Summitting the mountain



Monday, February 3, 2025

Anneke Wolvekamp is the Director of Change and Development at Athora Netherlands, a leading pension and life insurer in the Netherlands. She unpacks how a beloved literary character, a master’s degree in history and a picture of a mountaintop set in motion a series of events that led her to great heights in life -- and her career.

The term ‘mountaineering’ conveys a dedication to the pursuit of reaching and conquering summits while enjoying the natural beauty of mountain environments. For Anneke, being a mountaineer also extends to her professional career. She likes to operate within a capable, resilient team with a can-do attitude that is in pursuit of concrete results – much like a mountaineer will utilise their individual and team’s combined skills to summit a mountain. She will always be a mountaineer at heart, and credits this passion as the reason why she was drawn to a job ad for the insurance brand Zwitserleven at the beginning of her professional career.

Embracing change

Anneke fondly recalls: “I spent my twenties traveling and climbing mountains, and when it was time to consider a corporate job, that newspaper job ad featuring a beautiful mountaintop felt serendipitous. In turn, the company saw something in me and realised I could add value as a manager.” Over the course of her career, she has worn many different hats at Zwitserleven. She became increasingly active in the change organisation between business and IT, which ultimately culminated in her position as Director of Change and Development at Athora Netherlands. She credits her master’s degree in history as an invaluable tool within the landscape of change management. “History teaches you to be conscious that change is perpetual, and that embracing change can be the key to moving forward.” As Anneke’s career progressed, she supplemented her knowledge with agile-SAFe trainings and other specific skills trainings that helped her flourish in her different roles within the field of change management.

Unlocking solutions

Today, Anneke is the manager of a large-scale change programme amounting to millions of euros per year. This huge responsibility includes organising the flow of the programme, ensuring that their teams have the right capabilities and capacities, and facilitating access to suitable knowledge for employees to solve impediments. Anneke is not, as she articulates, an ‘IT technologist’. She shines wherever she can bring the right resources together to create empowered teams that can solve business challenges. “The answer is usually within the collective, so it’s my mission to bring the right minds together to unlock the solutions.” She is unafraid to keep asking questions within this process, and believes that much of her success is owed to her inquisitive mindset.

Diverse worldviews as an asset

Although Anneke is conscious of the fact that women are still underrepresented in many IT-related fields in the Netherlands, she can report progress since the nineties. “The way that business and IT interact has changed dramatically. Within agile organisations, fusion teams bring business-focused employees and technical resources together. That has given more women a foot in the door, since they have traditionally been more attracted to the business side as product owners and subject experts.” She strongly encourages women to pursue technical careers, believes that the talent is there, and that the potential is waiting to be unlocked. When working with affiliates in a nation like India, Anneke notes that the women seem confident in their technical abilities, and hopes to see this sense of empowerment increasingly reflected in the Dutch tech landscape. “It’s no secret that we have an aging workforce and labour shortages in tech, but there is a real and definite need for what women can bring to the table. I witness how diverse worldviews accelerate problem-solving within teams on a daily basis.”

Inspired by independence

When reflecting on what it is that inspired Anneke to enter the field, she pinpoints an unlikely role model: the beloved literary character Pippi Longstocking. Anneke has always aspired to be like Pippi with her fiery red hair, inner strength, independence and adventurous spirit. Beyond Pippi, Anneke draws everyday inspiration from being part of a strong team where she can experience real connection, as well as a steady stream of supportive colleagues, including many formidable women. Authors like Sheryl Sandberg, former COO of Facebook, have helped encourage Anneke to navigate her identity as a woman within a male-dominated industry, and she has learned to view any negative nuances within the broader cultural context as opposed to taking them personally. Another inspirational insight that Anneke still carries with her, is the 2016 TED Talk by Reshma Saujani, the founder of Girls Who Code, on the topic of ‘Teach girls bravery, not perfection.’ Anneke articulates her personal take-away from Reshma’s presentation: “As women, we do not get out of our comfort zone easily. We do not take risks, and we do not always apply for challenging jobs. But I firmly believe that we have to be brave and encourage other women to step forward. Together, we will summit the mountain.”

This article was originally published in the RightBrains DIGIDIVA Magazine. Check out this year's issue for more inspiration or to get involved!