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One Sponsor. One Woman. One Year. A new initiative connects some of automotive’s most accomplished female leaders with women ready to take the next step in their careers.
Women Automotive Network today launched its Executive Ambassador Programme: a one-year initiative that turns the experience, influence and networks of senior automotive leaders into meaningful support for the next generation of women in the industry.
For years, some of the industry’s most accomplished female executives have joined Women Automotive Network as keynote speakers, panellists and role models. The programme takes that relationship further, giving senior leaders a way to stay actively involved in another woman’s development, beyond the stage and beyond a single event.
Rather than asking what the network can offer senior leaders, it asks a different question: how would you like to use your experience and influence to support another woman?
One Sponsor. One Woman. One Year.
The idea behind the programme
The programme is deliberately designed to go beyond conventional mentoring. Each Executive Ambassador will support one carefully selected woman from the network for a full year.
There is no prescribed meeting schedule and no standard curriculum. Each relationship is shaped around the ambitions, challenges and opportunities of the woman being supported.
That support may include executive mentoring, career guidance and strategic advice. It may also be more active: an introduction to the right person, greater visibility, advocacy for an opportunity, access to a new network, or help opening a door that might otherwise stay closed.
A mentor
Offers advice based on her own experience.
A sponsor
Goes further: advocates for you in professional settings, recommends you for opportunities and opens doors to conversations and networks you could not easily reach alone.
The first Executive Ambassadors bring extensive leadership experience across automotive, technology, procurement, software, people leadership and board-level roles.
Barbara Frenkel
Former Board Member, Porsche AG (Procurement); Supervisory Board Member
Nina Röck
VP Software Drive & Comfort, Renault Group
Renate Vachenauer
Member of the Supervisory Board, Diconium Group; former Member of the Board of Management for Procurement, AUDI AG
Sabine Kohleisen
Independent Non-Executive Director, Quest Global Services Ltd; CEO and Co-Founder, Aidana Advisory GmbH; former Member of the Board of Management, Mercedes-Benz Group AG
Sabine Scheunert
Former MD Eurocentral, Dassault Systèmes; former VP Digital & IT, Mercedes-Benz; first female automotive CEO in China
Melanie Schuttenberg
Board Member, TAJCO
Each has committed to supporting one woman through the programme over the next year.
“Experience only becomes meaningful when it is shared. I’m here to pass on what others once invested in me: confidence, clarity, and opportunity.”
Barbara Frenkel · Executive Ambassador
“A one-to-one relationship creates the trust and openness needed to share not only experience, but also the lessons, challenges and turning points behind it.”
Renate Vachenauer · Executive Ambassador
“Talent is rarely the issue. Having someone who sees your potential, challenges your doubts and stands firmly beside you can make all the difference.”
Melanie Schuttenberg · Executive Ambassador
An Executive Ambassador is not expected to fill one fixed role. Over the year she may act as any of these:
Mentor Coach Sponsor Advocate Connector Strategic sounding board Leadership role model
The aim is not to deliver a predetermined programme, but to find where her experience and influence can make the greatest difference.
That also places responsibility on the woman being supported. Participants are expected to arrive prepared, define what they want to achieve, follow through on agreed actions, stay open to candid feedback and take ownership of their own professional decisions.
Success won’t be measured by the number of meetings held. An important career moment might come from months of guidance — or from a single introduction, one piece of candid advice, or one senior leader saying someone’s name in a room where an opportunity is being discussed.
At its heart, the programme strengthens the connection between generations of female automotive leaders. The ambition is a sustainable cycle: established executives actively supporting women coming through the industry, and those women returning later in their careers to do the same for someone else.
The most senior women in the network will no longer return only as speakers or role models. They will return as active contributors to another woman’s future.
Applications open · 2027 cohort
The Executive Ambassador Programme is by invitation only. But the belief behind it — that the right person in your corner can change the course of a career — is the same one that drives our Mentorship Program, and applications for the next cohort are now open.
The Mentorship Program matches women in automotive, at every career stage, with a senior leader from across the global industry who has navigated the path they are on.
1000+
mentorship pairs
169
companies
96%
say it furthered their career
72%
stay in touch with their mentor
4×
more likely to apply for a promotion
Key dates for the 2027 cohort
Applications close
January 2027
Matches announced
February 2027
Format
4 months · every 2–4 weeks
Open to Annual Ticket holders and Sponsor Attendees. Not sure if you qualify? Apply anyway and our team will guide you.
Senior leaders from OEMs, suppliers and technology companies worldwide.
Angeles Rodriguez Terron
Bosch
John Moloney
BlackBerry QNX
Ian Plummer
Auto Trader
Sophie Pohlmann
Volkswagen
Damaris Agressova
Valeo
Patrycja Matusz-Zagozdon
ZF Group
Soyoung Jang
Festo
Christiane Stein
Mobility Global
Kruti Joshi
Jaguar Land Rover
Denisse Puentes
BMW México
Mandy Böbinger
Renault Trucks
Katharina Gierse
FORVIA HELLA
For organisations: give whole teams access to multiple mentorship cohorts each year through Corporate Membership. Talk to our team →
One Sponsor. One Woman. One Year.
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Everyone who signs up to a 2027 Summit waitlist is automatically entered into a prize draw. One winner will receive a complimentary full-access ticket to their chosen Summit.
