CEC European Managers represents around one million managers in the European social dialogue. Managers play a vital role in Europe, both in the companies they work for and as facilitators of dialogue in society: it is about taking the right decisions to prepare a more sustainable and inclusive future. Discover more about CEC in this section.
CEC European Managers represents around one million managers in Europe through its national and sectoral federations. Managers play a vital role in Europe, both in the companies they work for and as facilitators of dialogue in society: it is about taking the right decisions to prepare a more sustainable and inclusive future.
At European level, we are one of the six EU cross-industry social partner organisations recognised by the European Commission. As the independent and autonomous voice of managers, we are making sure that the interests of managers as bridge builders between employers and workers are heard – since 1951.
With our action, we bring managerial and leadership issues to the center of the public debate. We are convinced that our knowledge, experience and competence can contribute to finding comprehensive solutions to today’s challenges.
Our affliates, active both in the public and private sectors all share one feature: they enjoy a higher degree of autonomy than other employees, as well as more responsibility in defining and achieving the goals of the company they work for. But the people we represent are also active and conscious members of the societies they live in, who know that the common welfare is an absolute pre-condition for a sustainable economic growth.
In its managers’ resolution, CEC European Managers has drafted its own definition of the managers that it represents. We invite you to read more here.
Managers were among the first categories to understand the need to have a representative organisation at international level. In 1951 the French, German and Italian confederations of managers and executives founded the CIC (International Confederation of Managers). Driven by the desire to participate more actively in the European Social Dialogue and the unification process, this international confederation evolved into a European-based confederation, the CEC – Confédération Européenne des Cadres, which was founded in 1989.
The French, German and Italian federations of managers and executives formed the CIC (International Confederation of Managers).
The executive functions of CEC European Managers are ensured by the four members of the Executive Board, elected every three years by the General Assembly. The current team has been elected on 27 May 2021.
Maxime Legrand is an economist, banker and promoter of managers’ rights, voice and professionalism. Following his doctoral economic research, he joined the business world as bank director and business manager.
Before being elected President of CEC European Managers, he was Secretary General of CEC European Managers, in addition to his mandate as National Delegate of CFE-CGC, the French member organisation of CEC, in France, and as President of FECEC, the European federation of bank managers.
Together with the CEC working group on digitalisation he helped launching, Maxime Legrand has been able to position CEC as advocate of human-centric digitalisation. He is convinced that managers need a strong involvement in social dialogue, have to engage for people and should promote democratic values.
With a background in law, Torkild Justesen has worked for the Danish Ministry of Justice, the Danish Employers and is currently director at LHO Denmark, one of Europe’s largest organisations of managers.
For more than 30 years, he has worked nationally and internationally in the world of social partnership on managerial level. Backed by strong personal values and being someone who walks the talk, he has been a key promoter of the Sustainable Leadership Project by CEC, also as part of its Steering Committee.
Torkild Justesen is keen to mainstream Sustainable Leadership in all parts of CEC European Managers’s work in the coming years. He believes CEC European Managers is in an ideal position to promote leadership and quality management.
After her studies in Sociology, Ebba Öhlund has worked for the Swedish Red Cross, specializing in the international support of sustainable development and good governance. As Ledarna´s Deputy General Secretary, she is today responsible for the organizational strategy and its value platform.
Besides having been part of the board of CEC from 2018-2021, Ebba Öhlund has been representing CEC in the Advisory Committee on Gender Equality to the European Comission, next to steering the development of the CEC working group on Gender Equality and Inclusive Leadership.
During her mandate, Ebba Öhlund will explore new ways of engagement, as well as continuing to voice CEC European Managers’ positions on gender equality and inclusive leadership, among others.
Silvia Pugi has consistently operated within the realms of high technology, the digital domain, and pioneering business models in international environments.
She has attained C-level positions in marketing and sales at highly innovative companies, subsequently transitioning to venture capital and startup investments, always with a flair for sustainability. Additionally, she serves on the boards of various companies.
Simultaneously, she has been a member of the CEC Assembly for several years, engaging in projects related to Sustainable Leadership, Diversity, Smart Change, and the impacts of AI. In Italy, she is responsible for sustainability at Manageritalia and represents Italian managers at the International Labor Organization within the United Nations.
She believes that managers and CEC have a social role to play in society and she advocates for innovation as a means to achieve sustainable growth in Europe.
The secretariat of CEC European Managers, seated in Brussels, ensures the daily work of the organisation.
The team is composed by:
Olga Molina Tomey: Director – molina@cec-managers.org
Pere Vilanova Estrada: Communication Officer – vilanova@cec-managers.org
Thiviya Thivakaran: Administration and Events Officer – thivakaran@cec-managers.org
Georgette Ould: Administration Officer – ould@cec-managers.org
Freedom and equality of opportunities
To guarantee freedom, we need to empower people through positive measures creating spaces of security
in which individuals can develop. Equal treatment and the implementation of truly non-discriminatory policies in all aspects of social life are the founding basis of such spaces.
Solidarity and inclusion
People and their needs must be at the centre of our action. Only a climate of mutual respect for diversity and personal development potentials can create the space for solidarity and inclusion. We need to work on inclusiveness through more participatory processes, a strong stance against intolerance and a trustful working environment.
Merit
We believe in a social and company environment in which each individual’s competences are the basis for his/her professional success. The people we represent are characterised by their knowledge and skills, which are put at the service of the company they work for and the society they operate in. We need to increase social mobility and defy structures favouring success with no merit.
Progress
The idea of linear and purely quantitative economic progress has proved contrary to the needs and capacities of humans. We need to redefine progress through aligning the idea to values and domain specific visions for it to be measurable. For progress to be sustainable, the process has to be subject to democratic deliberation.
Responsibility and ethics
Managers have a key role in society and need to account to their responsibility through a positive social impact. Behavioural ethics is one of the fundamental values of managers, who must perceive the need to lead by example as a concrete form of civic-mindedness.
Sustainability
We need to mainstream sustainable thinking and behaviour into all domains of life and professional activity. It is our duty to hand over to future generations a healthy environment, an inclusive society and an economy beneficial to all members of society.
Transparency
Decision-making processes need to be visible and transparent, both in the public arena and at business level, to guarantee the democratic control of institutions and the society. Measures to increase transparency have to respect privacy and be subject to democratic control.
