Voice of Experience: Celine Herweijer, Partner, Sustainability, PwC UK

By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

“In terms of being a leader – I didn’t think about it too much early on,” began Dr Celine Herweijer, Partner in PwC’s Sustainability practice. “I’ve always known that I wanted to spend my life working on issues I feel passionate about, and that I enjoyed being around people and building consensus for change. I guess I’ve really grown organically from that. I’ve met role models along the way who inspired me to keep reaching for the stars.”

In 2012, Herweijer became one of PwC’s youngest partners. Her career had taken her from academia, to the UN, the NGO space and then to the private sector leading a consulting practice before she joined PwC. Despite her diverse work experience, she has been driven by a singular passion – to change the way people, companies, and governments approach sustainability.

She explained, “For my generation, this is an issue we grew up with. We were one of the first to hear regularly in our classrooms and on the news about the stresses we were putting on our planet. I had clarity early on that I wanted to take personal responsibility to influence change.”

Career Path in Sustainability

Herweijer felt she first needed to know the facts first, which culminated in a PhD from Columbia University in New York. She explained “The US system puts a big emphasis on teaching and communication. That was huge in terms of learning how to communicate complex issues in a clear way.”

“Next I knew I had to be where the decision making and action lies – in corporate boardrooms and in government offices,” Herweijer continued. She took a role with the UN in New York, working in sustainable development, before following her husband back home to London. She accepted a director role to start up a new NGO funded by large insurers and reinsurers to collaborate on better understanding emerging risks, including climate change. In 2007, she was recruited to Risk Management Solutions (RMS), the world’s largest catastrophe modeling firm, where she served as Director of Climate Change. She founded and grew a consulting business on climate change, working with insurance and banking clients, but also with governments and development agencies on risk management.

In 2009, she joined PwC as a Director in the Sustainability and Climate Change team, with a focus on growing the firm’s International Development consulting business. The size of the firm, and the potential to influence a diverse range of stakeholders around the world drew her to the opportunity. “With PwC’s immense talent pool, brand, and international client base, the opportunity to do really transformative work and bring the best of PwC to help global development challenges was a real pull. I couldn’t turn it down,” she explained. “I was made partner last year and it’s been an exciting ride. Every day it’s a delight to work with so many talented people and a leadership team that gets that as a firm we need to be at the frontline of helping businesses and governments think about what good growth means.”

Herweijer now advises decision makers around the world, from government leaders in developed and developing economies to the G20 and UN agencies, development banks, private foundations, the private sector and more. She says that being named a partner in the firm is one of her proudest achievements – not just for the prestige, but because she found the process itself personally transformative. She explained, “Becoming partner at PwC was an intense process, and I was going into it aware that my CV didn’t read like most Big 4 partner candidates’. But the firm welcomes difference.

The process was one of self reflection and I realized a lot about my style – what worked and didn’t work. It was a big growth journey and I felt real support from my now fellow partners. I’m proud to be a partner in a globally renowned network of firms like PwC, and I’m proud every day I can help to bring the talent we have within PwC to work on important global challenges like climate change and poverty reduction. ”

“There are over 700 sustainability professionals around the world at PwC, and we are growing,” she said. “Sustainability drivers like environmental climate change, well being, and social development are vital for the overall growth of a business and national economy. We try to help industry and government leaders make decisions that achieve sustainable, financial and operational performance simultaneously. The sustainability practice is not a boutique consulting business at PwC – it’s about embedding sustainability into what we already do every day for our clients. It’s about talking in terms of impact on growth, costs, resilience, brand and reputation.”

PwC’s work on International Development with clients that include governments, aid agencies, and international organizations like the UN and World Bank is where Herweijer spends much of her time. “We provide support in policy development and project finance through to program management and accountability – across far flung corners of the globe”. She added “It’s something we should talk about more, as not only are we making a real difference, but the work is inspiring to our people and helps us attract top talent.”

Global Leadership

Herweijer was also recently appointed to the World Economic Forum (WEF)’s Young Global Leaders (YGL) forum, a group selected from around the world to form a next generation leadership network to engage in global affairs. The honor recognizes outstanding and proven young leaders under the age of 40 across business, government, and arts and culture, for their accomplishments, commitment to society and potential to contribute to shaping a better future. Previous and current YGLs include Ed Milliband, Google Co-founder Larry Page, and Statistician Nate Silver.

She said, “I was delighted, but also honored to have been backed by PwC and the Forum to become part of such a renowned group of inspiring people.”

She continued “Networking is key to doing business, to getting things done, and to influencing change. Being a YGL opens up a door to a group of diverse leaders and entrepreneurs across the world. There is a real energy to work together in the group, and to look for ways to innovate and drive change. I’m very excited”

Currently Herweijer is advising a UN high level taskforce co-chaired by David Cameron (another YGL alum) on the new Millennium Development Goals. She and her team are also working with the Indonesian Government to green its medium term economic development plan, and helping several Middle East Governments on green growth. She continued, “We are increasingly being asked by governments to facilitate the involvement of the private sector in these sustainable development efforts. Businesses see emerging and developing markets as key opportunities for growth. Our clients recognize the importance of government relationships, of license to operate, and that their chances of success in these new markets are greater in a community that is stable, healthy and prosperous.”

Advice for Professional Women

“Believe in yourself,” advised Herweijer. “Seek out challenging roles that stretch you, but ask for help. Make it your responsibility to put your hand up and ask for stretch roles. Seek out new experiences because life’s more fun that way, and it gives your CV more credibility.”

She also believes the most important lessons can come when life seems most challenging. “The difficult times are the ones you learn the most from. Try to recognize that as they come along and embrace that. Stay positive and calm, and remember how much you’ll learn for next time things get tough.”

“It’s also important to understand its okay not to have all the answers. Ask for help. I have been mentored by extraordinary women over the years: my fellow PwC partners, women leaders I have come across as part of my work on climate and development, and other places.” Herweijer continued, “The realities of life can still make it difficult to reach the top rungs of organizations. The focus on empowerment needs to be coupled with business and social policies that value life outside of work. For example supporting flexibility in terms of how and where you work.”

“This is not just a woman’s issue. Men I’ve grown up with are asking the same questions about how they can manage a work-life balance effectively. We’re lucky in many ways – technology can make it possible to work flexibly and efficiently, which helps. For my role which could mean endless international travel, it’s also key to both environmental and personal sustainability, to work intelligently”.

Improving employee wellbeing should be an opportunity for business, she asserted. “In PwC, we are pioneering Wellbeing as an important new service area for our clients, helping them to integrate it into their growth strategies”

PwC and women

Herweijer says that PwC is committed to empowering women. “Diversity and Inclusion is a strategic priority for PwC globally. Our leadership is committed to changing the status quo. We know we need to do better. There is a focus on gender at all stages of a woman’s career”. En route to partnership she participated in the UK firms leadership program for female directors, and developed a close peer group and support network as a result, including “participants as well as female and male partners who contributed to the course.” She said “we regularly catch up for coffees, talk about what’s going on, common challenges, and think through opportunities to share what we’ve learnt with younger women in the business”.

In Her Personal Time

Outside the office, Herweijer practices and teaches yoga “I firmly believe that you need to take the rigidity out of the working day. Yoga is an exercise, but it’s also so much more.”

She practices every day. “It makes a huge difference for me. I take my mat with me to work, whether I’m off to the office, to Washington DC or a remote Indonesian island. Creating space and stillness through yoga helps me see things more clearly and make decisions from a place of calm. Both very important when life gets busy!”

Looking Forward

Dr. Celine Herweijer is looking forward to continuing with her objective of being a catalyst for facilitating change on all elements of sustainability with people, companies, and governments. As a partner with PwC UK, she looks forward to the opportunity to ‘pay it forward’ by being part of the support network that will contribute to the career progression of the talented women who undertake the same leadership program Herweijer herself went through as a talented female director.