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When Melek Ates stepped into her role as Head of Private and Corporate Clients and a member of the Executive Board at Bank WIR, she joined a 90-year-old cooperative institution to lead it into the future as a unique Swiss corporate and retail bank. With a career spanning corporate banking, retail banking and leadership, her journey has been shaped by a commitment to people, purpose, and performance.
Melek describes her leadership philosophy as “banking for good – for clients and employees”. Managing a team of around 120 employees, she sees digital transformation not as a purely technical shift, but as a human-centered evolution. “For me, leadership begins with the values of people,” she explains. “It’s not about work-life balance – it’s about work-life harmony. Our lived moments should fulfill us, including while we’re at work.”
Her studies in the Executive MBA in General Management with a focus on Digital Transformation at the University of Zurich reinforced what she already knew: transformation isn’t something to fear, it’s something to align with. “You can’t fight the wind, but you can align your kite with it,” she says, drawing a parallel between her passion for kitesurfing and her leadership approach. At Bank WIR, she navigates the delicate balance of respecting tradition while embracing innovation. “Start-ups are born with transformation in their DNA,” she says. “But in an established bank with employees ranging from 18 to 65, we need to reconcile both stability and progress.”
Melek sees digital transformation as an ongoing journey rather than a fixed goal. Her EMBA UZH experience, particularly in working through case studies like Novartis’ human-centric approach, reinforced the importance of servant leadership – empowering employees to drive performance, rather than imposing change from the top down. As the only woman on Bank WIR’s five-member executive board, she is keenly aware of the gender dynamics in leadership. But for her, the focus isn’t on the debate itself, it’s about creating an environment where emotional intelligence and social competence are valued. “Many women, when they reach senior positions, adopt the mindset of the traditional male-dominated environment,” she notes. “But we need to redefine leadership to include empathy and trust.”
During her EMBA UZH, she experienced a significant shift. “For the first time, I was in a learning environment where 40% of the class were women. It gave me the courage to openly discuss emotions and cultural aspects of leadership. Once one woman speaks up, others follow, and then men do too.” This realization fuels her leadership today, where she champions a culture where diverse perspectives are not just accepted but encouraged.
For Melek, leadership isn’t about power, it’s about impact. “At the end of your career, you don’t take power with you, you take the relationships and positive transformations you’ve helped create.” Her guiding principle of leading with purpose, people, and performance is more than a slogan, it’s a commitment to shaping a financial sector that values both human connection and innovation. Her story is a fitting reflection for International Women’s Day, reminding us that true leadership isn’t about fitting into an existing mold, it’s about reshaping the landscape to be more inclusive, forward-thinking, and human-centered.
