We attach great importance to fostering equality and diversity within our teams. Interview with Lyuba Paunova, Eastern Europe HR Lead, Bayer
Have you encountered a business mentor during your career – someone who helped you develop?
I had several mentors through my career and each of them played a key role in my development, not as career progression, but in developing my capabilities and perspectives. My first mentor was actually my first work leader. She learned me the HR basics and that HR is not administration, HR stands shoulder to shoulder with business and cocreates with business leaders, that HR is about the people and caring. This belief is deep in my heart and by the way we are still friends although our personal paths separated long years ago. My second mentor, is a great leader, someone who I truly admire. He played key role in my “growing up” and maturity as a person and as a leader.
I had few formally assigned mentors during my career, but I think the ones who played the transformative role actually came naturally, as I was looking for advice, feedback and how I can do better. Mentorship creates value only if you’re open to seek feedback, listen, learn, be vulnerable and share, be open minded. That’s why at Bayer we are eager to support initiatives created by our employees themselves – such as GROW, which takes into account individual preferences and career aspirations in developing career – e.g. leadership skills, supports working in an international environment, and provides access to mentoring and coaching programs.
Does the fact that the most important traits of a good leader, such as empathy, understanding, and a pro-social perspective on the organization, are traditionally attributed to women work to their advantage?
Empathy and caring are important for being a good leader and probably these traits are more associated with women. But strategy, direction, risk undertaking are also very important leader’s traits and here we can argue whether these are male or female traits. I’m generally not supportive of prejudice. Each leader is a blend of strengths and some capability gaps. Mindfulness and willingness to develop is what makes difference.
What is the current situation of women in your industry? Do they have the necessary support to achieve success similar to yours in the future?
In Bayer we do put significant attention on ensuring equality and diverse in our teams, as we believe this sets our teams for success. We regularly follow indicators to ensure good balance in our workforce and talents. Our business leaders have KPIs related to DEI for their performance. We made significant progress in increasing the number of women in leadership roles. For example, in Poland women hold 48% of these positions. The share of women at Bayer Poland’s team reaches 61%. Even in the IT area – typically associated with men – we attract more women: the Digital Hub in Warsaw (focused on developing innovative digital solutions in medicine, pharmaceuticals, and agriculture) employs 25% women, which is significantly above the Polish IT industry average of around 16%.
I’m really happy that the last year we have accelerated programs supporting women in their development.
What was the most challenging challenge you faced during your professional career? How did you cope with it?
I had many challenges during my career. I had a period when I hardly collaborated with my manager (this was before Bayer), as i was in a disagreement with many of the approaches, but then I put my focus on the mission of my work – the people. I have been through various business transformations and these always are a challenge as they come with many impacts and require stretching our limits and getting in the „unknown”.
I had moments when I struggled balancing between work and family. I have one very strong such moment – my oldest son was two months old when I got the offer by Bayer and i was dreaming to work for a company like this, with global span and possibilities to connect, learn and develop. Bayer values and mission – addressing the most pressing challenges of today’s world in the areas of health and agriculture, guided by science and sustainable development, with clearly defined priorities in leadership, integrity, flexibility, and efficiency – were fully coherent with my personal values, so i was convinced i should accept. I had two „once in a life” opportunities at the same time – growing up my son and growing up myself. So I just selected not to give up on any of them and live them both. I mobilized and put my whole energy and passion in both and I made it. Now looking back, I’m not sure I will be that bold, but I’m still committed to grow through challenges.
Has success in business changed you? How do you compare the current you to the person you were at the beginning of your career?
I wouldn’t call it success, for me it’s a journey with its moments of satisfaction and disappointment. After 23 years I’m still hard working and highly accountable. I was grown up like this and it’s part of my nature and what makes me pleased. But I feel much more mature than 20 years ago. Now I’m aware of my triggers and I’m mindful of my reactions. I’m much more caring for my inner world and emotions and much better prioritizing. I’m grateful and glad I chose a career path at a company where I can grow professionally while also leading a sustainable life.
What do you think motivates women the most to achieve further successes and break barriers?
I believe for every human being it’s important to get approval, recognition, confirmation. Thus seeing that “I can do” and “If there’s a will, there’s a way” realizing, is a great driver. Fair and equal treatment and opportunities also set the environment for people success. That’s why I’m glad that at Bayer we can jointly carry out many initiatives supporting our female employees. These include Leadership Link – a women’s leadership development program; Menopause Coffee – a safe space to talk about menopause, open to men as well; Women in STEM – a mentoring program in Poland for women who want to develop their skills in technology.
Do young women who are currently taking their first steps on their professional path have an easier road to making a career than when you started your business journey?
I believe there were limitations and opportunities back then, there are such, but different ones, nowadays. It’s trues 20 years ago, the topic of DEI was not a key topic in the organizations, but in Bulgaria, the country I’m coming from, women are historically significant part of the workforce. Today many companies, as part of their campaigns to support women professional development, offer child care support, mentoring programs, virtual assignments (no need to change location) and people can work hybrid or fully virtual. Our female colleagues at Bayer can benefit from many such initiatives – including programs taking their health needs into account while supporting career aspirations. As a company from the healthcare sector, we understand how important it is to integrate health and professional perspectives at work. For instance in Poland, our female employees appreciate the possibility of flexible working hours, allowing them to take care of personal or family priorities. They also actively participate in workshops with doctors and health experts, which help them understand changes in the body at different life stages, as well as wellbeing workshops that develop skills for managing stress and maintaining mental health.
It is totally different from the moment I started my first job. And as said, I believe difficulties build us, so never ever give up.
Lyuba Paounova
Head of Human Resources for Bayer’s East Europe Cluster, covering 17 countries. Previously, she served as Managing Director of Bayer Bulgaria for four years. Lyuba Paounova joined Bayer in 2015 as Head of Human Resources for Romania, Bulgaria, and Moldova. Prior to joining Bayer, she held senior HR positions in the financial and banking sector. Lyuba Paounova holds a master’s degree in Strategic Management from Sofia University. She is a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
Last Updated on November 24, 2025 by Anastazja Lach