Medis CEO Maja Strnad Cestar is the recipient of the prestigious Artemis 2024 Award for outstanding achievements in leadership. The award is presented annually by the Managers’ Association of Slovenia to those female managers who have taken on the highest management position in their company for the first time and who stand out with their leadership style.
Since joining the company 23 years ago, Maja Strnad Cestar has held several management positions at Medis. Prior to assuming the top position in August 2023, she was Chief Operating Officer, responsible for improving the business performance of companies in the region. She led a team of directors and managed the development of Medis subsidiaries in Central and Eastern Europe.
Working Together and Networking for Shared Success
Maja Strnad Cestar describes her leadership style as inclusive and collaborative. Upon receiving the award, she stressed the importance of cooperation between different employees:
For me, the biggest challenge was to admit that I don't know and can't do everything on my own. That is why I involve people from different professions, with different skills, different ideas. And together we achieve success.
Despite significant progress in gender equality, there is still a gap in the representation of women in management positions. Raising awareness of this issue among the general public, decision-makers and, last but not least, women themselves through projects such as the Artemis Award helps to raise awareness of this issue. The Artemis Award inspires women to have the courage to take on management positions and to use their potential and talents, as they can make an important contribution to the success of a company. Medis is proof of this, with women holding 72% of management positions in the company. As Maja Strnad Cestar said:
Women are naturally self-critical and cautious, which is probably why we are less likely to choose leadership roles. But I also believe, and have proved it through myself, that if we want something, we can do it and do it well. So girls, the world is ours!
About the Artemis Award
The Artemis Award is presented by the Managers' Association of Slovenia to individuals who have held a top management position (Director, CEO or Chairman of the Board) in a commercial or non-commercial company employing more than 50 people. The recipient must have been in office for at least 12 months and the company she leads must be profitable. This award is just one of the many initiatives that the Managers' Association of Slovenia has been working on for many years to improve gender balance at the highest levels of business.
