Making sure that a woman never finds herself alone in the meeting room again

"When a man becomes a boss, we don't ask him how he intends to reconcile his private and professional life," she says Holzinger-Burgstaller. Photos: ALEX HALADA / AFP

Gerda Holzinger-Burgstaller is out to shake up the banking sector: in a world still dominated by men in dark suits, the Austrian wants to break the region's glass ceiling once and for all.

On January 1, Holzinger-Burgstaller took over as head of Erste Bank and its 2,500 employees, combining the roles of CEO, CFO and COO.