Celebrating International Women’s Day with Virginie Maes

1. Can you explain your role as Vice President of Healthcare?

I lead the Healthcare packaging business for Amcor in EMEA, which consists of three main responsibilities: I lead the development and execution of our mid- and long-term strategy and growing the business. I am responsible for delivering short-term results which enable us to invest in our long-term strategy for customers. And I am responsible for ensuring our team is engaged and equipped to accomplish our shared goals.

2. What was your career path?

I’ve had a couple of ‘career chapters’, as I call them. Chapter one was my time in London after I finalized my studies in Business and Finance. I worked in investment banking and private equity, which taught me how to read balance sheets and income statements, and what investors look for in companies. Chapter two was consulting for one of the top tier consulting companies. This taught me how to approach and structure important company topics, whether operational, commercial, or strategic. The current chapter is my work with Amcor. I joined as Head of Strategy before moving to my current role, which allows me to leverage everything I’ve learned over the years.

3. What is your proudest achievement while working at Amcor?

That’s a great question, and not an easy one to answer. There are so many contenders! I’ll go with the most recent. I’m very proud to say that our team won Amcor’s CEO Outperformance Award for Customers last year, for developing and delivering a packaging solution for a lifesaving Covid-19 drug in record speed, for a major pharmaceutical customer. Obviously, this was an immensely important and rewarding project for us all. The team should be so proud of what they achieved. I know I’m proud of them.

4. Who is your inspiration, and why?

I’ve got many candidates that spring to mind, but let me go with Sebastian Bellin, the Belgian-American basketball player. I had the pleasure of meeting him a few years ago. He was caught in the terrorist attack on Brussels Airport in 2016 and suffered life-threatening injuries. If you listen to his story, it’s about not being a victim. Sebastian says your mindset needs to be one of “I’m a survivor, not a victim,” and life is about perspective. That’s why he asks himself, “What would you do if you had no fear?” It’s a question that totally changes your perspective, and one I often ask myself when I look at problems.

5. What is the most important piece of life or career advice you have been given?

A female senior partner at the consulting firm where I worked once said, “the key for a woman to be successful in business, is choosing which friends and family are in your close support network.” I wasn’t married at the time. But looking back, I appreciate my husband even more. He also works in business and supports my ambition and schedule as we juggle our dual careers! It’s a piece of advice that has helped me, both from a career and a life perspective.

6. What message would you send to young people thinking about their careers?

I’d recommend they stand back and reflect on what is their “genius”. This is a term used by Deepak Malhotra, a Harvard professor specialising in negotiation strategy. Find your genius from the talent which comes most naturally to you. For some, that might be structuring a problem. For others, it might be something more creative with your hands. Whatever your genius is, if you can look for a career where you can use your genius to its full advantage, you’ll be on the right path.

7. When you’re not working, where are we likely to find you?

I live in Switzerland and I love to spend my free time with my three children and husband in our natural environment, preferably skiing or swimming in our beautiful lakes.

Below is a photo I captured while exploring Switzerland with my family.