ESRA GÜLMEZ
CHRO – People, Leadership & Culture
You sit on the board as the only woman and as the voice for people. How has that shaped the way you listen, speak up, or sometimes choose silence?
I’m deliberate about the framing: at AstorMueller, gender, background, nationality, or age are not defining topics – capability and contribution are. I value that my board colleagues simply trust me as a board member, not as “the woman on the board.” And this mindset is reflected across the company, with a strong representation of women in leadership roles as department heads and team leads.
At the same time, earlier chapters of my career taught me something that stays with you: when you’re the only one who looks or sounds different in a room, you learn to listen for what isn’t being said. You notice the hesitation before a decision, the tension behind a polite comment, the viewpoints missing because nobody invited them in.
So when I speak up, I translate strategy into human reality — because transformation doesn’t happen in PowerPoint, it happens in people’s hearts, habits, and daily work. And when I’m silent, it’s not retreat; it’s discipline. I’m making space, reading the room, and then landing the question that brings us back to impact: “What will this mean on Monday morning for the teams who have to carry it?”
” My compass is simple: performance that lasts is built on trust, fairness, and dignity. “
When you look at what the company has built so far in terms of people and culture, what makes you most proud, and what would you like to continue nurturing as we grow?
I’m most proud of the people behind our brands – the commitment, resilience, and hands-on ownership you see across teams, even when things are complex or under pressure. There’s a strong “can do” spirit and a real willingness to support each other, and that’s a powerful foundation.
What still needs care is consistency and transparency: ensuring that leadership standards, communication, and people decisions feel equally fair across functions and locations. We also need to keep strengthening manager capability—clear feedback, performance conversations, and change leadership – so that a great culture isn’t dependent on individual personalities. And we have to protect capacity and wellbeing – because teams with high wellbeing deliver materially better results (studies commonly show ~20%+ higher performance), while sustained overload quickly erodes engagement.
As the company continues to grow and change, what do you see as the most important responsibility for HR in the years ahead, and how do our talents need to show up to make this journey possible together?
The world is accelerating – and we’re not here to keep up – we’re here to stay ahead. HR’s job in the years ahead is to turn change into progress: build future-ready skills, raise the bar on modern leadership, and keep our processes simple, fair, and transparent – so we can move fast without losing trust.
But culture and transformation are not an HR program. Even the best strategy fails without the right culture to execute it! It only works as a true partnership. My ask to everyone: bring ownership! Stay curious, keep learning, ask for and act on feedback, collaborate across boundaries, and speak up early – with solutions, not just problems.
” If HR provides clear direction, the right frameworks, and real support – and our people bring energy, accountability, and team spirit – we won’t just navigate change. We’ll shape what’s next, together. “
In your role, you are often holding both the organization’s expectations and people’s emotions. Where do you believe the true responsibility of leadership begins and ends in that “tension”?
Leadership in that tension starts with owning the narrative—clearly and courageously. People don’t fear change as much as they fear ambiguity. So, our first responsibility is clarity: the why, the why now, what will change, what won’t, and what “good” looks like going forward.
Then it moves into how we lead the transition. This is where modern leadership really shows up: emotional intelligence, active listening, psychological safety, and fairness. Not as “soft skills,” but as performance drivers. I believe in naming emotions without being ruled by them – creating space for reactions, while staying steady on direction. Empathy is not avoiding hard decisions; it’s executing them with dignity, transparency, and respect.
And leadership ends where ownership begins. My job is to create the conditions: context, tools, support, coaching, clear guardrails, and a credible path forward. But I can’t outsource accountability, and I can’t carry everyone’s emotions for them. Adults deserve truth, and they also deserve the expectation that they will step into responsibility.
” For me, great leadership is holding two things at once: high care and high standards -humanity and performance, in the same sentence. “
What would make you proud if someone described our company in one sentence?
AstorMueller is a company that delivers strong results and great brands – because it treats people fairly, leads with respect, and creates an environment where you can grow and truly belong.