Deloitte SheXO Club

We celebrated the tenth anniversary of the Deloitte SheXO Club in the Old Burgrave’s House of the Vyšehrad fortress. We decided to show the successful ladies a significant historic site: During a guided tour, they learned about the history of the Vyšehrad fortress itself, and they also visited interesting places such as the Brick Gate built in the Empire style. Together, we walked through the Vyšehrad casemates and finished the tour in the underground Gorlice Hall. We spent the rest of the evening in the beautiful premises of the Old Burgrave’s House accompanied by music performed by the STRO.MY Ensemble.

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On 21 June 2023, the 22nd Deloitte SheXO Club was held at the National Museum of Agriculture. During the Zero Waste cooking and planning workshop in the Gastrostudio of the museum, the ladies learned many useful techniques to minimize food waste and how to effectively plan a menu, while also cooking something good at the same time. Furthermore, there was a guided tour of the fallout shelter and last but not least, the ladies could enjoy a unique view of Prague from the roof of the museum.

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The third ten events of the SheXO club opened in January with a meeting in cooperation with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. It took place in Prague's Rudolfinum and this time it was in the name of harmony. In addition to a harp and oboe performance, the ladies could also enjoy a lecture on women in the Philharmonic Orchestra and music-oriented workshops, where they focused not only on musical instruments but also on choreography. They then put their newly acquired skills to good use during a joint performance in the Dvořák Hall. The evening then concluded with a view of Prague at night from an unusual place, the roof of the Rudolfinum.

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Comfortable footwear was a must for the summer meeting of the SheXO Club. The main programme was a guided tour of the Prague Zoo in Troja. The ladies who were present particularly enjoyed the visit to Darwin's Crater, where they could get a close look at the life of its curious inhabitants from Australia and Tasmania - wombats, Tasmanian devils, and kangaroos. The end of the evening was marked by traditional networking. All the ladies also supported the zoo, as the tickets to the event served as meal vouchers for the animals. 

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The first meeting of the Moravian SheXO Club in history took place in the Crystal Hall of the Old Town Hall in Brno. The main topic of the evening was the technological research of stress, which was debated by women experts from the academic and business spheres. The evening started with a guided tour of the Town Hall Tower, where the ladies present could enjoy the view of the city at sunset. Then it was time for a panel discussion, the main topic of which (the technological research of stress) was discussed by prof. MUDr. Julie Dobrovolná, Ph.D., and doc. PhDr. Martina Rašticová, Ph.D., and Kateřina Lesch, Ph.D., data analytics manager at Deloitte, who also deals with stress indicators. The subsequent networking, which included a tasting of a soft anti-stress drink, took place to the accompaniment of piano music. 

How does it feel to stand under the lights of cameras? The ladies from our club can tell as they gave it a try at the first club meeting in the New Year, which took place in the Deloitte Digital Studio. In the beginning, the ladies had a media training session led by the journalist Matěj Rychlý and, in smaller groups, went to individual workshops afterwards. They could choose three of the eight prepared topics. What was arranged for the ladies this time? In the virtual studio, they could experience a job of a weather presenter. At another stand, they learnt that a mobile phone is enough to take a quality photo and how to do it. They also found out what options virtual reality brings about in practice nowadays, how to get ready for live streaming, or what are podcast preparation and background like. The interested could try new improvisation techniques or get their make-up done by a professional make-up artist. Wearing a new makeup, they could head to a professional photographer who gave them advice on how to pose and look to the camera during a photo shooting and took pictures of them. The ladies left the first year’s meeting of the SheXo Club not only with some valuable advice but also with a new profile photo. 

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The September meeting of our Ladies’ Club took place at the National Museum. This time, the Ladies visited the exhibition Kings of the Sun, which documented the greatest archaeological discoveries of Czech Egyptologists connected with the research at Egypt’s Abúsír. The Ladies were guided through the exhibition by Miroslav Bárta, the leading Czech Egyptologist and one of the exhibition’s co-authors, and by Veronika Dulíková and Lucie Vendelová Jirásková. They could see many unique exhibits and learned a lot of interesting information about the progress of the excavations, successes of Czech Egyptology, the life of Egyptian kings and queens and the life and customs of common people in ancient Egypt. After the exhibition viewing, a cocktail followed, during which the Ladies could engage in conversation with the experts as well as with other club members. 

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European Women on Boards (EWoB), a non-profit organization advocating for gender diversity on boards, announced the Gender Equality Awards 2020 and the results of Gender Diversity Index 2020 (GDI) during live stream from Deloitte studio in Prague. We were proud to stream and moderate such as important topic as the female corporate leadership is, as well as to share the best practice from European companies. Did you know that 14% of companies listed at the GDI, have at least 40% women in leadership positions? Compare to 8% last year we see a significant improvement.

Specific times call for a specific SheXO Club. Its 16th edition was held online for the first time – live streamed from Deloitte studio in Prague in cooperation with the U.S. Embassy in the Czech Republic on the occasion of the Global Entrepreneurship Week 2020. The guests talked about up-to-date topics such as how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected business, leadership and our work habits. In which areas did women stand out? To what extent was the role of employees a crucial one? Listen to what Diana Rádl Rogerová (Managing Partner at Deloitte), Simona Kijonková (CEO of Packeta Holding, Zásilkovna) and Jitka Schmiedová (HR Director of Veolia) have experienced during the coronavirus pandemic. Cheryl Edison (CEO of Edison) unveiled how to use visionary thinking to increase the resilience and prosperity of a company in these uncertain times. Christina Sharkey, Counselor for Commercial Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in the Czech Republic hosted the event.

This time it really was an extraordinary experience. The August Club’s gathering was organised in cooperation with the Czech Women’s Leadership Forum at the U.S. Ambassador’s Residence. Our host was Jennifer Bachus, the Deputy Chief of Mission. We had a chance to enjoy a guided tour of the villa which was built by Otto Petschek in the 1920s for his family in the Neo/Baroque style. After the tour we enjoyed a very pleasant networking cocktail in the Residence garden.   

Our guest Jeffrey Schonberg, an acclaimed American anthropologist, gave us a lecture on a very serious social topic – homelessness. 

Jeffrey discussed with us his experiences with homeless people, what their lives are like and what they expect from us. We also talked about how could we and our government make them a part of the society and how could we improve their lives. 

Jeffrey Schonberg is a lecturer at San Francisco State University, co-author of a book Righteous Dopefind (which deals with the homelessness issue in San Francisco), and a recipient of the Paul Farmer Global Citizenship Award from the Center for a Public Antropology.

This time, we invited the Ladies from our SheXO Club directly to our office, on a guided tour through our new business premises located in Vinohrady. More than 50 visitors did not miss this opportunity. During the tour, the attendees were presented interesting stories connected with the construction and were able to see all the rooms and spaces. Among the speakers at the event were, for instance, Michal Kunc, who designed the inventive interior of the building together with his team. Another speaker was Pavel Streblov, the business director of Penta Real Estate. The guests invited to the event included the Rector of the University of Economics in Prague, Hana Machková, and the Vice-Mayor of Prague 2, Alexandra Udženija. The event was topped with a pleasant sit-down with good food and drink on the roof terrace where all the ladies could enjoy the splendid view of Prague’s centre adorned with a magical sunset. 

Were you unable to participate in the 13th SheXO Club event? It’s okay! You can read a news story about it.

The gathering took place at the Institute of Molecular Genetics in Prague – Krč (IMG), where under the leadership of experts we examined the laboratory CZ OPENSCREEN focused on research in the field of chemical biology and genetics and familiarised ourselves with work involving Czech Bioimaging, thanks to which we have the opportunity to observe previously hidden processes in cells, tissue and organisms.

There could not be a more appropriate venue for a May meeting of the SheXO Club than the Fata Morgana glasshouse in the Troja Botanical Garden, which is why we invited the ladies there as part of their next event. Almost 50 ladies from Czech and international business enjoyed a pleasant evening in the presence of butterflies, tropical plants and exotic delicacies.

Were you unable to participate in the 11th SheXO Club event? It’s okay! You can read a news story about it.

Did you know that a scientific facility outside Prague houses the most powerful laser in the world that could bring the water in the Lipno Dam to the boil in 10 seconds? The amount of steel used in its construction was the same as that used in the construction of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. This time, the SheXO Club rode the technological wave, organising the anniversary 10th SheXO Club session at the Eli Beamlines laser centre in Dolní Břežany. During the tour, the ladies took a peek into the research hall and, using virtual reality glasses, tried out what the other possibilities of using lasers are. They got completely carried away by the lecture given by the successful scientist Kateřina Falk, who explained the concept of lasers as well as her work in astrophysics. Her fresh and entertaining approach proved that science is in no way a boring thing. The event was rounded off by a raffle and by handing over a cheque to the Deputy Mayor of Dolní Břežany, consisting of financial contributions from individual ladies. Thank you!

Were you unable to participate in the 10th SheXO Club event? It’s okay! You can watch a recording.

Ladies attending the 9th meeting of the SheXO Club had a unique opportunity to watch the sunset on the roof of the Lucerna Palace and enjoy a view of Prague spires. The main reason why the meeting took place in the Lucerna cinema was to screen the stories recorded as part of Deloitte’s project entitled “Making an Impact that Matters”. The ladies met with one of the project participants, the aristocrat Constantin Kinský. Along with his wife, he talked about his participation in the project as well as about the chateau in Žďár nad Sázavou where he and his wife managed to interconnect history, art and modern technology in a fascinating way. They were then welcomed and accommodated in an attic apartment by the well-known Prague coffee bar owner Ondřej Kobza.

The SheXO Club cooperates with the Sisters of Mercy of St. Borromeo Hospital in Prague. In the first project, the ladies helped the Detoxification Centre for Children and Youth in this hospital, where they prepared afternoon leisure activities for the hospitalised children on weekends. The children also enjoyed the ladies’ hand-made cakes.

Five interiors for five modern families, furnished by five Czech architects precisely in line with their current situations and interests. Would you like to live in an apartment like that? For now, you can take a look at five of them; just as the ladies did as part of the 8th edition of the SheXO Club when they visited the Squat id23 project at Pařížská Street, where they admired interesting interior solutions and designer features selected with care so as to match the concept of each interior.

The seventh SheXO Club was welcomed on the historical premises of the Na Vinohradech Theatre by its director Tomáš Töpfer and the actor Petr Rychlý. The ladies explored the mysteries of the theatre’s recesses and got a first-hand experience of the spotlights on the stage.

Tomáš Šebek, a surgeon who cooperates with Doctors Without Borders, told the ladies in a very engaging manner about his work and experience from missions in Afghanistan and Haiti. The sixth SheXO Club took place in a coffee shop where refreshments were provided by people with mild disabilities.

At the fifth SheXO Club meeting, the ladies were personally received by John Mucha in the neoclassical villa at Hradčanské náměstí, which was built by his grandfather Alfons Mucha. He showed them veritable historical gems from his family’s collection and presented them with a book with Alfons Mucha’s illustrations, complete with John’s personal dedication.

The long-term cooperation between Deloitte and Designblok led to a meeting with international artists during the fourth SheXo Club. The exhibition at the Industrial Palace inspired the ladies to learn about new trends in design in the Czech Republic and abroad.

This time the ladies were treated by the British Embassy in Prague and Her Excellency the Ambassador Jan Thompson. While the ladies were getting acquainted with the impressive rooms of the Residence, they were accompanied by Jan’s two exquisite cats, as the ambassador had left for a dress rehearsal at the Kolowrat Theatre. She starred in the performance of Much Ado about Nothing with the Prague Shakespeare Company.

At the following meeting of the SheXO club, the ladies met the young talented musician Sebastian Kitzberger, a student at the glass studio of the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design, who was able not only to exhibit his work at the premises on Rohanské nábřeží in Karlín as part of the SheXO klub, but also had an opportunity to gain invaluable knowledge about the business environment.

The very first SheXO Club took place in the Library of the Strahov Monastery. The unique atmosphere of the historical library and the genius loci of the Premonstratensian Order inspired the ladies to work on the first joint projects.