Name: How to Overcome Bias and Succeed in Any Culture (EMEA)
Start: 2025-12-11T10:00:00+00:00
End: 2025-12-11T12:00:00+00:00

How to Overcome Bias and Succeed in Any Culture (EMEA)

Inclusive leadership is no longer optional – it’s a business differentiator. When leaders understand cultural nuance and adapt with awareness, they drive stronger collaboration, innovation, and long-term growth.

Join Paula Costa, Global Category President at The Coca-Cola Company, for a candid exploration of how inclusive leadership fuels global business success.

Paula will share how leaders can identify and challenge everyday bias – in communication, expectations, and decision-making – to lead with clarity and credibility across borders. With three decades of senior leadership experience spanning Coca-Cola, Diageo, and Unilever, she has seen firsthand how adaptability and respect for difference unlock better decisions and more sustainable outcomes.

This session applies Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions to real business contexts and uses the Johari Window to explore how leaders can close self-awareness gaps to lead more inclusively and effectively.

A WeQual Awards Alumni and senior business leader, Paula Costa has built global brands by combining commercial rigor with inclusive leadership. She believes diverse thinking and open dialog are the engines of performance.

Takeaways:

Recognize cultural blind spots that limit impact

Strengthen decision-making across global contexts

Apply Hofstede’s model to enhance collaboration

Use Johari’s Window to strengthen self-awareness

Drive outcomes that benefit business, people, and the planet

Paula Costa

The Coca-Cola Company

Global Category President

Paula Costa is Global Category President for Emerging Categories at The Coca-Cola Company, where she leads global strategy and portfolio development for the Alcoholic Ready-to-Drink category, overseeing brands such as Jack & Coca-Cola, Bacardi & Coca-Cola, Absolut & Sprite, and Schweppes Mixed.

With more than 30 years of leadership experience across world-class organizations including Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola HBC, Diageo, Electrolux, L’Oréal, Samsung, and Unilever, Paula is recognized for delivering growth through transformation and strategic clarity. She is known for reshaping markets, building high-performing teams, and driving long-term, sustainable success.

Winner of the WeQual Awards – Americas (Transformation Category, 2021), Paula brings a global perspective and a passion for developing leaders who create impact through inclusion, adaptability, and purpose. Originally from Brazil, she now lives in Zurich with her husband.

Emma Hicks

WeQual

VP of Memberships & Programs

Emma Hicks is VP of Memberships & Programs at WeQual, where she leads the global executive and rising leader communities, curating development programs that combine strategic learning with peer connection and accountability.

An experienced strategic leader, Emma has over 20 years’ expertise in executive and board-level development across global sectors. A Fellow of the Learning and Performance Institute and certified by the Institute of Directors and Association for Talent Development, she has previously held senior roles with the Institute of Directors, Connectr, and Reed Learning.

Emma’s career is grounded in building leadership capability that drives business performance and sustainable growth. Her sessions balance professional rigor with open conversation — helping leaders clarify their direction, build influence, and translate insight into action.

Ovin Mohan

WeQual

Director Leadership Development

Ovin Mohan is an executive coach with over 20 years’ experience developing senior leaders across FTSE and Fortune 500 companies. Known for his pragmatic and empathetic style, he has coached more than 1,000 executives worldwide, helping them strengthen clarity, focus, and personal leadership impact.

Ovin’s background spans corporate leadership development and organizational psychology, with a master’s in occupational psychology and a career that has included designing award-winning leadership programs for global organizations, including Apple, Barclays, and the NHS.

At WeQual, Ovin facilitates executive coaching and group sessions that blend honest reflection with actionable strategy. His approach helps leaders recognize behavioral patterns, navigate pressure with confidence, and reset priorities to sustain long-term performance.