The IMEF Grupo Monterrey and EGADE Business School forum presents conferences and panels to reconcile work and personal life.

By JOSÉ ÁNGEL DE LA PAZ | EGADE BUSINESS SCHOOL

Leaders and experts in social impact and organizational and human development exchanged ideas at the Work-Life Balance Forum 2020: Towards Conscious Leadership, to promote change in organizational structures and support equal opportunities for men and women.

Promoted by IMEF Grupo Monterrey and EGADE Business School, the event helped attendees discover diverse testimonials to reconcile their work and personal life, as well as best practices in topics related to leadership and inclusion.

Participants were welcomed by Sanjuana Herrera, Chairperson of the Board of Directors, IMEF Grupo Monterrey, and María Concepción del Alto, Director of the Master in Finance, EGADE Business School, Monterrey site.

In the inaugural conference "Transform to transcend", Martha Herrera, Global Social Responsibility Director at CEMEX, urged attendees to integrate their purpose and culture in order to become conscious leaders, and to continue to discover their life plan and strengthen their alliances to face up to challenges and turn them into opportunities.

"Once you transform yourself, you can help others achieve their own transformations,” she said.

The forum included the panel "Life-work balance, a key factor for leadership", with the participation of Dulce Valeria Cortés, EGADE Business School  alumna and Risk Director at Vector Casa de Bolsa; Sandra Shadick, Consul General of Canada in Monterrey, Mexico; Teresa Galindo, CEO of Lenovo Data Center Group; and Yvonne Ochoa, independent director.

Another panel held was "Generating a new work ecosystem", moderated by Jaime Martínez Bowness, Director of EGADE Business School, Mexico City site, with Diego Lainez, EGADE Business School alumnus and founder of Dare to Learn; Edith González, Talent and Culture Director, Grupo Financiero Base; Penélope Morales, founder of Nutrigrains and DoRH; and Rosario Toro, Director of Training and Development at  Banregio.

As part of the conferences, Ricardo Saldívar, former president of The Home Depot, offered the talk "Leadership for inclusion and life balance ".

"To be inclusive, we need to eliminate bias, relinquish privilege, and show empathy," he said.

In addition, Samantha Ricciardi, CEO of BlackRock México, offered the talk “Gender equality in the financial sector, a catalyst of development”.