The Swiss Economic Forum awarded this year’s SEF.WomenAward on International Women’s Day at The Circle in Zurich. This prize pursues three main objectives: Increasing the visibility of female business leaders among the wider public, creating female role models for the next generation and consolidating a forward-looking platform for women in business.
The Young Entrepreneur of the Year for 2024 is Alessia Schrepfer, who founded WeNurse AG, based in Kradolf-Schönenberg in the canton of Thurgau, in October 2022. This is the first employee-owned freelance pool in the healthcare sector. WeNurse stands for a better future in nursing and maintaining quality across healthcare settings. According to SEF, she is being recognized for her commitment to working for the future of women in nursing professions.
Sandra Banholzer claimed the prize for Entrepreneur/CEO of the Year 2024. As the first CEO from outside the owner family, she has headed up the traditional firm Rausch AG, which is based in Kreuzlingen in the canton of Thurgau and above all known for its hair and skincare products, for the past two years. The jury was impressed with her vision of safely guiding the company through the necessary process of cultural transformation with an emphasis on empathy, enthusiasm and managing her team as equals.
Top business executive Barbara Kux was named as the winner of the Honorary Award for 2024. Kux was the first woman to be appointed to the Executive Board at Siemens. She is a “passionate and successful advocate of good corporate governance, sustainability, diversity and Switzerland as a business location”, as the jury explains. To this day, she puts her experience to good use as a lecturer seeking to develop the next generation of business leaders and as an honorary advisory board member.
