By Katharina Bart
Female founders, fundraisers, and financial backers are rare in Swiss fintech. Ex-banker Carolina Newton introduces eight of the women breaking the glass ceiling.
The Swiss fintech and traditional financial services industries are improving on hiring more women to increase the level of diversity. Although change is slowly happening in the area, the number of women in leading and impactful positions is markedly small.
Recent studies demonstrate that the Swiss fintech and banking sector is still strongly male driven. The IFZ fintech study of 2021 shows «that over three quarters of Swiss fintech companies do not have female management team or board of directors members. The proportion of all-female management teams and boards of directors is significantly smaller at two and one percent, respectively.
Using fintech as an example, the research paper suggest that Switzerland has a pool of just 78 women acting as board members in these companies. The following women with impressive profiles have managed to break the glass ceiling and are shaping the fintech and banking industry as founders, lawyers, board members or leaders.
Catrina Luchsinger Gaehwiler
A partner at MLL Meyer Lustenberger Lachenal Froriep, Catrina Luchsinger Gaehwiler is an experienced banking and finance lawyer specialized in fintech and distributed ledger technologies. She advised Seba on the launch of an exchange traded products program on the SIX Swiss exchange. Her expertise is recognized by international legal directories such as The Legal 500, Chambers and Partners and IFLR1000.
Angelyne Larcher
The founder-CEO of FeaMoney clinched Hypothekar Lenzburg as a partner last year. Angelyne Larcher’s focus is on supporting and strengthening female entrepreneurs: A portion of the banking app for women’s revenue will be used to support aspiring female entrepreneurs. Previously, Larcher founded multiple start-ups as well as The LadyBoss Network, Fundraising4women, and Swiss Entrepreneurs Magazine. Besides offering investment products and finance know-how, FeaMoney includes a network allowing users to exchange views and experiences in the sphere of finance.
Paulina Grnarova
Armed with a doctorate in computer science from Zurich’s ETH, Paulina Grnarova co-founded DeepJudge in 2021. As the CEO of a tech company and an AI scientist she stands out in a male-dominated industry: “Inspiring other women to follow a similar path is a positive side effect of my efforts,” said Paulina. DeepJudge wants to revolutionize how lawyers do standardized tasks by analyzing and cross-referencing documents with contextual awareness. The start-up recognizes and understands concepts without them being mentioned explicitly – the resulting efficiency gains aim to provide a competitive advantage to law firms and financial institutions.
Melanie Gabriel
The marketing chief of Yokoy is also an active promoter for gender equality and diversity: Melanie Gabriel founded We Shape Tech in 2019, the same year Yokoy took shape. The start-up automates spend management for medium and large enterprises with artificial intelligence, combining expense management, supplier invoice management and smart corporate cards into one single intuitive platform.
Georgette Vun
Gentwo’s general counsel Georgette Vun was part of the core team ever since the securitization fintech was founded three years ago. An ex-UBS banker, she also has a passion for sustainable finance and contributed a chapter in «Theories of Change,» a book on sustainable development published by Springer. Vun continues to work with Gentwo, which turns investment ideas into conventional investment certificates, through her own firm, Sustainable Structuring and Advisory.
Karen Wendt
The founder of SwissFinTechLadies is a serial entrepreneur and CEO of Eccos Impact GmbH. Karen Wendt is an expert in responsible investment banking, digital transformation, and sustainable finance. The editor of books on ethics and on sustainable development, Wendt also lectures “The Fourth Industrial Revolution and Its Impact on Ethics” and “theories of change” by Springer. She is also a lecturer on behavioral finance, impact investing, quality assurance, governance, and change leadership at Munich’s FOM University of Applied Sciences.
Ruth Mojentale
The co-founder and CEO of Fintune spent more than 20 years in banking, including in project management. Ruth Mojenale launched Switzerland’s first digital piggy-bank at Credit Suisse, an experience which led to the start-up Fintune, which is launching a connected digital savings bank for kids called “Finny”. The idea is to offer a safe environment for kids to make their first experiences with money and increase financial literacy.
Christine Demgenski
A veteran of UBS’ technology and digitization efforts, Christine Demgenski is Awina’s chief product officer. The start-up went live in November and supports families in financing daycare and ensures reliable monthly payments for daycare, including interest. Demgenski, who holds a Masters in international relations, worked in non-governmental organizations prior to her banking career.
Using fintech as an example, the research paper suggest that Switzerland has a pool of just 78 women acting as board members in these companies. The following women with impressive profiles have managed to break the glass ceiling and are shaping the fintech and banking industry as founders, lawyers, board members or leaders.
Catrina Luchsinger Gaehwiler
A partner at MLL Meyer Lustenberger Lachenal Froriep, Catrina Luchsinger Gaehwiler is an experienced banking and finance lawyer specialized in fintech and distributed ledger technologies. She advised Seba on the launch of an exchange traded products program on the SIX Swiss exchange. Her expertise is recognized by international legal directories such as The Legal 500, Chambers and Partners and IFLR1000.
Angelyne Larcher
The founder-CEO of FeaMoney clinched Hypothekar Lenzburg as a partner last year. Angelyne Larcher’s focus is on supporting and strengthening female entrepreneurs: A portion of the banking app for women’s revenue will be used to support aspiring female entrepreneurs. Previously, Larcher founded multiple start-ups as well as The LadyBoss Network, Fundraising4women, and Swiss Entrepreneurs Magazine. Besides offering investment products and finance know-how, FeaMoney includes a network allowing users to exchange views and experiences in the sphere of finance.
Paulina Grnarova
Armed with a doctorate in computer science from Zurich’s ETH, Paulina Grnarova co-founded DeepJudge in 2021. As the CEO of a tech company and an AI scientist she stands out in a male-dominated industry: “Inspiring other women to follow a similar path is a positive side effect of my efforts,” said Paulina. DeepJudge wants to revolutionize how lawyers do standardized tasks by analyzing and cross-referencing documents with contextual awareness. The start-up recognizes and understands concepts without them being mentioned explicitly – the resulting efficiency gains aim to provide a competitive advantage to law firms and financial institutions.
Melanie Gabriel
The marketing chief of Yokoy is also an active promoter for gender equality and diversity: Melanie Gabriel founded We Shape Tech in 2019, the same year Yokoy took shape. The start-up automates spend management for medium and large enterprises with artificial intelligence, combining expense management, supplier invoice management and smart corporate cards into one single intuitive platform.
Georgette Vun
Gentwo’s general counsel Georgette Vun was part of the core team ever since the securitization fintech was founded three years ago. An ex-UBS banker, she also has a passion for sustainable finance and contributed a chapter in «Theories of Change,» a book on sustainable development published by Springer. Vun continues to work with Gentwo, which turns investment ideas into conventional investment certificates, through her own firm, Sustainable Structuring and Advisory.
Karen Wendt
The founder of SwissFinTechLadies is a serial entrepreneur and CEO of Eccos Impact GmbH. Karen Wendt is an expert in responsible investment banking, digital transformation, and sustainable finance. The editor of books on ethics and on sustainable development, Wendt also lectures “The Fourth Industrial Revolution and Its Impact on Ethics” and “theories of change” by Springer. She is also a lecturer on behavioral finance, impact investing, quality assurance, governance, and change leadership at Munich’s FOM University of Applied Sciences.
Ruth Mojentale
The co-founder and CEO of Fintune spent more than 20 years in banking, including in project management. Ruth Mojenale launched Switzerland’s first digital piggy-bank at Credit Suisse, an experience which led to the start-up Fintune, which is launching a connected digital savings bank for kids called “Finny”. The idea is to offer a safe environment for kids to make their first experiences with money and increase financial literacy.
Christine Demgenski
A veteran of UBS’ technology and digitization efforts, Christine Demgenski is Awina’s chief product officer. The start-up went live in November and supports families in financing daycare and ensures reliable monthly payments for daycare, including interest. Demgenski, who holds a Masters in international relations, worked in non-governmental organizations prior to her banking career.
