Susana Malcorra
“What is transferable from one arena to another is passion. The challenge is to identify the bottom line”
Susana Malcorra became Dean of the IE School of Public and Global Affairs in March 2020.
She was Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship of the Argentine Republic from December 2015 to July 2017. After her resignation as Foreign Minister, she was appointed Minister Advisor by President Mauricio Macri and, in that capacity, she was the Chairperson of the WTO Ministerial Conference (MC11) hosted by Argentina in December 2017.
Minister Malcorra holds a degree in Electronics Engineering from the University of Rosario and has 25 years’ professional experience in business in technology sector (IBM and Telecom Argentina). She began her corporate career as a Systems Engineer at IBM eventually moving up to CEO at Telecom Argentina, the third-largest company in Argentina at the time.
In May 2008, United Nations Secretary-General appointed Ms. Malcorra Under-Secretary-General for the recently created Department of Field Support, where she was charged with providing logistical, communications, personnel, and financial support services to Peacekeeping Operations overseeing a budget of eight billion dollars.
In April 2012, Ms. Malcorra was appointed Chief of Staff to the Secretary-General.
Ms. Malcorra has been affiliated with multiple Think-tanks, Foundations and NGO’s related to matters of democracy, global governance, leadership and gender.
“Success requires the passion that nourishes empathy, fosters flexibility, instills humility after setbacks, and ensures adaptability in reaching the bottom line”
In Pursuit of what Matters
There are various types of leadership. Positive leadership generates emulation. This type of leadership exemplifies a series of skills, qualities and aptitudes that make it possible to achieve objectives within a company, an institution, and society in general. Being able to share experiences, learnt from different decision-making processes and practices and understand what made them possible, is essential.
This is Susana Malcorra’s greatest contribution through her book, In Pursuit of What Matters: Passion for the Bottom Line. Female Leadership in the Face of Big Decissions.
Susana Malcorra’s Experience in public/private work and her key role in leading important developments as Chief Operating Officer of the world Food Program and Chief of Staff to the Secretary-General of the UN, made it possible for her to accumulate a series of experiences that can be passes on to others through lessons learned. The book points out three very relevant aspects, among many others: a passion for the task at hand, empathy to undertake consensus-building, and perseverance and tenacity for effective achievement. All of this within a context in which the low representation of women in decision making positions is evident. The role of women is fundamental to transforming leadership. This will ensure greater cooperation and sustainable peace at the global level.
