GWPR (Global Women in PR) announces the launch of EMPOWER – an international leadership and mentoring programme.
GWPR – the global networking organisation for women in senior roles in PR and communications – has developed an exclusive programme for a carefully selected group of 25 mid-career women, which will be a combination of cross-border mentoring, learning and profile building. The new programme will run throughout 2022 and 25 of the most successful global female leaders in PR and Communications have signed up to be mentors (see below).
Earlier this year GWPR organised a 24hour global speed mentoring initiative involving 300 women on International Women’s Day, which has been the springboard for this programme. Many GWPR national groups already run their own mentoring programmes for PR women in their own countries, but until now there was no opportunity to be mentored cross-border.
The monthly mentoring sessions will be virtual and involve women from 20 countries around the world from New York to Singapore, London to Moscow and Mexico to Mumbai.
Mid-career PR women from all around the world are being invited to apply to be mentees using this form https://forms.gle/VmXic1w2dcQHSWZaA. All mentoring sessions will be run virtually in English and will be cross-border. Once accepted onto the programme by a selection committee the 25 mentees will be carefully matched with an international mentor.
The learning element of the EMPOWER programme will involve regular masterclasses given by industry experts on topics such as leadership skills, managing a business and career planning.
GWPR will also provide opportunities for the mentees to participate in panel discussions, a thought leadership project and international networking.
Regular virtual networking meet-ups for mentees and active social media engagement will help create a sense of community.
Full list of mentors taking part below:
| No | GWPR MENTORS | JOB TITLE | ORGANISATION | COUNTRY |
| 1 | Ana Timis | Comms & Public Affairs Manager, Romania & Eastern Europe | Ford Motor Company | Romania |
| 2 | Angie Moxham | Founder & CEO | The Fourth Angel | UK |
| 3 | Anke Schmidt | Vice President Corporate Communications & Government Relations | Beiersdorf AG | Germany |
| 4 | Cornelia Kunze | Founder | i-sekai | Germany |
| 5 | Cristina Riscotti | Senior Business Advisor, Head of Corporate, Financial & Professional Services | Omnicom | Italy |
| 6 | Denise Kaufmann | Partner, Director Client Leadership, North America | Ketchum | USA |
| 7 | Emily Poon | President | Ogilvy, Asia | Singapore |
| 8 | Gabriela Lungu | Global Creative Director | VLMY&R Commerce | UK |
| 9 | Germana Barba | Public Affairs & Policy Expert | Independent Consultant | Italy |
| 10 | Gifty Bingley | Senior Comms Officer | African Union | Ghana |
| 11 | Jag Mistry | Senior Director, Head of Corp Comms, MENA | Visa | UAE |
| 12 | Jennifer Attias | Senior Director Global Brand Strategy | ScienceMagic.Inc | France |
| 13 | Julia Hutton Potts | Director International Communications | Alibaba Group | UK |
| 14 | Lavanya Wadgaonkar | Head of Global Strategic and International Comms | Nissan Motor Corporation | Japan |
| 15 | Liz Kaplow | Founder & CEO | KAPLOW | USA |
| 16 | Margaret Key | Chief Executive Officer – Asia, Middle East and Africa | MSLGROUP | South Korea |
| 17 | Michelle Hutton | CEO Australia and Vice Chair, Asia Pacific | Edelman | Australia |
| 18 | Molly Morgan | Head of Communications | Google, Canada | Canada |
| 19 | Nancy Ruscheinsky | COO | Zeno | USA |
| 20 | Nandita Lakshmanan | Founder & Chairperson | The PRactice | India |
| 21 | Olga Podoinitsyna | Member of the Board | VTB Capital | Russia |
| 22 | Rachana Panda | VP & Country Group Head Comms | Bayer | India |
| 23 | Susanne Marell | CEO | Hill+Knowlton Strategies | Germany |
| 24 | Vanessa Ho | Chief Client & Growth Officer, Asia Pacific | Weber Shandwick | Singapore |
| 25 | Yasmin Ramle | Senior Vice President and Head of Community & Employee Engagement | GIC (Sovereign Wealth Fund) | Singapore |
ABOUT GWPR
Global Women in PR exists to champion, connect and support women in senior PR and Communications roles. We are a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to supporting female talent in the PR industry and inspiring women to become leaders. We are a global membership organisation comprising national networking groups across Europe, Russia, India, Africa, the Middle East, Central America and Asia Pacific.
For further information about the EMPOWER programme contact:
Angela Oakes, Co-founder and Joint President: angela@globalwpr.com
Cornelia Kunze, Chair, GWPR International Board: cornelia.kunze@i-sekai.com
Ipshita Sen, President, GWPR India & EMPOWER Programme Lead: ipshita@globalwprindia.com