Francesca Barbera-Eckert studied business administration and finance and then worked for around ten years in groups such as PricewaterhouseCoopers or Schroders, focusing on real estate investments and private equity. In 2019 and 2020, she became a mother of two sons. "When I started working again with a reduced workload, I quickly realized that I needed to be more focused on my own retirement planning," she says. In conversations with other working mothers, she notes, "Very few of them provide for their old age with investments, even though career breaks and part-time work make the topic even more important for women than for men," says Barbera-Eckert, "Even industry colleagues who have studied business and advise other people on money matters often don't." For the native German, who has lived in Zurich for many years, one thing is certain: "I want to make women fit in finances, take away their fear and give them tools to be able to provide for themselves."