#27 Tech Trailblazer - Flying the flag for women in IT with Sabine Scheunert

Sabine Scheunert’s big career breakthrough came when her son had
just turned 1 and she got a call from Citroën, asking her if she
wanted to move to China as the first female CEO of an OEM there.
She said yes. “It gave me a lot of empowerment, a lot of trust,”
she told me in this podcast. "I really tried to feel as
empowered, as positive in my personal life. And you know that a
baby is not as easy to steer and to manage as most probably a lot
of big projects!”


She has been juggling parenting her son and managing her
incredibly successful career ever since. She’s now VP at
Mercedes-Benz, running Digital & IT sales and marketing
globally. At the same time, I love how she says that her parental
leave was “never-ending, because I will be always the mother of
my son. And since he is born I try to combine family and career
in the most positive way that I can.”


Now an executive herself, she tries to support women in the
technology sector. Role models help, she says. She strongly
believes that a bigger focus on digital education in Germany
would help too. But there are also things that we can all
do: 


️ if you’re a parent - know that parenthood has boosted your
skillset, have confidence, and go for those leadership
positions! 


️ if you’re a manger - don’t be afraid to recruit new parents
into leadership positions. Sabine says that taking that CEO
position even though "combining private life and career was
clearly a particular challenge at that time, was one of the best
decisions.” 


At MyCollective we keep hearing this: that a big career
opportunity during or right after parental leave can really be
life-changing - and it’s something that parents will still tell
us about years later, as an example of how supportive their
management was. 


Either way, go for it!


Speaker: Sabine Scheunert, VP Digital & IT Sales/Marketing
@Mercedes-Benz Cars 


Sabine is not speaking on behalf of Mercedes-Benz in this podcast
and all opinions are her own.  


Interviewer: Dr. Ricarda Engelmeier - Founder @MyCollective


Music: sponsored by @Michaelkadelbach


Picture: Sabine Scheunert / Mercedes-Benz


Graphic & Production: MyCollective


#getinspired #podcast #inspiration #MyCollective
#womenchangemakers #womenleaders #womenintech #IT #digital
#leadership #diversity #equality #careers #femalecareers
#diverseworkplace #getinspiredpodcast #ImpulseSessions
#parenthood #workingparents #parentalleave #elternzeit
#mercedesbenz