Business Fit Magazine October 2019 Issue 1 | Page 38

Interview
Who are you?
Audrey
Barbier-Litvak
Seize every opportunity that arises,
without fear
As General Manager for Southern Europe,
Audrey Barbier-Litvak is passionate about
innovation and was inspired by the mission of
WeWork. Not only do they create collaborative
workspaces, they are also involved with refugee
initiative, mentorship programmes and
accelerator labs. Here she tells us more about
WeWork and how workspaces are changing.
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This year, we
opened our
first location in
Brussels
I am the General Manager for Southern Europe
at WeWork, based in Paris. WeWork is a global
community platform which provides its members
around the world with space, community, and
services through both physical and virtual
offerings. From startups and freelancers to small
businesses and Fortune 500 companies, our
community is spread across 111 cities and is
home to over 527,000 members. stride, encouraging both my teams as well as my
children to seize every opportunity that arises,
without fear. I believe if you harness your energy
to reach goals instead of obsessing about what
could go wrong, you will be surprised at how
much you can achieve!
I feel very fortunate to be living and working in my
home city, and it’s great to have Paris as the base
for our Southern Europe headquarters. I grew
up in this city with my parents and two younger
brothers and went to school locally. Having
initially studied Law, I decided to change my
career path and went on to achieve a Masters in
Marketing and I developed a real love for digital
marketing. In between pursuing my career within
this industry, I had four children (including twins!)
before joining several e-commerce companies,
including Rocket Internet where I met my current
manager, Anthony Yazbeck, Managing Director,
Internal Operations, who introduced me to
WeWork. I’ve always recognised the importance of
maintaining a balanced professional and
personal life and am grateful for the flexibility I
have with my job at WeWork which has allowed
me to make time to spend with my family. At
work, I make sure to engage with the WeWork
community and join in our events which are
provided for the members –and employees– in
our buildings. I’ve found myself join lunch and
learn sessions, and even spent my mornings at
some of our yoga classes. It’s also been great to
see so many of our members get involved in our
events, especially our large enterprise members,
who make up 40 percent of WeWork’s global
community. They participate with entrepreneurs
as well as members from smaller companies,
and it’s been fantastic to watch these different
business groups interact. These events allow
me to reset and take time out of my day to
concentrate on myself as well as maintain my
concentration; my days at work can be very busy!
From the moment I set foot in a WeWork, I
knew it was something I wanted to be part
of. I was also inspired by the mission of the
company. Anthony hired me to join as General
Manager of Southern Europe, and not only have
I been impressed by how much of a difference
WeWork is making in the world, be it through
the collaborative workspaces, refugee initiative,
mentorship programmes or accelerator labs, but
also the dedication demonstrated by WeWork
employees. I’ve met incredible people since
joining the company: working across different
cultures and countries has led me to new teams
across the business and to learn new ways of
working. It’s been an incredible journey so far,
and I look forward to continuing our growth
across the region: in September this year, we
opened our first location in Brussels and I can’t
wait to build our community there.
What is the single best piece of
business advice which helped
shape who you are now?
The best piece of advice I have received is that
“fear doesn’t prevent danger”, which I apply to
both my professional and personal life. It helps
reset my mind to not be afraid of taking risks and
has allowed me to chart an exciting career path
so far. I have definitely taken this notion in my
Does “Balance” in life exist for
you? How do you achieve it?
If you were in the jungle what
kind of animal would you be
and why?
I feel very strongly about female leadership and
empowerment. We recently found that within
the WeWork global community, 39 percent of
all senior roles (executives, senior managers,
managers and sole proprietors) at WeWork
member companies are held by women,
compared to 24 percent of those roles held by
women globally. I think being a woman in my role
as GM has helped inspire my team and other
women in the WeWork community, too.
With this in mind, I would be a lioness;
combining tenacity, female power, strength and
determination. For me, a pride of lions represents
our strong community –both members and
employees– at WeWork, demonstrating complex
teamwork, strategic planning and that sense of
community and belonging. I also love the idea
of being ruler of the jungle, but I think that’s my
ambitious streak revealing itself!
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