Interview with Martina Neumayr on pioneering spirit, responsibility, and genuine equality

What does it mean to have been actively shaping digitalization for over 30 years and to take on responsibility as a woman in a male-dominated industry?

To mark International Women's Day, we spoke to women at NAVAX Software about their personal journeys, their experiences, and their vision for the future.

In the second part of our series, Martina Neumayr, Co-CEO of NAVAX Software, explains why leadership is a responsibility rather than a privilege for her, why visibility plays a central role in equal opportunities, and why true equality begins in the nursery.

A conversation about pioneering work, values, and the courage to be visible.

From the beginnings to digitalization

Martina, you have been the managing director of NAVAX Software since 2023. How did your career path lead you to IT and then to NAVAX Software?

I worked for national and international credit agencies for over 30 years. Since the early 1990s, the data business in credit risk management has been closely linked to the digitization of processes and their implementation in software and systems. 

I was there from the beginning when paper-based credit reports were replaced by the introduction of interfaces, data packages, scorecards, and automated risk software solutions. At the time, this was pioneering work in German-speaking countries, starting with banks and telcos.

I remember it well: as a young woman, I sat across from decision-makers, 98 percent of whom were men and rather skeptical about IT automation. Together, we shaped this new future.

Today, I am the managing director of NAVAX Software. Unfortunately, I am still an exception in the IT industry, especially in Germany.

Courageous decisions and international perspectives

Were there any defining moments or decisions in your career?

Yes, several. 

My decision to break new ground for SCHUFA and introduce "these new scorecards" to the market was certainly the key decision for my current professional context. 

Five years later, I moved to my first global player, Dun & Bradstreet (D&B). Another milestone. There, and later at Experian, I was continuously given more responsibility and received a lot of support in my development. We made the impossible possible under very challenging conditions.

Visionary goals and working in international teams with wonderful people from a wide variety of cultural backgrounds, who contributed so many progressive skills, enriched and shaped me enormously. 

Motivation through design

What motivated you most on your way to the top?

Being able to change and shape things and achieve visible success in the process. Developing people's skills and helping them succeed in what they are passionate about, creating something together that was previously unthinkable. 

The energy and momentum that this creates motivates and inspires me time and time again. 

What might have challenged you?

Human behavior and conditions that I couldn't reconcile with my values. A lack of creative freedom, initiative, and willingness to change. 

Leadership is responsibility, not privilege

What does good leadership mean to you?

For me, leadership is responsibility, not privilege. Good leadership means giving people a framework for action, empowering them to strengthen their strengths and surpass themselves. The goal is for them to be able to perform their tasks with energy and passion. This goes hand in hand with constructive, constant self-reflection and looking ahead. 

Has your leadership style changed over the course of your career? If so, how?

Yes, definitely.

It makes a difference whether you directly manage small teams or have responsibility across several management levels. As your responsibility grows, so do your management tools.

I have been particularly influenced by the many personal experiences of the past 30 years and the numerous training courses and excellent coaching sessions I have attended. They have helped me to reflect on situations and myself, and to develop. 

Today, I see a great advantage in the fact that, as we get older, we can draw on a wealth of experience and have already been through many things, enabling us to act more calmly. 

What values are particularly important to you when working with teams?

A sense of responsibility, openness and receptiveness to new ideas, the perspectives of others, solution orientation, constructive feedback, and respect.

Women in IT: Progress with room for improvement

In your opinion, has the role of women in the industry changed in recent years?

Yes, dramatically, but still not enough. 

I come from a time when there was such a thing as a data entry clerk, a typical female profession with little connection to IT. Such professions have disappeared, and other more demanding ones have emerged. Today, at NAVAX, we have test managers, software developers, UI/UX managers, IT consultants, managers, etc. 

A great deal of talent has been nurtured in the meantime, but still too little in German-speaking countries. In my opinion, this is due to our education system, the role models that still exist, and social conditions. I also worked in Eastern Europe and Asia for many years and have seen that there is much more equality there in terms of school education (mathematics and science), later career choices, and talent. In Germany and Austria, we still have some catching up to do. In middle management, women are tentatively gaining ground in IT in this country as well.

Where do you currently see the biggest hurdles?

In Germany and Austria, we still have too few women trained in technical professions. This is a chain reaction that starts in the nursery and extends all the way to the boardroom.

As long as girls continue to be kept away from technical subjects by role models and beliefs such as "girls don't need to be good at math," we will lack a base of qualified female specialists.

Where role models are lacking, the path to management becomes the exception rather than the norm.

Framework conditions and visibility

What framework conditions must companies create to enable more women to take on leadership roles?

We need a cultural shift in thinking about career choices and structural fairness on issues such as parental leave, caregiving, and childcare. As long as systemic and social conditions lead to inequalities, companies must be as flexible as possible for their female employees. This applies to working hours and locations so that women with double burdens have equal opportunities. 

For me, role-based gender-neutral pay is a matter of course, but this is not yet the case everywhere. The Pay Transparency Act will help in this regard. 

We need more visible role models in the professional world. 

People need to choose their careers based on their skills, not their gender. Companies can specifically support the visibility of working women and in this way show girls new career prospects at an early age. Successful women can therefore be highlighted even more by companies. 

But it starts at the beginning: if I don't get any female applicants, I can't develop them to the same extent as their male counterparts. This is where we need to start. 

What can managers do specifically?

Recognizing and developing skills in a targeted manner is a general management task. At NAVAX Software, we encourage our employees to seek feedback. It is always wonderful to see how feedback from colleagues boosts self-confidence. 

Many women are not used to making their successes visible or downplay their achievements. Managers often have to actively encourage female talent to talk about their successes, identify their skills, and take the next step. 

Visibility can take many forms. Speaking and presentation time in workshops and meetings. Acknowledgments. But also the coordination of flexible work and working time models.

Looking to the future

What changes would you like to see for the next generation?

First of all, I would like to see more women choosing to enter the tech world. 

Then, I would like them to confidently push for and demand their own development instead of waiting to be discovered. 

That they are proud of their own achievements and represent them visibly. As a matter of course. 

So that they can be role models for others and make women's achievements not something special, but something normal. 

Personal inspiration

Were there any role models who inspired you?

I had a wonderful manager, Corinne Lleti. She was a valuable mentor to me and a role model for team- and performance-motivated leadership. Also Manjit Mandeir, one of the best coaches I have ever met.

What advice would you give to young women?

Be proud of your achievements and show them off. Focus on what you can do, not what you can't do.

What does International Women's Day mean to you?

Despite all the technological advances, I perceive a regressive development for many women in the world, including in our society. 

Daily discrimination, subtle language patterns, stereotypical thinking, the actual inequality in access to education, the unequal distribution in the respective professions, the unequal distribution of childcare and care for the elderly, and even violence against women... The list of challenges for women in these times is long. We are far from achieving equality between women and men. 

That is why it is important to draw particular attention to the situation of women on this day. 

My mother-in-law has been congratulating me on this day for many years. She grew up in East Germany and trained as an electrician over 50 years ago. For her, this day was and is a matter of course.

I very much hope that one day we will finally reach a point where it is taken for granted in this world that women and men can learn any profession that suits their skills, and that women are equally respected and can develop freely. 

Until then, we must continue to fight for equal rights for women. Not just on March 8.

Dear Martina, thank you very much for this interview!