CEO Julie Szudarek on her journey as a woman in business

International Women’s Day is an important opportunity to celebrate women's achievements, raise awareness against bias and take action for equality.

To mark IWD we want to help raise awareness of some themes closest to our mission at Atida; women’s health and well-being and inclusive work cultures.?

This week we sat down with Julie Szudarek, CEO of Atida, to learn more about her journey as a woman in business and in leadership.?

Tell us more about your journey, career path and how what drove you to where you are today?

I was really inspired by my dad's experience in business; it's what drove me to study business and economics, and made me want to eventually pursue an MBA. I first joined a big consultancy at the age of 22, and was thrown in the deep end. On my first project there in finance, one of the guys left abruptly and told me nobody could do the job except for him. I definitely panicked, but eventually was able to pick myself up. I pushed through and figured out how to put all the pieces together and it became a real pivotal moment for me. I owned the project from start to finish and through tenacity and perseverance was able to get it done.

Later, I got my MBA and went back to strategic consulting to help major companies find their way through the e-commerce revolution. Remember, this was at the start of e-commerce. It's this common thread I've had with every job where I wanted to go and evolve and learn new things. I've definitely encountered many uncomfortable situations but I feel like these situations can only help you grow. I had a CEO that inspired me and always had a great sense of empathy, and communicated around 3 main principles: great people, great clients, and great work. People were really important to him - as they should be.?

From there I joined companies like Orbit and Groupon where the common thread of great people and doing great work together kept things really interesting and exciting. When I finally joined Atida, I wanted to join because of the great opportunity to find an industry within e-commerce with a low penetration rate: the pharmacy sector is one of the least digitised. This is the time to build a business across Europe that nobody has done before.

Across that journey what do you think has been the biggest challenges, set backs, barriers you’ve experienced as a woman??

I think my dad really instilled in me a sense of equality which forged me for the future. This helped push through the challenges I have faced. Though I never thought of myself as less than anyone else. Although I noticed the barriers, I would often make it a point to prove people wrong. Women often have to work harder than men which is definitely unfair. One way to cope is that I would often use humour to bring attention to uncomfortable situations or inequalities and injustice.?

Does your leadership style differ from your male counterparts?

There are many types of leadership styles and I don’t think mine is particularly different only because I am a woman. The biggest thing that made me lead differently though is after having children. After having children, I became more aware of people’s feelings and reactions in a different or more nuanced way. I don’t know if the difference is based on gender but definitely women are more allowed and open to show empathy, emotion, and sensitivity.

How do you think women can support each other in the workplace?

Give a boost of confidence to your fellow woman because we are aware of what women have to overcome, so we can be even more understanding. Help build more confidence in women around us. Lift them up. Also, give respect. Everyone deserves respect. It doesn’t matter who you are.?

Do you think there should be more women in leadership positions?

Leadership needs more diversity. Ideally, you’d like leadership to represent the consumer base and be a representation of the world around us. 70% of purchasing decisions are made by women so why wouldn’t you want more women in business? Diversity is what makes a company stronger. It’s all about belonging. Everyone brings a new perspective and the more diverse your team is, the better the results will be. Coming from different backgrounds, cultures etc. it’s all beneficial in bringing different points of view to the table.

What advice would you give to women going into leadership roles?

Be open to feedback. When you’re leading it’s no longer about you, it’s about the people that work for you. You have to adapt yourself to them. That’s my biggest leadership lesson. But also be yourself, don’t try to act like your male counterparts. Finally, get time for you - dedicate time for yourself. Your mental wellbeing is really important for yourself and for others.

What do you think are the characteristics of a great leader?

Confidence

Decisiveness?

Empathy

Perseverance

And some luck - create opportunities for yourself through hard work but also be open and aware of opportunities that come your way. Make the best of these opportunities. Big things can happen because you happen to be in the right place at the right time. When these opportunities come your way, seize them and make the best of them. Make these work harder for you. Trust yourself in your abilities and be open to discomfort and learning. Learn from the mistakes you make and be open to grow.?

Why is it important at Atida to celebrate and recognise IWD?

We are an incredibly international business with a big proportion of women overall and more than 50% of our leadership team are women. We also have a lot of women in senior management positions who are all great leaders in their own way. We want to celebrate them, today and every day. Every woman I meet in the business is amazing and I feel so blessed to have such a great team. One component of our ESG strategy is our gender distribution but it’s an area where we’re already doing so well in, in terms of gender diversity in the workplace. Not just gender, but also diversity overall - we have so many different nationalities and cultures. I think women should always feel like they belong, that they’re invited to the conversations and that they matter. It’s a very important topic for us at Atida. We want everyone to feel welcome whether it’s internally, our employees, or externally, our consumers. Everyone should feel like they belong and no one should ever feel excluded or discriminated against.?