Women in the C-Suite

Chantal has extensive HR, executive coaching, and humanitarian experience. Since 2001, she has worked at Value Retail – creator and operator of The Bicester Collection – initially as Group HR Director and most recently as Chief Culture Officer. Before this, Chantal worked as HR Director at Polo Ralph Lauren and as Project Leader at UNESCO, supporting various global humanitarian initiatives.

She is also the founder of social enterprise Brides do Good. Harnessing the power of the bridal industry for good, Brides do Good is built on the idea of connecting women to protect vulnerable young girls. By donating, selling, or purchasing wedding dresses from Brides do Good, brides and supporters positively impact the lives of girls in need while also combatting fashion's impact on the planet. A third of the social enterprise’s profits fund charity programmes to protect the futures of millions of children who are at risk of early marriage and provide the education and tools they need for a brighter future.

In 2019, Chantal spearheaded the launch of DO GOOD by The Bicester Collection. The global charitable initiative drives sustainable social impact by supporting ten charities, with a focus on empowering women and children by unlocking their futures.

Claudia Țapardel has amassed extensive political, legislative, business and communication experience throughout her career. She is currently a known global public speaker and an expert in international and European affairs. She has also run and hosted TV talk shows for DCNEWS, a Romanian media platform. She has held various leadership positions in both the private and public sector.

In 2014 Claudia was elected Member of the European Parliament, being one of the youngest MEPs and drove several important dossiers in the fields of transport, travel and tourism in the EU and everything related with the Digital Agenda. She was the Chair of the Intergroup for Tourism Development and Cultural Heritage and a member of the Committee for Transport and Tourism; the Delegation for relations with the countries of South Asia; the Delegation to the EU-Mexico Joint Parliamentary Committee and the Delegation to the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly.

Prior to European politics, Claudia spent more than six years in top level public administration as General Counsellor for the Romanian capital, Bucharest. She is also a Lecturer at the Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Faculty of Administration and Public Management.

Claudia Țapardel knows the ins and outs of the most complex political environments from her time in Brussels and Bucharest. As a public figure, she has a great deal of experience in public communication and relations with media representatives, television, radio and PR agencies. She has hosted two TV shows, featured in around 400 press releases and more than 500 TV talk shows and interviews on national and European stations, representing the European Parliament and speaking about its activities, and also debating important economic topics.

Desirée Bollier serves as Chair and Global Chief Merchant of Value Retail, creator and operator of The Bicester Collection, widely recognised as the best performing shopping destination portfolio in the world.

Desirée’s career started in the United States, with various retail management roles culminating as Senior Vice President of Retail at Polo Ralph Lauren for Europe and the Gulf, before joining Value Retail in 2001.

Her leadership has seen Value Retail’s unique business model generate consistent double-digit growth in sales every year, beginning with the opening of its first project in 1995, Bicester Village, until 2019. In 2021 total gross sales were almost on par with 2019.

Desirée is a driving force behind placing premium shopping tourism firmly on the global stage. In 2012, she became the first retailer to become a Member of the World Travel & Tourism Council, which led to an invitation to join the Executive Committee. In 2019 Desirée was appointed regional Vice-Chair for the European Union and the United Kingdom at the World Travel & Tourism Council.

A passionate supporter of young talent and the arts, Desirée is a Patron of the British Fashion Council, a member of the Advisory Committee for the US-based communications agency Violetta Group and sits on the Corporate Advisory Board of the Royal Academy of Arts.

An alumna of Harvard Business School, in 2019 she graduated with a certificate from the Owner/President Management programme (OPM).

Julia is the CEO and President of the World Travel and Tourism Council. She spent 14 years in the aviation sector on the Board of British Airways and Iberia and as Chief of Staff at International Airlines Group. Before joining British Airways, Julia was Senior Adviser to the UK Prime Minister. She held a number of key positions in the UK government and public sector, including Director at the Home Office and Department for Education and Employment; Assistant Chief Executive at the London Borough of Camden; and Head of Communications at the Communication Workers Union. Julia is also on the Board of the London Chamber of Commerce.

Maribel is an Executive MBA with over 25 years of experience in the travel and tourism industry. After building a career in the commercial aviation and hospitality industry she joined WTTC in 2014 as Europe & Latin-American Director. Since 2019 she has served as Senior Vice President at WTTC, looking after commercial, membership and events including the internationally recognised Global Summit.

In 2020, Maribel founded Women Leading Tourism, whose mission is to foster and promote the presence of women in the highest corporate governance bodies in tourism, in accordance with the quantity and quality of female employment in the sector.

Before working for the WTTC she managed the launch and development of the commercial low-cost aviation model in Europe in pioneering companies like Virgin, Go Fly, EasyJet, and Ryanair. She also worked at British Airways as Sales & Marketing Director for Spain, Portugal, and France. Prior to this she spent six years working in hospitality at Travelodge Hotels Spain as CCO and as elected Board Member of the Corporate Association of Hotels in Madrid (AEHM) and the Madrid Tourism Promotion Commission.

Maribel has an extensive network and experience at C-Level and with other decision-makers in the public and private sector. She holds an Executive MBA from ICADE Business School, a degree in Industrial Psychology from the University of Salamanca, and is an alumna of the IESE Business School and JSF Travel & Tourism School’s Senior Executive Program for Travel & Tourism.

Rebeca is an Investment Manager at the European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund, the venture arm of the European Commission. She also serves as a board observer at a number of companies. A passionate European, she is a thoughtful leader in innovation and tech start-ups, and a natural social connector. Rebeca has more than 18 years’ experience managing international EU projects and building partnerships. She is an advocate for women closing investment and funding gender gaps, and also mentors female founders. She is also a board member of not-for-profit Impulse4women, which connects female tech entrepreneurs with investors, and an alumna of the UCLA Anderson School of Management’s Women on Boards Leadership and Management Programme – W50.

Iran-born entrepreneur Anna Nooshin is not one to limit herself to just a single line of work. After moving to The Netherlands at seven, she studied communication science at the University of Amsterdam and began a career in the PR and entertainment industry. Her book On Top, which charts her success, was published in 2015, the same year in which she was hired by RTL Boulevard as a fashion and lifestyle expert, with a combined 1.2 million followers on YouTube and Instagram.

Recently, Anna launched her own luxury beauty line, Noosh, that prides itself on being cruelty-free, vegan-friendly, and made in Italy. Additionally, she’s the co-founder of the highly successful interactive museum The Upside Down in Amsterdam, the latest addition to her list of highly anticipated creative outlets. Anna prides herself on being outspoken and uses her platforms to tackle a variety of topics, all supported by the promising line in her Instagram bio that reads: “I regret nothing you see in this feed”.

Miluska van 't Lam is an experienced editor with an in-depth knowledge of the publishing industry. She previously worked at Residence Magazine for eight years, the last five years of which were as Editor-in-Chief. In 2018 she founded her own company ‘Miluska, The interior Editor’.

Today Miluska is Editor-in-Chief of Harper's Bazaar Netherlands, where she is on a mission to inspire women to be the best version of themselves and achieve their ambitions. Beauty, art, jewellery, interior and travel are among her favourite topics. She chose to pursue a career in the fashion world because she believes in the inspirational power of beauty. She sharpens her mind through decoration, art, travel, beauty and design.

Miluska shines a light on ambitious women of all generations, hoping to support them in their leadership and personal development, to empower them and to help create a more open world. Harper's Bazaar Netherlands produces a wide variety of content across print, online and podcasts, as well as hosting events.

Corina Crețu is a Member of the European Parliament and former European Commissioner for Regional Policy. She serves as a full member of the European Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control, Committee on Regional Development and the Delegation to the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee. She is also a substitute member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. Corina has been a Member of the European Parliament since 2007 and, prior to becoming an EU Commissioner in 2014, she chaired the Committee on Development and served as a Vice President of the European Parliament. In 2000 she was elected Member of the Romanian Parliament and, in 2004, to the Romanian Senate. From 2000-2004, Corina worked as presidential spokesperson in the Cabinet of the President of Romania, later becoming presidential advisor, and Head of the Public Communication Department. Corina graduated from the Academy of Economic Studies of Romania, Faculty of Cybernetics, in 1989.

Vera Tax is a Dutch Member of the European Parliament in the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats. She is a full member of the European Parliament’s Committee on Transport and Tourism and a substitute member of the Committee on Regional Development and the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality. Previously, she was an alderwoman for social affairs in her hometown of Venlo (Limburg, The Netherlands). Together with colleague Agnes Jongerius she founded ‘Omdat ik het verdien’ (‘Because I Deserve It’), an initiative that campaigns against unequal pay between men and women.

Portrait of Miluska van’t Lam, credits: Marc van Praag.