Board Members

BARBARA VERCRUYSSE

President

Barbara Vercruysse has more than 25 professional years as an entrepreneur and business consultant, she is a Global Kindness Advocate, Mentor, Thought Leader and Public Speaker. As a Quality Manager and HR/Soft Skills Responsible at a group of BMW dealerships, BMW Peter Daeninck, she combines her skills and experience as a business owner, manager, coach and leader to synchronise the high BMW standards with a welcoming work environment so that all employees perform at their highest level with great sense of well-being. Since surviving a stage 4 cancer 20 years ago, she dedicates herself to leaving a positive legacy through bringing a message of empowerment with kindness and compassion. Happily married for more than 20 years, mom of 3 wonderful young adults, she strongly believes in leading by example.

Flavia Silvestroni

VP Legal

Flavia is an Italian born lawyer specialised in international trade law and procurement law, she is also an accredited mediator and speaks six languages. As a university student, she studied many aspects of international trade law in several prestigious universities and academies around Europe such as Sorbonne in Paris, Sapienza in Rome, United Nations Campus in Turin and, the Academy of International Law in The Hague. Her professional experience comprises both international law firms as well as international organisations where she contributed to the negotiations of important agreements of the EU with Third Countries or international organisations. Colleagues and friends describe Flavia as competent, forward thinking and trustworthy with a radiant positiveness. A kind and gentle but determined person, a true diplomat by nature. In Brussels she founded the Belgian chapter of the Alumni Association for La Sapienza University and was an active member of the board of the Italian women's association "DIRE - Donne Italiane Residenti all'Estero". Flavia is a passionate and curious person who in her spare time enjoys arts, piano, golf and travelling. She currently works at the European Commission with focus on Energy and is happily married with a Belgian national.

Murielle Marie Ungricht

VP Membership

Known by her colleagues and clients as a mentor to the unconventional, Murielle has more than 22 years of entrepreneurial experience and in-depth business acumen, having done everything from building, growing and successfully selling a web agency to founding start-ups, investing in young and promising entrepreneurs, authoring two books on personal and professional development, and creating a successful coaching business. As the Founder of Soulspired Coaching and Consulting, Murielle has spent the last nine years specializing in integrative, mindset-focused business and career coaching and leadership development.

MICHELLE VILAR

Director Men Allyship Program

Michelle is a student and citizen of the world - having lived and worked in the United States, Spain, Singapore, and Belgium. After graduating from the University of St. Thomas, Minnesota,USA, studying Spanish & International business, she has worked in finance/trade execution and Learning & Development/HR leadership roles, within Cargill, an international provider of food, agricultural and risk management solutions. Over her 25 years of service, she has enjoyed developing leadership and teams - as a business HR leader & manager of teams, as a coach & program manager of leadership development & learning programs for current & emerging leaders, and as a continuous facilitator of connections to bring about positive change, innovation and impact. Michelle is positive, collaborative, and energetic. Currently, she leads Learning and Development Team, serving the markets in Europe, Middel East, Africa. She loves her husband and two daughters; she also loves singing & music, hiking, mindfulness, and traveling.

ANA ESCARPENTER

Director of Your Path

Ana’s background is in tourism promotion, marketing and event organisation. In her 20 years of experience she has worked for marketing consultancy firms, economy & tourism ministries and international associations. As director of the Catalan Tourist Board for Benelux and of Brussels – Wallonia Tourism in Spain her role was to develop off-line and on-line opportunities in both markets. Her interest for digital marketing has brought her to participate in several initiatives linking new technologies to the travel and meeting industries. She enjoys the challenges of technologies and particularly those of human interactions. Connecting people with opportunities really motivates her. Being a NLP practitioner, Ana now follows an Executive Master at the Université Catholique de Louvain to become a Business Coach. In her free time she is a Nordic walking instructor and a Kundalini yoga teacher.

JESSICA J.J.LUTZ

Mentoring Programme Co-Director

Jessica is on a mission to accelerate gender equality by helping women get what they’re worth and claim their rightful space. Working for 20 years as a news correspondent in the greater Middle East, where it’s often dangerous for people to speak their mind, Jessica learned to always question what's on the surface. For the last decade she has directed her inquisitive skills to the mind and the body, exploring the edges of science and all that's conventional. She acquired certification in a range of practical methods in the field of mind-body medicine. Relentlessly digging deeper, she uncovers what’s underneath the stories her clients tell themselves, to enable true healing, empowerment and prosperity. Still a story-teller at heart, Jessica loves to give inspirational speeches and masterclasses.

Paula Santiago Moral

Director STEAM Program

TBA

ANAIDA DIBRA

Honorary President of PWI

Anaida is an energetic HR leader with over 15 years of global international experience. After graduating from the University of Antwerp in Science for Applied Economics, she focused in building a career in Human Resources. She has had global and regional roles within Cargill, an international provider of food, agricultural and risk management product and services. She experienced a variety of HR business roles, from building teams, processes, programs to partnering with the businesses on divestment or business sell-out projects. Anaida brings a proactive, collaborative, transparent and high integrity approach. She enjoyed her experience to addressing business issues/challenges and particularly, leading an EMEA regional team of HR professionals and helping them realize their potential. Recently, founder of MEGADEA, her own consultancy, providing HR/Change Management/Leadership Development expertise to her clients. She has two daughters and loves to explore challenging and exciting time with family.

CRISTINA VICINI

Honorary President of PWI

Cristina Vicini is a board member and a senior executive with innovative companies and charities in Europe and North America, with focus on international company development and strategy, digital innovation and international governance. During her career Cristina held international management up to P&L executive roles in Europe and beyond with technology corporations like Microsoft and Siemens, with the international public sector, with global non-profits and as an entrepreneur. Committed to women's economic empowerment, Cristina is Chairwoman of The International Alliance for Women Foundation based in Washington, DC, and a Mentor with the European Women on Board Foundation. Cristina was honoured in 2015 with the “TIAW World of Difference Award 100”. She is the Honorary President of PWI Brussels and was PWI’s President between 2006 and 2011. Cristina holds a Masters of International Management from Boston University and a Masters with honors in Computer Science from the University of Brussels (ULB). She is married and a proficient golfer.

ALESSANDRA ZOCCA

Member of the Advisory Board

Having worked in Belgium, Italy, Germany and Sweden, Alessandra is a change management expert with an international career background in managerial positions within leading global multinational organisations, including DHL, Accenture and the European Commission. Currently, Alessandra is working in HR at the EU agency Single Resolution Board (SRB), the resolution authority within the Banking Union. In 2011 she was appointed as Secretary-General of PWI Brussels where she founded the "PWI Magazine", an online quarterly review about management and culture. She started her career as an organisation and manufacturing lecturer at the University of Verona, where she graduated in Economics in 1985. In 2001 she earned her Master Degree in Neurolinguistic Programming. Recently, Alessandra founded and is the President of Opportunalia aisbl, an organisation in the tourism sector. She has also actively contributed to associations like AIESEC, Amnesty International and Fondazione Marisa Bellisario. Born in Verona, Italy, Alessandra speaks five languages, is a passionate traveler and a psychology scholar.

SUSANNAH HAAN

Member of the Advisory Board

Susannah is a non-profit leader with over 20 years' experience in trade associations, governance, EU capital market & entrepreneurship public policy. Susannah has previously served as the Secretary General of European Issuers, a Brussels-based association which represents the interests of publicly traded companies in Europe, an adviser on the post financial crisis to the Financial Reporting Council, the UK regulator for corporate reporting and governance, an Associate Director of Public Affairs at Fidelity International, a major international asset management firm, a Senior Legal Adviser to the CBI (Confederation of British Industry) and a solicitor at Clifford Chance, a leading City law firm.

RHONDA OCHA

Member of the Advisory Board

Rhonda has lived in Belgium for over 30 years, speaks French fluently and has over two decades of business experience in the payment industry with Mastercard Europe. She has extensive experience in leading cross-functional global and virtual teams to sell and deliver innovative, complex, multi-market products, services and digital programs in the Benelux, France, Nordics and Baltics. Her career includes management roles in business development and key account sales in the US and Europe within the courier, internet, airline and financial technology industries. She is co-chair of the Mastercard Women’s Leadership Network and a steering committee member since 2008, an Advisory Board member of PWI Brussels and an active contributor to their STEAM Programme.Speaker, mentor and influencer, she is a passionate change agent for gender balanced leadership, diversity and inclusion.

BEVERLY SINTON

Member of the Advisory Board

Bev is a long life volunteer, President at ADHD, ASC & LD Belgium, Ambassador at Neurodiverse Brains @ Work and the power behind many PWI Brussels initiatives in the last 11 years. Bev brings a lot of knowledge around driving membership, building communities, creating solutions and empowering women. We need Bev's spirit of solidarity to strengthen our community.

GEERT MAESMANS

Member of the Advisory Board

Geert is the oldest of 6 siblings, decided to become an engineer and later sumbled into Research and Development Leadership. Geert strongly believes in diversity and inclusion, a concept in line with his own values. In his career he has experienced the power of inclusive teams who perform better and innovate more. Geert's collaboration will help us to engage men in advancing gender parity at workplace and society.

Elizabeth Hammer-Kjellberg (in memoriam)	2001-2006
Sandy Dumont	1999-2001
Eva Lotte Eriksson	1997-1999

Past Presidents