Sophie Gaspard

Central Europe Supply Chain Director MARS

LinkedIN
pátek 26.3.2021
neděle 28.3.2021
14:00-15:30h

I have lived in different countries during my life, which means I am curious and respect each culture, and I’m happy to call Prague home for the last two years. Work-wise, I believe in developing through our strengths and getting different views to build our own. I believe in freedom of thinking and that I can make a meaningful difference in the business and more importantly with people. I am in my 13th year at MARS and MARS is my third company, having always worked in Fast Moving Consumer Goods. I am also a mum to a 7-year old daughter and married to a great husband who helps me everyday!

Topic:  Make sure you follow your dreams, not your fears

In this workshop we will look at how we create and seize opportunities. What is holding us back and how we can help ourselves and each other to follow our dreams and not be held back by our fears.
The idea is to be clear on what is important for you and what you are ready to compromise on. It’s all about how you manage your own balance and make your way through different life stages, juggling your different hats.
I am a strong believer in developing ourselves to continue to grow, learn and influence to get the best of ourselves.
In the workshop we will speak about practical tips and how we can apply them, as well as learn from our successes and our failures.

What would help to make women’s VOICE in society to be moreheard?

I would like to encourage women to take risks and apply for jobs where they can learn, stretch and develop. They don’t need to tick all the boxes and have done everything up front. They should dare to apply and make a difference.
I also believe that as line managers, we need to keep women on the career radar screen whilst they are on maternity leave. Having a child is a fulfilling new role, however shouldn’t limit the progression of our women team members.

What triggered me the most last year:

Through COVID, I have been impressed with our capacity to embrace the huge change in our environment, at home and at work. Teams around me have managed home-schooling, taking care of elderly parents and still deliver on their work. As we are now one year into the pandemic, we need to ensure we refuel our own energy levels to continue this juggling act.

Main thought for mentees:

‘Make sure you follow your dreams, not your fears’

Sources of inspiration:

‚Becoming‘ from Michelle Obama has inspired me in terms of value-based leadership.
Amy Cuddy’s Ted talk ‚Your body language may shape who you are‘ and the wonder-woman pose is still something I do before important meetings!
Nelson Mandela’s autobiography ‚Long walk to freedom‘ which shows an incredible resilience capacity.