Fortune-U.S Department of State Global Women’s Mentorship Program
As part of the United States’ global efforts to create additional pathways for economic equity and opportunity, the U.S Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs along with companies, including SAP, take part in a mentorship program that pairs leading American women executives from within the Fortune Most Powerful Women’s network with emerging women in business from Egypt, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Kenya, Laos, Poland, Serbia, South Africa, Turkey, and Zambia.
2023 Mentee
This year, SAP Chief Trust Office hosted a special guest for this week-long immersive executive shadowing experience. SAP’s mentee for 2023 was Souksaveuy (‘Souk’) Keotiamchanh, the founder of Zero Waste Laos. She has a strong passion and commitment to advancing the state of environmental and sustainability matters for communities in Laos.
During Souk’s time with the Chief Trust Office, she was able to have conversations with leaders from many different departments including Digital Experiences, Global CSR and Purpose & Sustainability. She also spent time with members of the Chief Trust Office team, including Chief Trust Officer,
Elena Kvochko. By participating in these series of meetings, Souksaveuy had a better understanding of how departments work together in a big company such as SAP. She let us know her experience was invaluable and that some of the learnings and key takeaways would be able to help better equip Zero Waste Laos with raising environmental awareness and improving waste management policies in Laos. Some key takeaways included gamification in the workplace, non-financial incentives for volunteers and how to scale organizational success.
Souksaveuy is an award recipient of the ‘2022 Winner of Women of the Future’ Awards in Southeast Asia, representing the ESG category. She leads 80 young people and has engaged more than 10,000 young people joining Zero Waste Laos activities for 3 years. Her work is focused on waste management, climate action, youth development and gender equality, and promoting SDGs. She has been engaging and building partnerships with various stakeholders to support the youth movement such as government, private sector, development partners and NGOs. Learn more about Zero Waste Laos
here.
