Zonta Women in Business Leadership Award celebrates its 2025 laureates

On 2 December 2025, the Zonta Women in Business Leadership Award honoured three new recipients from the Department of Economics and Management at the University of Luxembourg. The award, granted by Zonta International and the Zonta clubs in Luxembourg, supports women who study business and helps narrow the gender gap in leadership and decision-making roles.

Professor Skerdi Zanaj, Full Professor of Economics and Gender Equality Officer at the University of Luxembourg, opened the ceremony by welcoming the laureates and emphasising the need for ongoing support for women pursuing leadership roles in business and academia.

She outlined the current landscape for women in entrepreneurship: only a third of self-employed individuals in the EU are women, and approximately 30 per cent of start-up founders are women. Prof. Zanaj also noted that research shows that women-led firms often deliver strong results, generating more revenue per dollar invested and investing more in training, inclusive growth, and social impact.

Prof. Zanaj then introduced Zonta’s global network and presented the three laureates of the 2025 award: Rose Marie Josephine Kneip, Fjolla Syla, and Giulia Braganca Rubin Rosa.

Her introduction was followed by Maître Sophie Rasqui, President of the Golden Z Club and Investment Funds Associate at Elvinger Hoss Prussen, who congratulated the laureates and spoke about the role of women in business.

After the opening speeches, the laureates shared their paths and what brought them to this moment. They expressed their appreciation for the recognition and spoke about their responsibility to keep learning, support other women, and help build more inclusive and thoughtful business environments.

Meet the 2025 Award Recipients

Rose Marie Josephine KNEIP

Rose Marie Josephine KNEIP

Laureate of Zonta Club Esch

Rose KNEIP, laureate of Zonta Club Esch, is in the final year of her Master in Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Luxembourg. Her academic path includes a BTS in Business and Marketing and a Bachelor in Management. She has gained experience at the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, the Ministry of Justice, and Banque de Luxembourg. Her interests span digital marketing, consumer behaviour, sustainability, and the circular economy.

She advocates for women’s empowerment in entrepreneurship, often highlighting barriers in access to finance and leadership roles. Rose aspires to make entrepreneurship a driver of social change by combining innovation with inclusion. Her long-term goal is to build her own business.

Fjolla SYLA

Fjolla SYLA

Laureate of Zonta Club Luxembourg

Fjolla SYLA, laureate of Zonta Club Luxembourg, brings a strong academic background in finance and economics together with hands-on analytical experience. She graduated with distinction from the Master in Quantitative Economics and Finance at the University of Luxembourg and is now pursuing a PhD in Economics.

Fjolla has published two teaching case studies, contributed to the set-up of her brother’s start-up, and worked in investor relations and in investment and finance analytics. In her PhD, her research focuses on the economic implications of advanced AI-driven growth models, including the development of financial trading algorithms. Fjolla aims to bridge quantitative analysis and policy insight to support evidence-based financial decision-making for sustainable growth.

Giulia BRAGANCA RUBIN ROSA

Giulia ROSA

Laureate of Zonta Club Multiculturel

Giulia ROSA, laureate of Zonta Club Multiculturel, has built a career that brings together creativity, digital strategy, and social purpose. Born in Rio de Janeiro, she worked at Sony Music Entertainment Brazil, where she led high-impact digital campaigns as a Digital Strategy Specialist.

She is studying Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Luxembourg and recently completed an internship in the Innovation department at Linklaters Luxembourg. Beyond her professional work, she has led charity livestreams that raised funds for women’s education and hunger relief, mentored young adults through Camp Mangueira, supported women entrepreneurs in pitch preparation, and volunteers with UNICEF Mozambique on child protection initiatives. She is also an advocate for diabetes awareness.

Giulia is now pursuing innovation-driven solutions in entrepreneurship and sustainability, aiming to build a career at the intersection of innovation and business and using creativity and strategic thinking to drive change.

About the Award

The Zonta Women in Business Leadership Award acknowledges and celebrates women who demonstrate exceptional leadership, entrepreneurial spirit, ethical conduct and make significant contributions to their respective industries while addressing global or local issues affecting women and girls or climate justice. For more information about the award, visit Zonta International.