In a Nutshell
Evelyne Freitag is a Non Executive Director and independent Board Advisor with international operational experience in the industrial sector - from healthcare, automotive to fast moving consumer goods, infrastructure and energy, up to pension funds and banks.
As an experienced NED (chairwoman or member), she drives - in addition to the traditional monitoring function - topics such as business model development, governance and efficiency of committee work, risk strategy and sustainable and measurable ESG strategy.
Experienced change agent, she advises as a Board advisor family offices, companies and their executive managers on their international deployment strategies and supports them in their digital and sustainable transformation.
For more than 30 years she has - as a managing director and CFO - controlled billions of sales and was responsible for thousands of employees in companies such as Daimler/Mercedes, Kraft/Mondelez, Pentland, Goodyear-Dunlop, Pfizer and Sanofi.
She publishes articles and guest commentaries in business newspapers and books and gives lectures and keynotes at business conferences (multilingual E/D/F). She also demonstrates social commitment for instance as an advisor to the public and private sectors in her role as French Foreign Trade Advisor in Germany.
Non Executive Director & Board Advisor
SUPERVISORY & ADVISORY BOARDS
Board Advisor Familiy companies & Family Offices since 2022
KfW IPEX-Bank GmbH since 2022
Member of the Supervisory Board, credit and risk committeesIVA Valuation & Advisory AG since 2023
Deputy Chairwoman of the Supervisory BoardHPS Home Power Solutions AG 2022-2023
Member of the Supervirsory BoardPensionskasse der Hoechst Gruppe VVaG 2017-2021
Chairwoman of the Supervisory BoardFuture Capital AG 2017-2021
Member of the Supervisory Boardeuromicron AG 2016 -2019
Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board
OTHER ACTIVITIES
French Foreign Trade Advisor since 2019
Member of the German Board
Founder & Head of the French German “Health Expert Group”.Financial Expert Association (FEA): Member since 2015, Regional Board Director Rhine-Main (up 2019)
European Women on Board (EWOB), member since 2023
German-French Business Club, Member since 2017
HypoVereinsbank: Women’s Advisory Board 2015-2019
MANAGERIAL EXPERIENCE
Sanofi 2017 – 2022
Member of the Executive Board & Chief Financial Officer
Region Germany, Austria, SwitzerlandGoodyear Dunlop 2011 – 2017
Director Business Transformation EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa)
Managing Director/Chief Financial Officer Germany, Austria, SwitzerlandGemeinnützige Hertie Stiftung 2009 – 2011
Managing Director of berufundfamilie gGmbHPfizer Deutschland GmbH 2002 – 2009
Vice President Finance & Supply ChainPentland Deutschland GmbH 1998 – 2001
Managing Director & Chief Financial OfficerDaimler Group 1991 – 1998
Project Manager Smart Car & mobility (Switzerland),European M&A debis Systemhaus,
Daimler Group Planning & Strategy,Controlling Mercedes plant Sindelfingen
Kraft Jacobs Suchard, France 1989 – 1991
Controller Confectionery Division
A Selection of Publications see all articles
Laissez-faire and hope are not a strategy! How the Supervisory Board increases the value of the company instead of destroying it.
Even in difficult times with multiple crises and high financing costs, there is hope... but not as a strategy! Indeed, resilience starts earlier: with diversification in the supply chain, in the targeted markets, the products and sources of financing, but above all with a well-thought strategy.
A strategy that must be checked in terms of consistency between stakeholder mandate, customer value drivers and internal capabilities of the company. This requires entrepreneurship and the courage to make targeted investments for a sustainable increase of the value of the company.
A supervisory board alongside the board of directors can make a significant contribution to it...
The supervisory board needs 3D glasses to clearly see hidden risks
We talk about international interdependance and its risks, about opportunities and innovation through experience in a mix of industries, success factors of good committee work, competences in the supervisory board and ethics.
Because in the end the 3D glasses are more like a 3P glasses: Profit, People and Planet!
Supervisory boards must keep an eye on all of these dimensions.
Ode to friendship - 60 years Elysee Treaty are just the beginning and the foundation for the European transformation
Germany, France and all of Europe are facing a variety of challenges. We have to tackle them. And that takes speed, courage and perseverance.
60 years is reason for a really good balance sheet. But they are not the end, it is just the start! 60 years Elysee Treaty are just the beginning and the foundation for the upcoming European transformation!
An advice to the Generation Y: Don’t ask what you’re allowed to!
Is there a need for a generational battle between young and old on our management floors? It may sound like a revolution and a new beginning, but the battle is unnecessary. Today’s 50-year-olds have a lot of experience with innovations.
read articleWhy supervisory boards need to reinvent themselves
The responsibility is broad, the liability sometimes higher than the remuneration: the demands on supervisory boards are increasing. What does this mean for their work? Evelyne Freitag believes that courageous teamwork of specialists is required instead of harmonious nice chats.
read articleCovid-19 as a digitalization booster: challenges and solutions for faster digitalization
“Everyone has to learn how to deal with uncertainty. Keyword “risk management”. It’s not about avoiding risk. On the contrary. We have to take more risks. Resilience as a success factor is becoming part of the new normal.” says Evelyne Freitag
read articleA Selection of Lectures, Keynotes & Panel Discussions see all events

"Financing Change by changing Finance" - A way to a Green Vision
Malta Green Vision Summit 2024
"Is ESG still relevant or victim of the multiple crises?"
Handelsblatt CFO Summit 2024 2024
"Today's investments for tomorrow's value"
Handelsblatt Jahrestagung Restrukturierung - Tag der Wirtschaft 2024
ESG & Sustainability: Luxury or Must have?
PWC - Workiva 2023
Future of Work 2023
Frankfurt School of Finance and Management 2023
Geopolital risks - Options for German companies' action plan
Handelsblatt Webtalk 2023
European Healthcare Sovereignty
Panel French Embassy Berlin 2022