Anne Simon is the Executive Director of Soroptimist International of Europe. Strong of its 100’000 members in 125 counties, the NGO is the largest worldwide service organization of professional women standing for the advancement of the status of women and their rights, gender equality, empowerment and leadership. It holds consultative status with the UN, ECOSOC and the Council of Europe.

Prior to that, Anne Simon worked with PricewaterhouseCoopers for some 20 years in various positions and locations, including Geneva, London, New York and recently in the Middle East (Dubai) where she launched and led the PwC Middle East Strategy and Research Unit, assisting governments in their positioning strategies. She conducted major socio-economic researches and studies in the area of economic development, education and gender.

Within her portfolio, she developed and co-authored a pioneer report ‘The Arab Women Leadership Outlook’ that explored issues facing Arab Women Leaders. It analyzed women’s empowerment and leadership in the Arab world and explored enabling environments and opportunities instead of looking exclusively at the traditional social barriers.

Prior to Dubai, Anne Simon worked in New York as the Director of PwC Global External Affairs. She successfully led numerous partnerships including those with the World Economic Forum and Davos, the TransAtlantic Business Dialogue (TABD), the UN Global Compact, and created a wide variety of management programmes to support regions and leaders in optimizing their strategies and global visibility. She collaborated with international experts including the World Bank, the International Labor Organization, the Arab League, Harvard Business Schools, Simmons Management University, and Columbia University, creating case studies, international benchmarks, and recommendations for women’s empowerment.