From Diversity to Disruption: Shaping the Future of Swiss Tech

Is diversity the key to a future-proof tech industry? Join Women in DevOps, on the 8th of May (5 pm – 7.30 pm) where we’ll be teaming up with Microsoft to bring you a free panel discussion on the transformative impact of diversity, inclusion, and belonging in the tech space.

As persistent skill gaps threaten to stifle progress in Switzerland’s tech industry, diversity-led workforce management has emerged as a bridge between challenge and opportunity. Disruption is due, and now’s the time to act.

How can leaders move beyond performative diversity hiring? What’s the key to an inclusive culture? Why is it so important to build a diverse workforce in the first place?

With support from our market experts, industry leaders, and talent specialists, we’ll discuss:

• Retaining top talent by building more inclusive environments
• Supporting candidates through the entire talent lifecycle
• Solving problems with the diversity of thought
• Psychological safety and the foundations of team building

Our events are safe and supportive places to share ideas, connect with your peers, and uncover meaningful new opportunities. RSVP to save your space and be a part of the conversation.

Our panel of experts:

• Lauren Langdell - Founder & Chair @ Women in DevOps
• Barbara Lisa - Director of Transformation and Change @ Beyond Gravity
• Greta Deats - Technical Programme Management Lead @ Microsoft
• Marianne Charaf - Partner @ itopia
• Merce Borrull - Head of Customer Touchpoints and Mobility Services @ Swiss Post
• Hamlet D'Arcy - Group Programme Manager @ Microsoft
• Lucia Palumbo - Head of Technology @ Hitachi Technology

Barbara Lisa

Barbara Lisa is the Change and Transformation Direction in Beyond Gravity. She brings two decades of transformation experience, particularly in the digital context. She worked in leadership positions driving transformation for global businesses like British Petroleum, World Health Organization, and Roche to name a few, as well as set up an international business at the age of 24 which she later sold to pursue a consulting career.

Barbara holds an LLB and LLM from Charles University Prague, a legal diploma from the University of Cambridge, and an Executive MBA from Bayes Business School, City University, London.

She is a passionate traveller, and a TEDx speaker and was voted the most inspirational woman in Slovakia in 2020. In her free time, she enjoys dancing, art, gardening, is supporting charitable causes for children’s education and displaced people.

Greta Deats

Greta Deats is a Technical Program Management Lead in the Industry Solutions Engineering (ISE) organization at Microsoft. ISE is a global engineering organization that works directly with the largest companies and not-for-profits in the world to tackle their most significant technical challenges. She loves any opportunity to learn while she works, be it new tech stacks, industries, or cultures and enjoys being hands-on as both a developer and a leader. She additionally is a passionate speaker, volunteering her time and expertise to encourage young women to enter into careers in STEM.

Marianne Charaf

Dr. Marianne Charaf, Partner at itopia AG, holds a PhD in Business Informatics. Marianne grew up, lived and worked in several countries. As a woman in IT and a mother, she brings a unique perspective to her leadership roles. With extensive experience in strategy and transformation across diverse industries such as financial, public services, and life sciences, Marianne is dedicated to fostering synergy between business and IT domains to drive data and digital transformation initiatives and customer experience. Her dedication to diversity and inclusion extends beyond professional endeavours, for example along her active involvement in volunteer work as Co-President of the City of Zurich's Foreigners' Advisory Council, work aimed at promoting diversity, inclusion and empowering talents.

Hamlet D'Arcy
Hamlet D’Arcy is a group program manager at Microsoft, leading several teams of software engineers and data scientists delivering customer-facing software solutions. He’s also the lead for the Microsoft Switzerland LGBTQIA+ employee resource group. Hamlet is endlessly passionate about making sure that every person can find a place to call home within his team.

Lucia Palumbo

Lucia is the Head of Technology at Hitachi Technology. She has a deep love for tech, particularly due to its ability to enable and boost a business. Lucia manages an international team and enjoys the diversity and variation of the role. In her spare time, you'll find Lucia either travelling, jogging or listening to all kinds of music!

Merce Borrull

Merce leads the different IT DevOps teams in charge to execute on the Strategy of Post Netz, Communications and Post Auto with the power of Technology. Prior to Swiss Post, Merce worked for Microsoft and Zurich Insurance. They have worked in three different countries, and are passionate about change, diversity and always learning something new.

By registering for our event, you are agreeing to our Code of Conduct:

• Participate in an authentic, fair and equitable way.
• Exercise consideration and respect in your speech and actions.
• Attempt collaboration before conflict.
• Refrain from demeaning, discriminatory, or harassing behaviour and speech.
• Be mindful of your surroundings and of the community.
• Alert community leads to any dangerous situations.

***By registering for this event, you consent to be photographed and/or recorded for purposes subject to the event organizers. If you would like a professional headshot, please request one from our on-site photographer. You agree to abstain from bringing pets and/or animals to the venue. The date and time of the event are subject to change without prior notice.

Your data will be held by Trinnovo Group Ltd trading as Women in DevOps accordance with our privacy policy available at the following link: https://www.trinnovogroup.com/legal_documents/privacy_policy?source=bing.com”***