Lead the Change – Start a Business, Lead, and Take Responsibility @ Female Leadership Day
That’s what it’s all about
What does it mean to start a business as a woman and take on leadership responsibilities in your own company? What specific challenges do female founders often face?
Nationwide, women accounted for only 19 percent of startup founders in 2025, and the trend is downward. Contrary to the national trend, Hamburg recently recorded a record high of about 30 percent women among new startup founders; nevertheless, the gender gap is still unmistakable here as well.
Against this backdrop, “Lead the Change—Founding, Leading, Taking Responsibility@Female Leadership Day” addresses the structural and individual challenges as well as the opportunities that come with founding a business.
For this ninth event in the “Female Leadership Days” series, the University of Hamburg’s Transfer Agency and Pro Exzellenzia are partnering with Startup Port as part of Female Entrepreneurship Week.
What can you expect?
- We’ll start with a keynote talk by Dr. Julia Freudenberg on the topic of leadership and entrepreneurship.
- Afterward, you’ll have the opportunity to join a small group discussion with one of the role models— Lena Gericke, Sogol Kordi, Dr. Julia Freudenberg, and Dr. Kirsten Mikkelsen. All four women are looking forward to sharing their experiences with you.
Keynote: Leadership and Entrepreneurship
by Dr. Julia Freudenberg, CEO of Hacker School gGmbH
More information to follow
Role Model Talk
Lena Gericke
CFO and CEO at Impossible Founders (iF)
“Women in startups and leadership roles are a significant economic lever. Their perspectives fundamentally change how problems are solved and opportunities are identified—that is the core of innovation and growth. However, existing structures are not designed to support work-life balance and diverse career paths and must therefore be fundamentally reimagined.”
Drawing on her experience in scaling organizations and building complex innovation ecosystems, Lena combines clarity with the ability to drive operational implementation. She is passionate about creating the conditions that enable groundbreaking science to evolve into scalable businesses—and thereby laying the foundation for a more resilient and self-reliant European innovation ecosystem.
Sogol Kordi
Founder of myProtectify
“We support victims of domestic violence in leading self-determined lives.”
Sogol is not only the founder of myProtectify but also a survivor of domestic violence. Her personal experiences are the starting point for her mission to support those affected through myProtectify and offer them long-term prospects. In addition to this deep-seated motivation, Sogol brings extensive business experience to the table: she has worked at renowned companies such as Netflix as a team leader and at Airbus as an HR business partner. With myProtectify, she has already won several awards and prizes. Today, Sogol shares her story on many stages—not only as a founder but also as a voice for all those whose stories often go unheard. Her goal: to break a social taboo and spark real change.
Dr. Julia Freudenberg
CEO of Hacker School gGmbH
“Digital education is not an option. It is a prerequisite for social participation.”
Julia is the founder and CEO of Hacker School, through which she is passionately committed to digital education. With a Ph.D. in economics and as a bridge-builder between the IT industry, education, politics, and civil society, she and her team work to promote greater self-efficacy, equal opportunity, and digital literacy among children and young people. The Hacker School teaches young people the necessary programming skills and sparks their interest in careers of the future. She is also a speaker and author of articles and books on digital education and female leadership.
Dr. Kirsten Mikkelsen,
Director of Entrepreneurship, Gender & Education at the Jackstädt Center in Flensburg, Coach for Executives and Teams
“More Courage? — What female founders really need is usually beyond their sphere of influence.”
Kirsten has been working at the intersection of entrepreneurship, science, and education for more than 20 years. Drawing on this wealth of experience, she creates spaces where people and ideas can reach their full potential. As an entrepreneurial ecosystem architect, she champions inclusivity; as an expert in entrepreneurship education, she trains future changemakers. In addition, as a systemic coach, she guides executives and teams in shaping the future. She combines entrepreneurship, design thinking, and coaching into a powerful practice.
A Full Day Dedicated to Female Leadership
The keynote speech and role model talks at “Lead the Change—Starting a Business, Leading, and Taking Responsibility” will take place on Female Leadership Day as part of Female Entrepreneurship Week (FEW). Before and after the event, there will be additional events on the topic of female leadership that you can register for.
Language
German
Accessible
No
Target Audience
Female students, female researchers, doctoral candidates, female entrepreneurs, and female executives in companies and institutions
Registration
Space for the event is limited. We’ll let you know in a timely manner whether you’ve been assigned a spot.
We also ask that you briefly tell us what motivates you to participate in an exchange with your preferred role model. Please note: This choice is not yet binding and is intended to help us plan for capacity. Assignments to role models will be made on-site on the day of the event.
Registration
by November 10, 2026
Christine Tiedemann
Project Manager Startup Port
Veranstalter
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