of being a „quota woman.“ This accusation suggests that the position is not filled on the basis of skills or career, but on the basis of political targets. And secondly, I find that a quota restricts the selection process and thus does not ensure that the right person gets to the right position. In my opinion, establishing more women in management positions will only succeed if a transformation is achieved, and this change must also be propelled in society.

How would you describe this much-needed transformation? A management position means taking on a lot of dedication for a company and responsibility. If one chooses this path, it must be clear that one‘s social life must also be brought into line with this career and possibly adjusted. This means that the social environment and family planning will be shaped by the professional life. The same obstacles apply to men in this position. At the moment, however, this step is still more difficult to realize for women. The conditions should be the same for all potential candidates for management positions, otherwise women can only fail in these positions. Therefore, women should not only be pushed to be promoted, but a basis should be created that enables women to be successful in these positions as well.

This is also the reason why I am not convinced by the pure quota regulation. In my view, a mix of social change and political decisions is needed. This will only be provided by created framework conditions and incentives, but basically it should still be up to everyone to find the right path for themselves. So it should be just as okay for women as well as for men to decide against a steep career and the executive suite.

What goals would you like to achieve for Conica? Conica is perceived internationally as a premium supplier thanks to the high quality of its product and service. Nevertheless, Conica has gone through a lot of change in recent times. The goal is to create a stable basis on which Conica can grow. The basic idea is to further expand our sports and leisure business. In doing so, we are thinking of growing further internationally and further developing our products in line with the market requirements. We want to be perceived internationally as a thought leader, as this has been the Conica DNA for 40 years. By helping to design sports and leisure facilities, we not only connect the people who use them, but it also strengthens the corporate culture. Seeing the implemented projects in reality is always something very special for us.

That‘s why the aforementioned geographic expansion is not only a strategic goal, but also an affair of the heart. The USA are an exciting market; however, we also see a lot of potential in Latin America and in the Near / Middle / Far East region.

What is the importance of athletics for Conica? In athletics, everyone works meticulously towards the best possible performance. Our contribution to this is our Swiss quality in the product. From the company‘s point of view, it should be noted that high-end stadiums greatly boost our profile in the industry. But also, for the love of the sport, we want to provide the best track an athlete can get, enabling them to perform at their best. For this reason, we work with them to create innovations. Our partnership with the European Athletics Federation from 2023 is another step for us, proving that we enjoy great acceptance and are on the right track with this way of thinking.

What sets Conica running tracks apart? We differentiate ourselves from our competitors not only through the pure product, but through a full-service consulting for all stakeholders. This consulting includes all steps from the initial object design to order processing, installation and post-project support. At no stage do we leave our customers alone with the project. This intensive exchange enables us to deliver the best quality and to make world-class performance happen.