Brenntag : 04/04/2019 Brenntag supports “Initiative Women into Leadership” – First group of mentees celebrate graduation in Essen

Brenntag (WKN A1DAHH), the global market leader in chemical distribution, is a founding member and supporter of 'Initiative Women into Leadership' (IWiL). The non-profit organization was founded at the end of 2017 and aims to establish a career network for female managers from all sectors and to promote their development through a cross-mentoring programme. A ceremony was held at Brenntag's headquarters in Essen to bid farewell to the first group of mentees who have now successfully completed the programme.

'IWiL is an excellent platform that supports the next generation of female managers on their journey to top-level management,' says Marion Mestrom, Chief Human Resources Officer of Brenntag AG, explaining the intention behind the initiative. 'I am glad to be involved with IWiL as a mentor so that I can personally pass on my many years of experience in business to upcoming, talented women.'

Brenntag manager Aafke Dijksma is among the mentees who completed the programme in 2018: 'Interacting with my mentor and the other participants in the programme has given me new momentum for my personal development and career. The IWiL network will continue to be a valuable resource for me beyond the programme itself. I am grateful that Brenntag made it possible for me to participate.'

'Identifying qualified women and men, promoting their development and retaining them at our company is crucial to Brenntag's long-term competitiveness and is part of our HR strategy,' says Marion Mestrom. Ensuring that equal opportunity as part of this is a matter of course for Brenntag.

In his keynote speech at the ceremony, Steven Holland, CEO of Brenntag AG, emphasized the importance of diversity for the global chemical distributor: 'We work in diverse teams worldwide and take advantage of the broad range of social, cultural and specialist skills and experience that this gives rise to. Women make a key contribution to diversity in practice at Brenntag. We will continue to proactively promote the development of women in our company.'

The next group of mentees started the IWiL programme at the end of February 2019, again with the involvement and support of Brenntag.

Further information on 'Initiative Women into Leadership' can be found at: https://www.iwil.eu/