Our Current Board

Get to know our board members and the history of our association

If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman.- Margaret Thatcher

President

Rukmani Ganesan

My name is Rukmani Ganesan. I come from India (Madras) and live in Germany, since 2012. After completing my Bachelor of Engineering in Civil Engineering, I had moved to Germany for my post-graduation. I started with my work in Nürnberg in 2015, since then I continue to work here. I am currently working in Siemens as Project Manager for Steelworks.

Those who know me, define me as a cheerful, social and dynamic. I love meeting people and like to take initiative in doing things. Meeting people from varies parts of the world is extremely interesting and is the best way to learn different culture, language etc.

As a foreigner, life in Germany is not that easy and its quiet challenging in all ways. German being not that easy to learn, for other language speakers, sometimes even a small timely information would be of great help for someone, who is in need. Having these things on mind, a group friends and me had founded indisch-deutscher verein ingolstadt in 2015. I particularly worked for building a platform/network for women from India living in Ingolstadt to get connected and help each other. I had enjoyed working with women in Ingolstadt and organizing events for and with them. It wasn’t easy for me to work in Nürnberg and work for the organization in Ingolstadt. That's when I started looking for organizations in Nürnberg, so that I could continue to help and be connected. It’s a wonderful feeling to work in a team for the betterment of small small things for people around us. IWG is doing a great job by creating an excellent platform for all the international women in Franken. I am really excited to join the new board of IWG and associate with the international women in Franken.

I would like to focus on creating awareness of basic rights and bureaucracy that exist in Germany. This awareness would help us to understand the German system in a better way and would make us feel secured and being home.

Email Rukmani: Iwgfranconia@gmail.com

Treasurer

Neena Jhanjee Pinto

Neena rolled up her sleeves and got on board running from her first meeting with the IWG which was co-incidentally the night of the Annual Board Election Meeting. She volunteered and was elected treasurer for 2018-19.

Neena was born and lived in India till 2016 when she moved to Germany and launched her ventures, Diva Odysseys and Diva Localization . She's a woman of varied interests, with a Masters Degree in archaeology, a banking career most of her corporate life, and a passion for travel which is now also her vocation.

Neena's earlier career included roles at Birla AT&T, HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank, Capvent and Peter Pan Academy . She supports projects dedicated to women empowerment.

During her term with IWG, Neena plans to apply her experience to the Club’s projects and finances. Along with work, she also hopes to build new friendships and connect with genuine and passionate people.

Email Neena: Iwgfranconia@gmail.com

neenajhanjee@gmail.com

Vice President

Anna Gross

My name is Anna, I am Polish and I came to Germany in September 2017.

Prior to this I lived in various countries - I was studying in France for a year, and after my graduation and first working experiences gained in Poland, I was transferred to the headquarters of my employer to Vienna, Austria where I worked for 4 years. In 2015 I moved to Malta and stayed there till mid-2017. These experiences of living the expat life helped me realise how much the international communities matters, and how important it is to integrate them with the local life. With this in mind I decided to join IWG and make a positive input into the life of international women like myself.

Professionally I am marketing & communications manager truly passionate about brands. I have always enjoyed my work, and find it very rewarding to develop and execute successful communication strategies. I graduated in marketing and management and completed a second faculty in banking and finance. I used to work on various marketing & PR positions in the financial sector: in mBank Poland, belonging to the Commerzbank Group and in the Austrian insurance group UNIQA - first as PR manager for Poland and than as international marketing manager for Central Europe. My last position before becoming a mom was brand manager at Vodafone Malta.

Currently I am enjoying my maternity leave and I live in Nuremberg with my family - my husband, our little son, and Nacho the bulldog.

I speak Polish, English and French fluently, and have a decent command of German.

in my free time I enjoy travelling far, especially to Asia and Africa. I am PADI rescue diver, hold a license for sailing and power boat and completed a ski-instructor course. I love horse-riding, animals and nature.

Email Anna: Iwgfranconia@gmail.com

Events Coordinator and Webmaster

Sangeeta Kumar

My name is Sangeeta Kumar, I am a Indian and have been living in Germany for a very long time now and am therefore very active in Erlangen.

I love working together in a team,

I love meeting new people and love working with children. I would also love to help all who lovely ladies here and am here for you anytime you need me. Please feel free to ask any questions and contact me anytime you like. I would feel very honored to help.

Please feel free to contact me anytime you like, I would love to help you and feel at home. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Email Sangeeta: Iwgfranconia@gmail.com

Sangeeta.joshi@hotmail.com

Newcomers Representative

Diana Schlotter

My name is Diana and I moved from Budapest, Hungary to Germany at the end of 2016. I can understand how difficult a moving can be, and how strong the desire to find other interesting people and making friendships is. As an HR professional I am really passionate about understanding people’s needs and helping them to find their way. In Hungary, I used to work for a Big4 company, and now I am a part of a professional marketing agency who supports adidas. Living in Herzogenaurach with my family (3-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son) is a wonderful experience of my life and I never forget the help I received from other ladies when we arrived and did not know anybody. “Women help women” is the aim of this community, which I can fully support with my previous experience and enthusiasm.

If you just have relocated to the Nuremberg-Erlangen-Herzogenaurach area or would like to be a part of a motivating community who can offer you interesting programs do not hesitate to contact me.

Email Diana: Iwgfranconia@gmail.com

History of the IWG

The International Women's Group (IWG) was founded in 1995 by 8 women of different nationalities. Because their husbands worked at Adidas, the company supported the group in getting started and has remained committed.
In the beginning, the women met informally to exchange their experiences of living "abroad" and share useful information about their host country of Germany.
As the number of international employees of companies such as INA, Puma, Siemens and others increased, the membership of the IWG increased as well. With this growth, the IWG found a more formal structure necessary. Therefore, in October 2000, the group was officially registered as a non-profit organization. At this time, a board consisting of seven members was established.

International Women's Group e.V. in Herzogenaurach, Germany | Impressum