Diversity beyond gender

March 5, 2024, 6:00 – 7:00 p.m.

This event will take place on campus and online. To attend the event online, please register using the form below. To attend the event in person, please register here.

Diversity is often understood and discussed on a very simplified and narrow level. Great emphasis is given to visible diversity, which reduces the wealth of our human experience. To fully enrich our working world and our society with diversity, we must shift focus to appreciate and embrace its multidimensional complexity. Understanding diversity in its broadest sense requires considering the societal backdrop against which it exists. At this event, we will tackle the theories and practices driving diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the workplace and also the socio-political dynamics of the world in which we live. 

Sandra Subel, global head of diversity and inclusion at Axel Springer, will set the stage and then discuss how businesses make the shift from seeing diversity as a problem to seeing it as both an opportunity and a solution to modern business challenges. Her fellow panelists are Jeff Kwasi Klein, co-director of the Multitudes Foundation, Rosanna Sibora, vice president of digital products and innovation at Universal Music Group, and Alexander Hijmering, principal consultant at Harbor and ESMT EMBA Class of 2023. Rebecca Loades, director of MBA programs at ESMT, will lead the discussion. Together, they will address why DEI matters in business and business education, how DEI framing has created opportunities and challenges to implementing DEI-affirming business cultures, and the roles that organizations and individuals can play to contribute to real and sustainable change. 

Program

Panelists 

Alexander Hijmering has worked for law firms and arbitration institutes for more than two decades and is an advocate for more diversity in the legal industry. He co-founded the first Pride ERG at a Netherlands law firm and is the treasurer of Forward, a network for legal LGBTIQA+ professionals. Intrigued by the lack of progress in creating a more diverse workforce in law firms, he wrote a master’s thesis last year on the effectiveness of the rhetoric used, drastically changing his views on how firms build and retain a more diverse workforce. Alexander is an alumnus of ESMT’s EMBA2023 cohort and currently works as a principal consultant at Harbor Global, advising law firms on how IT can underpin their company strategy.  

Jeff Kwasi Klein is co-director at the Multitudes Foundation, where he supports individuals and initiatives across Europe in reimagining more inclusive, representative, and human politics. Before this role, he led the community-based funding project May Ayim Fonds and Germany's first anti-discrimination counselling center for Black, African, and African Diasporic people at Each One Teach One (EOTO).

Jeff is a member of the Berlin Equality Advisory Board, which focuses on combating anti-Black racism in Berlin, and he serves as a board member of the Migration Council Berlin. In these roles, he advocates for the interests of Black, Indigenous, and Communities of Color and various (post-)migrant self-organizations. Jeff is dedicated to addressing structural and institutionalized forms of racism, focusing on community building, leadership, and political innovation. 

Rosanna Sibora is a dynamic digital leader and intrapreneur, known for her dedication to cultivating environments of psychological safety, diversity of thought, and constructive nonconformity. Her expertise in IT transformation and passion for user-centric product management and people-centered leadership have distinguished her career. Rosanna has significantly contributed to developing and nurturing talent, fostering cultures of experimentation, and leading successful product development initiatives. Her primary focus has been on transforming traditional IT frameworks by building and leading agile, interdisciplinary product teams.  

Rosanna holds a Bsc. in business administration from Freie Universität Berlin, and an MSc. and PhD in management from the University of Gdansk. She also earned certificates from the IT leadership program at ESMT, the product management executive program at INSEAD, and the leading change and organizational renewal program at Harvard Business School. Rosanna Sibora’s opinion is her own and does not necessarily reflect the views of her employer. 

Sandra Subel is a passionate changemaker who values growth, integrity, and curiosity. Her mission is to help people unleash their creative confidence and enable businesses to leverage the potential of their employees. In her pivotal role as the global head of diversity and inclusion at Axel Springer since 2020, Sandra has dedicated over four years to fostering and enabling diversity and inclusion strategies across the group, aligning them with the company’s objectives and the broader ESG agenda. Prior to this, she spent nine years at Accenture, mentoring teams and leading transformation programs. Since 2018, she has been a visiting lecturer at the Poznań University of Economics and Business, teaching MBA students about leadership and unconscious bias. 

Sandra actively contributes to several initiatives and platforms, including the World Economic Forum’s Community of Chief Diversity Officers, Perspektywy Women in Tech, and the #IAmRemarkable initiative. As a Forbes Women Polska columnist, she discusses DEI, leadership, and change management. She has degrees in Spanish philology, political science, marketing, and service design. She completed her executive MBA at Poznań University of Economics and Business with honors and has received numerous accolades, including the MBA Giant award and the Female Champion of Change award. In 2020, she received a scholarship from the 30% Club to complete the ESMT Executive Transition Program. In 2023, she attained associate certified coach status from the International Coaching Federation. 

Moderator 

Rebecca Loades is the director of MBA programs at ESMT Berlin, where she is responsible for the commercial and reputational success of the MBA portfolio.  Before moving to Berlin in 2021, Rebecca was part of the Graduate Management Admission Council, where she occupied roles spanning strategy, new product, and market, development. 

Rebecca holds an honors degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Bradford (UK) and an MBA from Rotterdam School of Management (Netherlands).