Leila Summa has a passion for data-driven innovation: her world is digital media. For 22 years, she has been responsible for and accompanied digital transformation and pioneering initiatives in media, IT, HR, marketing & sales. Companies bring her in to build up an area at maximum speed, restructure it, professionalize it and make it fit for the future.
 

PLAY TO CHANGE GMBH: FOUNDER / MANAGING DIRECTOR

Since December 2016, she has been working in different positions (Co-Founder, Advisor, Mentor, Advisory Board and Board of Directors) for various companies. With her company "Play To Change GmbH", she uses her network of experts as Interim Chief Transformation/Sales/Marketing Officer / Digital Advisor to give executives in IT, Marketing, Sales and Human Resources a jump-start in their digitalization activities. She specifically draws on the knowledge and experience she gained in her jobs at tech giants. In this way, she creates "shortcuts" for innovation measures in traditional companies.

As a mentor for digital empowerment in the Klitschko Ventures team, she also trains executives in training camps based on the "FACE the challenge" method developed by Dr. Wladimir Klitschko. The goal: to teach decision-makers what they can learn from the willpower of a heavyweight champion in order to face the challenges of a digital world more openly and calmly. Currently, she is developing a new method with the startup "Play to Change" on how to accelerate change processes in companies in a playful way. In particular, taking into account learning psychology and neuroscientific findings.

She also supports IT executives in internal stakeholder management and in communicating their strategies in a business-oriented manner. As an author, speaker or workshop leader she shares her experiences with the public.

 

XING AG: ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ADVERTISING MARKETING SUBSIDIARY "XING MARKETING SOLUTIONS GMBH"

In 2015-2017, as Managing Director, she built up the 100% XING subsidiary and new marketing unit "XING Marketing Solution GmbH" as a new growth driver. In this role, she was responsible for product development, business development, marketing and sales of advertising solutions on the XING platform. The aim is to support medium-sized companies in the DACH region in achieving their marketing and sales goals in a targeted and cost-efficient manner through personalized advertising.

FACEBOOK GERMANY: CO-BUILDING ADVERTISING MARKETING & ACCELERATING REVENUE GROWTH FOR GERMANY, AUSTRIA AND SWITZERLAND

From 2011 - 2015 she held different positions in the sales team of Facebook Germany. She was jointly responsible for revenue growth in the DACH market and advised senior managers of large companies in the telecommunications, retail and travel sectors on the digital transformation of their marketing & sales activities on Facebook.

As Lead Travel for Germany, Austria and Switzerland, she was responsible for the market launch strategy, representation of Facebook in tourism, organization of customer events, relationship building on C-Level as well as the adaptation of the global Facebook Travel Strategy to the framework conditions specific to Germany, among other things.

MIGROS: BUILDING ONLINE-BASED CUSTOMER DIALOGUE AND SHIFTING FROM TRADITIONAL MARKETING TO "DIGITAL FIRST"

From 2009, she was responsible for the decentralized development of social media as well as the digital marketing team at a leading Swiss retail company (Migros) as Head of Digital Marketing and Social Media Director for digital marketing strategy, for 2.5 years. She designed and launched the award-winning product review and crowdsourcing portal (migipedia.ch). As a change agent, she increased Migros' internal online affinity and external online reputation within a very short time.

UPC CABLECOM: AUFBAU EINER DIALOG-ORIENTIERTEN & EFFEKTIVEN UNTERNEHMENSKOMMUNIKATION

As Head of New Media Communications, she changed the communications mix with a promising digital internal relations strategy and converted the eHR system into Intranet 2.0 in 2004 using dialog-based elements. These new digital communication channels such as blogs, wikis, podcasts, etc. created the basis for effective corporate communications as well as increased employee engagement.

UPC CABLECOM: ESTABLISHMENT OF EFFICIENT WEB-BASED HR PROCESSES

Between 2003-2009 she worked for upc cableom, the largest cable network operator in Switzerland. As "Head eHR & Controlling", she took on the challenge of digitizing the processes of the HR department within 3 years together with her team in order to increase efficiency. On behalf of the CEO and VP Human Resources, she acted in the role of a product director as well as a driver of the entire change process within HR and at management level.

TAMEDIA AG: CO-DEVELOPMENT OF ONLINE PLATFORMS AND CONCEPTION OF THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN CLASSIC & ONLINE JOURNALISM

The starting point of her professional career was Tamedia, one of the leading private media groups in Switzerland. Leila Summa held various positions from 1997-2002. Among other things, as Deputy Head Online and Channel Manager, she was editorially responsible for the conception and orchestration of the interaction between print and online content. In addition, she was co-responsible on a technical level for the development of the digital presences of the various daily and weekly newspapers as well as innovative services (e.g. free-ascii SMS, stationary video-to-web boxes at events, online tests, live chats, etc.).

What else..?
She has served in various jury functions, enjoys sharing her expertise at panel discussions, gives presentations, and loves to ask solution-oriented questions as an Advocatus Diaboli.

Education

22 semesters of part-time studies: Journalism & Social Pedagogy at the University of Zurich, a Master degree in "Mobile Application" at the Zurich University of the Arts, and a Master degree in Business Administration with a focus on "International Management Consulting" at the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland/University of Ludwigshaften.