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The rise of women to management is a reality at AGS. 30 September 2007

It comes as no surprise that positions of authority and decision-making are still not accessible to women. More women are entering the work market, and despite this, most managerial positions are still held by men.

The conditions within the AGS Group allow for equality of opportunities, and this has enabled women to occupy strategic positions. There are many examples of women in the hierarchy of authority within the Group. Special attention is given to those women who have achieved Branch Director status.

The first woman under the spotlight is Anne-Marie Guirourd-Aizee. Having joined AGS Martinique in 1985 as an Administrative Assistant, Anne-Marie was appointed as Administrative Manager of AGS Marseille in 1989. In 1998, Anne-Marie was promoted to Administrative Director of the southern region of France. From 2003 to 2005, Anne-Marie was entrusted with several work assignments of importance within our AGS African network. In May 2005, Anne-Marie was appointed as Branch Director of AGS Mayotte. After two successful years Anne-Marie has, in January 2007, succeeded Pierre Hotz, a recent retiree, as the new Branch Director of AGS Tahiti. Anne-Marie dedicates an enormous amount of her time and energy to the company, and she is also a mother who enjoys DIY projects at home.

Another success story is that of Annie Bourgeois. Before joining the AGS Group, Annie was a Management Assistant who was responsible for Marketing in France, Chad and Martinique. In 1990, Annie joined the AGS Group as a Director’s Assistant in Mayotte until 1996. Thereafter, Annie went to Cameroon, and stayed there from 1997 to 1999, after which she arrived in Togo. Ever since June 2002, Annie has been successful in managing the AGS Frasers Togo branch.   Annie   enjoys travelling (she dreams of adding Kilimanjaro to her list of conquests), sports, reading and going to the movies.   The AGS Group also counts among its ranks Anabela Brites, who is the Branch Director of AGS Lisbon since February 2007. Born in Portugal, Anabela studied in France, then spent a year in England, followed by another year and a half in Germany in order to improve her foreign language skills, before returning to her home country in 1994. In 1996, Anabela joined AGS and was part of the creation and development of AGS Lisbon, and following her   impeccable   professional   journey,   has  assumed the position of Branch Director for AGS Lisbon.   Ingrid Lamblin, of Hungaro-French origin, returned to Hungary and began her career in the international transport industry 16 years ago. In 2001, Ingrid joined the AGS Group as a sales representative. Ingrid is fluent in French, English, Hungarian, Spanish, and speaks a bit of Arabic and German. Ingrid was promoted to Branch Manager of AGS Budapest on 1st April 2007, and has a wealth of experience in the removals and relocations industry. Ingrid’s motivation stems from her willingness to help people, and she is actively involved in several charity organisations in Budapest. More recently, Ingrid devotes much of her free time to raising her two children, a little girl 4½ years of age, and a little boy only 23 months old. Macedonian born Marija Angelova studied Languages and International Business in Skopje, in conjunction with the University of Rennes, in France. Marija speaks fluent French, English, Italian, Bulgarian, Serbian, and a bit of Romanian, Greek and Spanish. Marija joined the AGS Group in 2004 as a sales representative, where she learned every aspect of the removals industry. For two consecutive years from 2005, Marija attained 4th and 5th place at the AGS Europe network Sales Contest. Marija’s dynamism, thirst for knowledge and strong capacity to adapt, all amounted to her nomination as Director of AGS Skopje on August 1st 2007.

Other well deserving women within the AGS Group have assumed the responsibilities of Branch Directors, such as Bettina Priilaid in Namibia, Chantal Robert, first in Mauritania and  now in Rabat (Morocco), Jocelyne Mulera in Tanzania and Venus Havenga in Lesotho. All of these outstanding women have been noted for their competencies and dynamism. These women have contributed immensely to the company, and this was immediately recognised. The transport industry is tough, and at AGS, we are delighted to see that women are succeeding brilliantly. Once again, well done Ladies!