To mark International Women’s Day 2026, Euronext is hosting events across its locations, bringing together colleagues, clients and external speakers to reflect on this year’s theme: “Balancing the scales.”

In Amsterdam, one of the guest speakers is Zita Schellekens, Senior Vice President of Strategy, Sustainability and Transformation and member of the executive committee at KLM, who also sponsors the Women on Board employee resource group. Zita Schellekens shares her perspective on leadership, transformation and the role of inclusion in building competitive and fair organisations below.

Balancing growth, responsibility and sustainability

In the aviation industry, balancing competing priorities is a structural reality. For Zita Schellekens, “balancing the scales” is not about achieving a static equilibrium, but about continuous recalibration.

“It’s about constantly asking: when do I push, when do I pause, when do I compromise?” Zita Schellekens explains. “It’s never a steady balance. It requires judgement and creativity.”

Leading sustainable transformation at executive level in a capital-intensive and highly regulated industry means navigating trade-offs between financial performance, operational resilience and sustainability objectives.

“We look for solutions that meet several objectives at once,” Zita Schellekens says. “The challenge is becoming more sustainable while safeguarding long-term financial strength. It’s about finding the right way forward when the choices are complex.”

For Zita Schellekens, effective leadership lies in understanding when decisive action is required and when broader alignment is needed, and in ensuring that strategic ambition is matched by practical execution.

The value of diverse perspectives at executive level

Having worked across sectors and now serving on an executive committee, Zita Schellekens has seen how diversity of perspective strengthens decision-making at the highest level.

“Different backgrounds bring different mindsets,” she notes. “When you have varied perspectives in the room, decisions are more thoroughly thought through.”

She refers to the concept of “red teams” used in high-performance environments, where the explicit role is to challenge prevailing assumptions and stress-test proposals.

“When ideas are challenged from multiple angles, you are better prepared for what may come,” Zita Schellekens says. “Fresh perspectives are particularly important in organisations where people may have worked together for many years.”

At the same time, she emphasises that diversity must be meaningfully embedded into processes rather than treated as a symbolic objective. Creating space for constructive challenge requires intentional design.

From awareness to structural action

As sponsor of Women on Board, Zita Schellekens focuses on translating diversity ambitions into measurable and practical actions. She highlights the importance of addressing unconscious bias. “Awareness is the starting point,” she explains. “Understanding your own biases allows you to make more deliberate decisions.”

However, awareness must be accompanied by structural change. “It’s about organising processes so that different views are actively invited into the room,” Zita Schellekens says.

This includes reviewing hiring and promotion processes to reduce bias, setting clear targets at different leadership levels and ensuring accountability across divisions. Regular dialogue and transparency are essential to sustaining progress over time.

“Everyone is on a different journey,” she notes. “These conversations take time, but clarity on objectives makes a real difference.”

Authenticity, clarity and sincerity in leadership

Looking ahead, Zita Schellekens believes the leadership required to build organisations that are both competitive and fair rests on three qualities: sincerity, clarity and authenticity. “There was a period when many organisations spoke about diversity and inclusion,” she reflects. “The real question is whether we are willing to act in line with what we promise.”

For Zita Schellekens, credibility depends on alignment between declared values and day-to-day behaviour. “What an organisation stands for must be embraced and embodied by its leadership.”

She also underlines the importance of vulnerability. “We often talk about success, but we should also speak about struggles and mistakes,” she says. “People should not feel they have to be perfect to succeed.”

Authentic leadership, in her view, enables more diverse and productive teams not by conforming to a single model of leadership, but by broadening it.

Advice for the next generation

For those stepping into their careers, Zita Schellekens offers a clear message: “Everybody can be a leader, but you have to dare to lead.” Traditional images of leadership, she observes, can still shape expectations. Expanding those definitions is part of creating more inclusive organisations. “Changing this only happens if we change the narrative and practice”, she says. “You don’t need to fit a single mould to have impact.”

As discussions across Euronext’s International Women’s Day events highlight, balancing the scales is not a one-time adjustment. It is an ongoing process that requires courage, openness and sustained commitment.