Event information
Agenda
5.00pm Arrival and registration
5.30pm Welcome address
- Margherita Birri, research editor, The Legal 500
- Caroline Clementson, partner, Schellenberg Wittmer
5.40pm Exploring the challenges of gender equality in the workplace
This panel will cover several key aspects such as:
- Discuss the current state of laws and policies that affect gender equality in the Swiss market.
- Analyse the types of discrimination and harassment that women and men may face in the workplace and strategies for preventing and addressing these issues.
- Investigate existing gender gaps in the workplace such as: the challenges of fair hiring practices, wage inequalities, career developments, and pensions.
- Explore how to support new parents and avoid gender stereotyping.
- The role of legal departments in i) detecting potential bias or discrimination ii) providing assistance in responding to gender-complaints iii) developing and implementing effective diversity and inclusion initiatives.
- The role of D&I programs in promoting inclusion.
- Strategies for promoting greater inclusivity in marketing and customer service and best practices for implementing and sustaining these programs.
- Anya George, partner, Schellenberg Wittmer
- Elisabeth Leimbacher, head counsel portfolio and pipeline, Takeda
- Caitlin St Vincent Welch, head of global legal operations, Zurich Insurance
- Martin Oesch, group general counsel and corporate secretary, Barry Callebaut
6.25pm Improving the quality of business through the creation of a diverse and inclusive work environment
- Examine intersectionality: recognising how different forms of bias “intersect” with one another to shape how different individuals and groups experience discrimination.
- Discuss the importance for companies to incorporate employees not based on social categorisation but on their values.
- Mention the economic and social benefits of creating an inclusive workplace that supports diverse groups.
- Take into consideration the importance of intersectional approaches in policy-making to tackle structural inequality and address business performance.
- Explore the importance of diverse groups’ representation in leadership and management roles, and strategies for promoting greater diversity and inclusion at all levels of the business as well as on a societal level.
- George Ayoub, partner, Schellenberg Wittmer
- Jasprit Sahnsi, deputy general counsel & internal audit leader, Selecta Group
- Inge Mannaerts, senior legal counsel, Vitol Sa
7.10pm Closing remarks followed by networking drinks and canapés
- Margherita Birri, research editor, The Legal 500
- Pascal Hubli, partner, Schellenberg Wittmer
Speakers
Anya George, partner, Schellenberg Wittmer
Anya George is a trilingual and dual qualified lawyer (Switzerland and England & Wales). She represents clients in complex international commercial and investment arbitration matters, as well as in enforcement and setting-aside proceedings before the Swiss Supreme Court. Her main areas of expertise are energy infrastructure, natural resources, insurance and reinsurance contracts, and manufacturing and sales agreements. She is ranked as one of the best of her generation worldwide in Who’s Who Legal (Thought Leader Global Elite Under 45) and Legal 500 (Next Generation Partner). Anya also advises clients on ESG-related disputes and heads Schellenberg Wittmer’s ESG practice group. As one of the firm’s four Diversity Officers and a member of the taskforce SW IDEA, Anya coordinates various initiatives to promote diversity, inclusion, equity and awareness within the firm and across its activities.
Elisabeth Leimbacher, head counsel portfolio and pipeline, Takeda
Katja Roth Pellanda, group general counsel, Zurich Insurance
Katja Roth Pellanda joined Zurich Insurance Group as Deputy Group General Counsel in April 2020 and was promoted Group General Counsel as of October 1, 2020. She is a member of the Board of Directors of Zurich Bank Italy, Milan (since 2021) and of Farmers Insurance Inc., Los Angeles (since 2022). After having started her career in 1999 as a law clerk at a district court in the Canton of Berne, Switzerland and after having been a research and teaching assistant at the University of Zurich, she joined the Swiss law firm Bär&Karrer in 2005, where she focused on corporate and regulatory matters, including M&A, corporate governance, corporate restructurings, capital markets and employment law. In 2015, Ms. Roth Pellanda joined Novartis International AG, Basel as Head of Corporate Law, and in 2018 took on the additional roles of Secretary to the Executive Committee and Head of Corporate Governance. Since 2019, she was also legally responsible for People & Organization Global and Switzerland.
Current external appointments:
- Member of the Board of the Europa Institut of the University of Zurich (since 2021), Switzerland
- Member of the Academic Board of the Law and Economics Foundation at the University St. Gallen (since 2020), Switzerland
- Member of the Legal Committee of the Swiss American Chamber of Commerce (since 2020)
- Vice-Chair (since 2020, member since 2018) of the Advisory Committee for Corporate Governance, Business at OECD, Paris
George Ayoub, partner, Schellenberg Wittmer
George Ayoub is a partner in Schellenberg Wittmer’s dispute resolution, white-collar crime and compliance, and internal corporate investigations groups in Geneva. His key areas of expertise and practice focus on white-collar crime, international mutual legal assistance, extradition, asset tracing and recovery, and internal corporate investigations. George is also specialised in regulatory and compliance issues as well as in matters of trade sanctions, embargoes and export controls. As one of the firm’s four Diversity Officers, George coordinates various initiatives to promote diversity, inclusion, equity and awareness within the firm and across its activities.
Jasprit Sahnsi, deputy general counsel & internal audit leader, Selecta Group
Jasprit has 20 years of experience working in private practice, private equity and publicly listed companies with international experience across Europe, Middle East and Asia. Jasprit is currently the Deputy General Counsel and Internal Audit Leader at Selecta, a Food Tech company with a leading route-based, self-service distribution network in Europe, offering innovative convenience food services and world-class quality coffee brands in the workplace and public spaces. Previous to this she was a Senior Legal Counsel at gategroup, the leading independent global provider of airline catering provisioning and logistics operating in 200 operating units in over 60 territories. Whilst at gategroup she was located in Zurich and Singapore where she worked closely with the leadership teams to deliver results in key growth markets. She started her career as a solicitor working in the Corporate department of a law firm in England after graduating from Warwick University and completing her Legal Practice Course at the College of Law. Jasprit is currently a Board Member of the European Association of Corporate Counsel Chapter and was previously the Country Representative for the Swiss German chapter of the ACC.
Inge Mannaerts, senior legal counsel, Vitol SA
Martin Oesch, group general counsel and corporate secretary, Barry Callebaut
Pascal Hubli, partner, Schellenberg Wittmer
Pascal Hubli is a Partner in Mergers & Acquisitions Group in Zurich, Schellenberg Wittmer
Caroline Clemetson, partner, Schellenberg Wittmer
Caroline Clemetson is a Partner in the Banking and Finance Department in Geneva and in Zurich and a member of the firm’s Management Committee, Schellenberg Wittmer
Caitlin St Vincent Welch, head of global legal operations, Zurich Insurance
Caitlin St Vincent Welch is an Australian qualified Technology lawyer. She worked 9 years for Avanade which is an international technology consulting company owned by Accenture and Microsoft. She was General Counsel of the Avanade Australian Legal team for 4 years before moving to Swiss Re in Zurich to support the Tech transformation. In 2021 Caitlin started at Zurich Insurance as the Head of Global Legal Operations and reports to Katja Roth Pellanda. Caitlin and her team are responsible for Strategy and Transformation, People, Digitization, Internal Controls and Culture in the Global Legal team which is made up of 700 legal professionals across the globe.
In association with...
Schellenberg Wittmer is a leading Swiss Business Law firm with offices in Geneva, Zurich and Singapore. The firm has been practicing in its current form for 20 years. Schellenberg Wittmer is recognized and respected internationally for its legal excellence and for a progressive stance in an otherwise conservative market.
Schellenberg Wittmer is the leading firm in Switzerland for diversity and inclusion, having one of the highest numbers of women in management positions, and in 2019 Caroline Clementson was elected to the Management Committee as the first female partner in Switzerland. Moreover, the firm is the first to promote specialized LGBTQI+ initiatives and has diverse representation at all levels, including within the firm’s Management Committee.
The SW IDEA taskforce – Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Awareness – aims to support the firm’s values that all LGBTQI+ individuals should feel accepted and valued, and grow within the Schellenberg Wittmer family and beyond, independently from their sexual orientation and gender identity; and translate those values into actions.
Schellenberg Wittmer has over the past years partnered with multiple organizations that promote diversity and inclusion, including non-profit associations: the Women in Business Society, Frauenarbeit, Le Refuge and Regenbogen Familien.