Young Managers Reimagining the Future of Leadership

On 11 February, CEC European Managers welcomed a diverse group of young leaders and managers to its headquarters in Brussels for an in-depth discussion on the future of leadership in Europe.

The roundtable brought together professionals whose daily work spans the European ecosystem, connecting the corporate sphere, civil society, trade unions, political movements, advocacy organisations and youth initiatives. The diversity of sectors and national backgrounds created a conversation firmly anchored in European reality.

Thies Julius Lorenzen represented Nestlé, contributing insights from a global company engaged in EU government relations and sustainability debates. Katja Grossmann and Yannick Ba joined from Bayer, offering perspectives from senior management and technical programme leadership within a multinational industrial context in the pharmaceutical sector. Their contributions highlighted the challenges of competitiveness, innovation and responsible corporate governance in a rapidly evolving market environment.

Suzi Nandera brought experience from both The Investment Association and Sense International. Drawing on her work across finance and the non profit sector, she stressed the importance of ensuring that economic transformation and technological progress do not deepen inequalities. Inclusive leadership must remain central to Europe’s long term stability and social cohesion.

Iris Sibilla represented CESI, the Independent Trade Union Confederation, ensuring that the discussion reflected the realities of social dialogue and workers’ representation across Europe.

From the civil society and advocacy field, Alberto Vela of the European Environmental Bureau emphasised the need for strategic focus in times of multiple crises. Young generations must fight. Emanuel Ferreira from the European Movement International underlined the continued importance of European engagement and citizen participation in sustaining democratic confidence.

Saul Kenny from Article 109 contributed reflections informed by legal and institutional expertise related to European governance from an international perspective, with the view on reforming and improving the United Nations.

The political and youth perspectives were articulated by Marta Marcos Salleras of the Volt Party and Jose A. Reyes of Youth Agenda, both highlighting the expectations of younger generations for coherence between political ambition and practical delivery. David Joon from Cronos Europa added a communications and EU affairs dimension, illustrating how leadership narratives are shaped within the Brussels policy environment.

Several participants reflected on the uniqueness of Brussels as the setting for such a dialogue.

As a city where European institutions, corporate actors, trade unions and civil society organisations interact daily, Brussels provides a rare space for direct cross sector exchange. Its proximity to decision making centres reinforces the practical relevance of debates on leadership and responsibility.

The discussion forms part of a broader reflection contributing to an upcoming book project led by Olivier Maffrand, Founder of Singulair, exploring the structural challenges redefining leadership and economic governance.

As Olivier Maffrand stated during the exchange, “We cannot speak about the future without listening to those who are already building it. This book is an attempt to restore confidence and hope, starting from the experiences of younger generations and more particularly in the economical and corporate world.”

Finally, CEC President Maxime Legrand thanked participants and encouraged them to continue the conversation through innovative social dialogue activities, such as this one.

In COP30 we engaged with several youth organisations in Belém (Brazil), and now we continue this conversation in Brussels. As our members in Denmark always state, we need to speak with the youth and not about the youth.

Maxime Legrand

CEC European Managers

President

For CEC European Managers, the roundtable reinforced the value of providing a European platform where emerging leaders from different sectors can engage directly with one another. The breadth of experience represented in the room demonstrated that Europe’s future leadership will depend on dialogue, responsibility and sustained cooperation across institutional and sectoral boundaries.

The conversation will continue in the coming months as reflections from this exchange feed into ongoing work and the forthcoming publication.