10 May 2021

Female Leaders@TUI – Susanne Gauglitz

TUI has many successful female leaders in a wide range of areas. In our series “Female Leaders@TUI” we feature these colleagues and their inspiring thoughts on the subject of equality in interview form. This time we talked to Susanne Gaug‍litz, Finance Director Central Region and CFO Finance for TUI Germany.

Who is your role model as a female leader?

With regard to people who are role models for me, I have actually never thought about their gender until now, but two women from my personal environment immediately come to mind, and those are my two grandmothers. Both of them successfully led their families with a very clear value system in very different ways, with very different professions (one a chemist, the other working at home) through what were sometimes very difficult and challenging times.

Each year we ask ourselves the same, important question: Where does our society stand in terms of female leadership? And what about TUI?

From my personal experience I can say: I have always perceived TUI as a diverse group of open, interested and enthusiastic people. I got to know and appreciate great managers on my way at TUI, who supported and encouraged me, who kept options open for me even during the time of the birth of my two children and gave me every opportunity for further development. I never had the impression of a “glass ceiling”. In Finance & Controlling at TUI Deutschland, more than half of the managers are currently female.

What is more difficult, in my view, is our (German) society, which is still stuck in old role models; a society that, when I was becoming a mother, looked critically at mothers who returned to work after 6 or 8 months of parental leave, taking advantage of a daycare center. There is still a way to go here today. The discussions in this context – also in my private environment – as well as my own inner conflict and my own demands did not make it easy for me to take the step back into professional life and to develop into more responsible positions.

There is a lot of talk about the specifics and qualities of female leadership. How are you leading?

With trust, respect, appreciation, transparency – and fun.

What is your advice for young female professionals regarding growth in their careers?

Do what you enjoy and care about with passion and energy. Take active responsibility, stay curious, think in terms of solutions and not problems, show your will to grow, get feedback, reflect on yourself, but above all, trust in yourself, in your skills and in your ability to develop and multitask.