Applications by women owners of small and mid-sized businesses or having 2 or 3 years of middle management experience will be accepted until 15 April 2014

Companies with higher than the average number of women in their management boards have better performance, shows an analysis of the Council of Women in Business.

Dissemination of good management practices and introduction of programmes fostering the professional development of women in small and mid-sized businesses and their growth in managerial positions are some of the key goals of the Council of Women in Business, which was established at the beginning this year.

Leadership Academy

The first project of the Council in Bulgaria is the launching of a Leadership Academy – a free leadership training programme involving six one-day modules. This was announced at a dedicated press conference by Boryana Manolova, CEO of Siemens Bulgaria and President of the Council of Women in Business.

The trainings will be conducted by professional trainers and are aimed at gaining better knowledge of one’s strengths and weaknesses through emotional intelligence, giving and receiving feedback, the role and management of diversity in a company, etc. There will also be a team building, an interactive training for team work and cooperation, announced Ekaterina Kirilova, Head of Marketing and Segments Department with UniCredit Bulbank, who presented the Academy.

The Leadership Academy, year 2014/2015, welcomes applications by ladies with 3 and more years of managerial experience, owners or managers of small and mid-sized businesses, etc. who are willing and pro-active to develop their leadership skills so as to expand their businesses or to take on greater leadership responsibility.

Applications will be accepted until 15 April 2014 through a dedicated section at the website of Manager Magazine, namely http://www.manager.bg/лидерска-академия. Candidates have to fill in the registration form and enclose their CV. In the form, ladies will have to explain in brief how the training in the Leadership Academy will improve their work, how they see themselves in one year’s time as a professional, and share their biggest success in private or professional aspect.

The selected candidates will be invited in May 2014 for the first module of the Leadership Academy. The six one-day trainings will be held in May, June, September and November 2014, and January and February 2015. The members of the Council of Women in Business and of the Management Board of the organization are planning on joining the trainings and after knowing better the participants in the Academy - starting a Mentorship Programme with them.

Research: There is business logic behind the increasing role of women at leadership positions

The Council welcomes also support by gentlemen who can contribute to its mission. For this reason the ladies from the Council had invited at the event Mr. Levon Hampartzoumian, Chairman of the Management Board and CEO of UniCredit Bulbank. “The support for increasing the number of ladies at leadership positions is not a just a fad or a passing phenomenon; it rests on sound economic logic. Numerous researches have shown that companies with well-balanced management boards perform better, achieve better returns on their investments and better efficiency and earnings. Therefore, projects fostering women especially in the field of small and medium sized business are highly valuable”, said Levon Hampartzoumian.

Together with Boryana Manolova they presented an analysis conducted by the Council of Women in Business on the role of ladies at leadership positions in Bulgaria and around the world.

“The fact that the best companies have more women at management positions than the market average inspired us to prepare the Leadership Academy“, commented Boryana Manolova.

She pointed out that according to Lean In - the book by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg from 2013, only 17 out of the 195 independent countries in the world are governed by women; only 21 of the Fortune 500 companies have women as CEOs, and women account for only 14% in these companies’ board of directors. Even in Bulgaria, although women here are generally more emancipated to take on senior positions, in 2013 the ratio of the participants in the Manager of the Year competition was 77% vs. 23% in favor of men. Only one woman has won the already six-year competition. It is curious to know that the greatest number of ladies in the Manager of the Year ranking was in the heat of the crisis in 2010. Further information about the analysis is available in the presentation from the press conference.

The Council of Women in Business was established by ladies at top management positions with proven experience in management and corporate culture. Board Members of the organization are also Diana Maneva, CEO of Generali Insurance Bulgaria; Maxim Meyer, editor-in-chief of Manager Magazine; Zhulieta Serafimova, General Manager of Grand Hotel Sofia; Vanya Minkova, Head of HR with CEZ Bulgaria, Valentina Dikanska, CEO of BASF, and Zoya Paunova, CEO of Astra Zeneca Bulgaria.

The organization is open to new members, distinguished managers or representatives of organizations with experience and corporate culture, who share its values.

More information for clients:

UniCredit Bulbank, Call Centre

Phone: 0700 1 84 84

More information for media:

UniCredit Bulbank, Identity & Communications Department

Viktoria Blajeva, Phone: + 359 2 9264 993, wjlj/ebwjepwbAvojdsfejuhspvq/ch

Ekaterina Ancheva, Phone: + 359 2 9264 963, flbufsjob/bodifwbAvojdsfejuhspvq/ch

Magdalena Ivanova, Phone: + 359 2 9232 528, nbhebmfob/jwbopwbAvojdsfejuhspvq/ch