DRIVING CHANGE
FROM
THE TOP.
ABOUT US
Our Story
We are building an international community of women executives to bridge the gender gap on corporate boards.
Our Mission
We are empowering women to be catalysts for progress for generations to come.
Our Commitment
We are changing the face of leadership, one woman at a time.
Our Members
Our members include C-level executives from the largest companies internationally, across different industries and with the experience and expertise required to become successful board members.
Locations
The Boardroom strategically lays the foundations to create a strong international network of upwardly mobile women in positions of power.
FOUNDER
Diana Markaki
Founder & CEO | Chair, Swiss Chapter
Diana is an International Lawyer with extensive experience in asset management, capital markets and M&A.
Having worked and lived in New York, London, Athens and Milan, she moved to Zurich in 2014. In 2021, she founded the Boardroom, as a personal business case at Harvard Business School, where she currently serves as Group CEO, leading the company’s expansion across Europe, with the clear mission to increase the number of qualified women on corporate boards.
Currently, she serves on the Board of Directors of 5G Ventures S.A. that manages a multi-million mutual fund investing in 5G technology, where she is also elected Chair of the Audit Committee, and is a Partner at international investment firm Venero Capital, advising on ESG and Impact Investing.
She has also served as an independent board member of Ellaktor Group, a publicly traded international construction group, where she was also appointed on the Nomination and Compensation Committee. Before that, she was Global Director, Group Head of Asset Management at gategroup, a global leader in airline services headquartered in Zurich, responsible for the group’s assets in 60 countries around the globe. She has been also a member of the leadership team at the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) Project in Switzerland, Europe’s largest energy infrastructure project, where she was leading the pre-construction activities along the pipeline route. Moreover, she has served as Group General Counsel in an international energy group, after a successful legal career in M&A and Capital Markets at international law firms in Europe and the US.
Diana holds a law degree and LLM in international law from Athens Law School, and an Executive MBA from Harvard Business School.
GLOBAL CHAIRS
Elena Papadonikolaki
Chair, Greek Chapter
Elena is a Hospitality Executive with more than 20 years of demonstrated experience in Sales, Marketing & Business Development. She developed the essence of hospitality from a very early age, through her family hotel business.
After falling in love with the industry, Elena continued her studies in Hotel Management and Business Administration in Strasbourg and in Paris. She has worked in executive positions Internationally at multiple hotel brands, such as Accor, Hilton, Starwood and Marriott Intl.
Elena moved back from London to Greece in 2009 and after a successful career and a long-lasting relationship with her favorite of all, the Hotel Grande Bretagne, she recently decided to step out of her comfort zone and focus on more entrepreneurial challenges.
Helle Wehl
Chair, Danish Chapter
Helle is a Partner, Attorney-at-Law, MBA at Kromann Reumert.She specialises in business transfers and investments (M&A), transaction-related stock exchange law, company law, and general commercial law.
Helle advises Danish and foreign private equity and venture funds, industrial clients, financial undertakings and owner managers on business transfers and investments, including through corporate structuring, auction processes and minority investments.
Helle has extensive experience in planning M&A transactions, negotiating and concluding shareholders’, investment, and transfer agreements and in conducting diligence reviews.
Elena Spanou
Chair, German Chapter
Elena Spanou is an experienced international lawyer, who has participated in the development of international start-ups in the fields of luxury goods and real estate.
Her interest in setting up and organising legal departments led her to the recruitment world and she is currently Head of Legal – DACH for Pure Search & assisting with the development of Dartmouth Partners in Germany. Her portfolio includes pharmaceuticals, investment banks, asset management & private equity firms, shipping and maritime, defence, manufacturing, automotive and technology companies, as well as law firms in central and northern Europe.
Elena is passionate about diversity and inclusion and from her current position she strives to actively help women gain access to senior positions in the legal world. Over 75% of her placements to date have been women, of which over 50% are mothers.