Our Story

Inspiring Women. Transforming the World.

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WIN is a mission-driven social impact organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. Founded in 1997 in Milan by Norwegian social entrepreneur and pioneer Kristin Engvig, it has spent nearly three decades convening people—primarily women—to advance a shared vision of more conscious leadership and more inclusive, human-centred workplaces and societies.

 

The Origin Story

WIN emerged from three powerful observations.

Travelling and working internationally, Kristin witnessed that many people and particularly women, did not enjoy the same opportunities, recognition, or freedom to contribute their talents and fulfil their potential. It touched her deeply and awakened a sense of purpose to help women find their voice, confidence, empowerment, and influence, to realise their potential and contribute to creating a more creative, balanced, inclusive, and beautiful world.

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At the same time, after working in international business, she recognised how much organisations could gain when people truly felt seen, valued, included, and able to contribute their unique gifts. She believed that workplaces where diversity was embraced and belonging cultivated would not only help individuals thrive but also enable organisations to innovate and perform at their very best. As the internet was connecting the world, she believed women should be equally connected; to one another, to themselves, to what lies beyond, to new possibilities, and to the future that was emerging.

 

A third insight proved equally transformative. Through international women's associations and professional communities, she experienced the extraordinary power of bringing women together across cultures, generations, and professions. Whenever women gathered in an environment of trust and openness, they inspired one another, discovered new possibilities, grew in confidence, and created a remarkable sense of connection, generosity, and sisterhood. She recognised that women who had lived internationally had already learned to navigate change and were uniquely placed to become agents of transformation in a rapidly changing world.

 

WIN was born from these three insights.

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From the beginning, WIN set out to inspire, develop, and connect women internationally while pioneering a new leadership paradigm in which the inner and outer, the feminine and the masculine, individual growth and societal progress were understood as complementary rather than separate. It became a place where the qualities of the feminine were valued, heard, and brought into leadership, organisations, and society. Over time, that vision evolved into something broader: creating spaces where people, organisations, and communities learn, evolve, and contribute together to a more conscious, thriving, and harmonious world.

 

The Evolution of WIN

Though rooted in advancing women, WIN has always been about more than women alone. Early on, it became clear that lasting change also required transforming the systems, cultures, organisations, and assumptions shaping our societies.

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Beginning in the early 2000s, WIN pioneered leadership programmes with organisations around inclusion and diversity, authentic leadership, women's leadership, and later more sustainable and regenerative approaches to leadership and organisational development. It also became an early laboratory for exploring what the company of the future could look like; organisations where inclusion, purpose, excellence, and human flourishing reinforce one another.

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Long before these conversations became mainstream, WIN introduced more holistic, human-centred approaches to leadership, integrating feminine wisdom with healthy masculine qualities and demonstrating that organisations thrive when people do.

Today, WIN has evolved into a global convening platform and leadership ecosystem, bringing together women and men, leaders, entrepreneurs, organisations, institutions, and changemakers committed to creating a more conscious future.

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The ripple effects of WIN's early gatherings extended far beyond the conference itself, inspiring new initiatives within organisations, corporations, communities, and international networks. Many of the ideas first explored at WIN have since become part of mainstream conversations on leadership, inclusion, wellbeing, sustainability, and organisational culture.

 

The Flagship Experience

Kristin realised that one of the fastest ways to accelerate positive change was to convene women across cultures, sectors, and professions, to learn together, support one another, and explore how they could shape the world, the workplace, and themselves. That insight became the WINConference.

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Today, WIN is internationally recognised for its iconic WINConference and High-Level Gatherings.

Each gathering offers a rare alchemy: the depth of a retreat, the structure of a programme, and the influence of a summit.

Participants often describe WIN as "a spa for the soul and mind", a place where they reconnect with purpose, expand their perspective, build meaningful relationships, and discover new possibilities for themselves, their organisations, and the world.

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Every WIN gathering explores three interconnected dimensions:

- WORLD: understanding the global forces shaping our future.

- WORK: creating more conscious organisations, leadership, and workplaces where authenticity, purpose, and excellence come together.

- YOU: cultivating self-awareness, wellbeing, relationships, and authentic leadership needed to create meaningful impact.

 

Together, these dimensions create a leadership journey that is both deeply personal and profoundly practical.

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The WIN Way is expressed through a distinctive philosophy, and architecture refined over nearly three decades.

At its foundation are the Eight Pillars: not simply values, but the structural principles that allow the WIN vision to take form. Together with frameworks such as World • Work • You, Illuminated Leadership, and the Seven Keys of Connecting with Purpose and Joy, they create the coherence, beauty, depth, and integrity that characterise every WIN experience.

 

The WIN Way

- Underlying every WIN gathering is a philosophy rooted in collaboration, wholeness, beauty, authenticity, context, and an ecological understanding of life and leadership.

- At the heart of WIN is the belief that how we come together shapes what becomes possible.

- At the heart of the WIN Way lies the art of convening.

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At WIN, how we do things is inseparable from what we do.

Relationships come before transactions. Dialogue comes before debate. Connection comes before networking.

For WIN, networking has always meant more than exchanging contacts; it is the art of creating meaningful relationships within a living human ecosystem.

 

We believe leadership grows as much through the quality of our presence as through the knowledge we acquire.

 

This is why the WIN Way can be recognised wherever WIN gathers around the world.

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We believe that when people are thoughtfully brought together in an environment where they feel seen, heard, valued, and welcomed, transformation naturally unfolds. It is not one single speaker, workshop, or conversation that defines the WIN experience, but the carefully curated whole. The culture, atmosphere, generosity, and quality of connection are intentionally designed so that every element contributes to the journey.

 

For nearly three decades, women have entered the world of WIN to discover role models, new perspectives, trusted relationships, and renewed confidence in their own authentic leadership. Many describe an immediate sense of belonging, a place where they can fully be themselves while being inspired to grow, contribute, and lead.

 

At WIN, every participant is seen as a shining star, invited to join a constellation where each person contributes their unique gifts while helping others shine. We believe meaningful transformation unfolds both vertically and horizontally: through inner growth, meaningful relationships, and collective action in the world.

 

Whether in Japan, Geneva, Rome, Delhi, Santa Cruz, or wherever WIN gathers, the philosophy, the WIN Way, permeates the entire experience. It is reflected not only in the programme, but in the people, the conversations, the introductions, the acts of generosity, and the atmosphere itself.

 

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Legacy and Impact

For nearly three decades, WIN has inspired, developed, and connected women and leaders from around the world through conferences, leadership journeys, partnerships, and transformational experiences.

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More than 25,000 participants from over 125 countries have taken part directly in WIN gatherings, while millions more have been reached through its ideas, partnerships, interviews, publications, and global collaborations. Alongside its flagship conferences, WIN has designed pioneering leadership journeys with many of the world's leading organisations, supporting more conscious leadership, inclusive cultures, and workplaces where people realise their potential and excellence emerges.

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Throughout this journey, WIN has cultivated something equally distinctive: a Culture of Generosity. Participants, partners, speakers, organisations, and volunteers continually support one another through collaboration, mentorship, scholarships, introductions, and shared contribution,creating ripple effects far beyond any single gathering.

 

The WINConference has also served as a living laboratory for leadership innovation. Over the years, it has given rise to pioneering forums including Women on Boards, Women in Science and Technology, Women Entrepreneurs, Women at the United Nations, Women and Spirituality, and the landmark Story Forum.

 

WIN has also convened three international gatherings at the United Nations in Geneva, in collaboration with distinguished global partners, bringing together international voices to explore leadership, inclusion, and the future of society.

 

As the body of work has continued to evolve, WIN has developed distinctive learning journeys such as Leading and Healing with the Seasons, reflecting its philosophy that leadership is not separate from life but grows through awareness of natural rhythms, cycles, renewal, and our relationship with the living world.

Throughout its gatherings, WIN also brings together science, business, creativity, culture, music, and the arts, recognising that innovation and transformation emerge when multiple ways of knowing come together.

 

A Global Reference

Over nearly three decades, WIN has become an internationally recognised reference in conscious leadership and the advancement of women in authentic leadership.

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Rather than inviting women simply to adapt to leadership models designed for another era, WIN has pioneered approaches that integrate feminine wisdom with healthy masculine qualities, contributing to more conscious, beautiful, harmonious, and human-centred leadership for women and men alike.

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Its collaborative, human-centred methodology continues to influence leaders, organisations, entrepreneurs, educators, and changemakers committed to building workplaces, communities, and societies where people thrive together.

 

The WIN vision continues to evolve through its distinctive philosophy and frameworks; including The WIN Way, World • Work • You, Illuminated Leadership, and the Eight Pillars, while remaining rooted in authenticity, creativity, generosity, connection, and human flourishing. These frameworks, methodologies, and practices are stewarded through the WIN Centre of Excellence, ensuring the continuity, integrity, and continued evolution of WIN's unique body of work.

 

All rights reserved. Originally developed material.

 

 

 

 

 

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The WIN Way®, Illuminated Leadership™, World • Work • You, the Eight Pillars, the Seven Keys of Connecting with Purpose and Joy, Leading and Healing with the Seasons, In the Right Light, and associated WIN frameworks and methodologies form part of WIN's original body of work, created by Kristin Engvig for WIN and continually developed and refined over nearly three decades.

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