Laurence Bret Stern - Speaker on leadership au feminin
From the summit of French Tech to the foot of Mont-Blanc — a trajectory in service of leaders who want to combine performance and sustainability.
Laurence Bret-Stern is a pioneer of French Tech who has become a high-altitude guide. For over 25 years, she has led the marketing teams of major names in digital — LinkedIn (which she launched in France in 2011), AOL, Orange, and Pipedrive, the European SaaS unicorn — across Paris, Amsterdam, London, and the United States. A pioneer of hypergrowth, she has managed large-scale platform launches, structured multicultural teams, and advised startups and investment funds on their scaling trajectories.
In 2020, she chose a new summit. She left London for Chamonix and joined Mountain Path as a partner, where she is now the General Director. Alongside Blaise Agresti, former commander of the PGHM, and a network of 80 experts — high mountain guides, scientists, athletes, rescuers — she supports executive committees facing uncertainty, complexity, and strategic inflection points. The promise: "Learn from altitude" — Drawing inspiration from the roped teams of climbers and high mountain rescue teams to forge resilient, clear-sighted, and sustainable leadership.
In conferences, Laurence brings together three rare perspectives: that of the former international leader who has navigated the cycles of tech, that of the mountain enthusiast based in Chamonix who has made it a learning laboratory, and that of the corporate director who now sits on several boards in France and the UK. She speaks in both French and English on leadership in uncertain environments, organizational transformation, sustainable performance, and the human conditions of hypergrowth. She sees technology as an accelerator — but humanity as the driving force.
Laurence splits her life between Chamonix, Paris, and London.
They have trusted her: Deloitte · PwC · EY · BNP Paribas · Axa · Generali · BPCE· L'Oréal · LVMH · Nespresso · Porsche · Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield · BETC · Warner · La Poste · Total.
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Conference speaking engagements: Women's Forum, European Women in Tech, Talent Connect, Web Summit, SaaStock, JFD, FrenchWeb, Hub Forum, and Les Sommets du Digital.
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Frequently asked questions
Sur quelles thématiques Laurence Bret Stern intervient en tant que conférencière ?
Laurence Bret Stern intervient en tant que conférencière sur les thématiques : leadership au feminin, leadership, prise de decision, entrepreneuriat and incertitude.
How do I book Laurence Bret Stern for a conference?
To book Laurence Bret Stern, contact the Lespeakers agency. An advisor will call you back to scope the event, dates and format.
How much does a conference with Laurence Bret Stern cost?
Laurence Bret Stern's fees:
- Conference : 3500 €
Booking is handled through Lespeakers.
Which languages does Laurence Bret Stern speak on stage?
Laurence Bret Stern speaks as speaker in french and english.
Where is Laurence Bret Stern based?
Here is where Laurence Bret Stern is based: Indifférente.
Pourquoi inviter Laurence Bret Stern plutôt qu'une autre conférencière ?
Because I combine three rare legitimacies in one voice: former international tech leader (LinkedIn, AOL, Orange, Pipedrive), General Director of a consulting firm based in Chamonix inspired by high mountain practices, and serving board member. I speak to executive committees from the inside, with references that go beyond the usual leadership framework.
What is Laurence Bret Stern's speaking angle?
Our tagline "Learn from altitude". I rely on the proven practices of high mountain guides and rescuers I work with — a network of 80 experts including Blaise Agresti (former PGHM), Sophie Lavaud, Jordane Lienard, Meagan Fallone — to illuminate the challenges of contemporary leadership: decision-making under pressure, fear management, team cohesion, sustainable performance.
How does the audience experience a talk by Laurence Bret Stern?
The intervention alternates between moments of immersive storytelling (high mountain, lived situations in management committees) and moments of direct engagement where I solicit the audience with questions or mini-exercises. Humor is present but understated, often self-deprecating — that of a leader who owns her missteps.
What concrete results can the audience expect after a talk by Laurence Bret Stern?
A renewed framework for understanding leadership challenges, immediately applicable operational lessons (decision protocols, briefing/debriefing inspired by mountain rescue, principles of effectuation to take action), and a shared vocabulary that helps teams name what they are going through and better coordinate. When the intervention includes a workshop, teams leave with an action plan transposed to their context.
Her conferences
Leading in Unstable Terrain: Making Clear Decisions When Everything Wavers — Cross-Learning from High Mountain and Tech Hypergrowth
The world is no longer just VUCA — it has become BANI (fragile, anxious, non-linear, incomprehensible) and FOE (fractured, overloaded, entrenched). In this new regime, classic leadership models are crumbling: prediction becomes illusory, trust erodes, paralysis looms. How to decide without all the data? How to keep the team united when visibility falls? How to transform ambient anxiety into collective action capacity? This conference provides concrete answers by crossing two universes where uncertainty is the daily norm and decision-making under pressure is standard: high mountain — through the proven practices of guides and rescuers from the PGHM — and global tech — through lived cases of hypergrowth, strategic pivots, and inflection points. Four concrete levers are explored:
Strengthening personal robustness — the leader's anchoring as the foundation of the team Taming fear — transforming it into a useful signal rather than a paralyzing brake Securing decision-making — protocols, briefings, debriefings, and terrain reading Mobilizing engagement — creating shared meaning and restoring the power to act
The intervention is based on field experience feedback (Mountain Path supports over 50 companies a year, from CAC 40 to ETI) and company cases from the tech ecosystem. It is designed for executive committees, executives, and leaders facing strategic inflection points, high-stakes transformations, or crisis contexts.
Modular format — from a 45-minute keynote to a 4-hour immersive workshop with practical exercises and teamwork. Available in French and English.
Laurence Bret-Stern is the General Director of Mountain Path (Chamonix), a consulting and training firm that draws inspiration from high mountain to develop leadership in uncertain environments. A former international tech leader (LinkedIn — which she launched in France in 2011 —, AOL, Orange, Pipedrive), she has been speaking on international stages for over 15 years (Women's Forum, Web Summit, SaaStock, Hub Forum) and with major groups (Deloitte, PwC, BNP Paribas, L'Oréal, Nespresso, Porsche, Warner).
From Intention to Action: 5 Principles for Undertaking in Uncertainty — What Expert Climbers and Entrepreneurs Have in Common
What do committed climbers on a new route and entrepreneurs who are emerging markets have in common? Effectuation — this logic of action identified by researcher Saras Sarasvathy, which describes how experts think and decide when the goal is not written, means are limited, and uncertainty is total. Where classical planning requires predicting to act, effectuation proposes the opposite: act to discover, and build the path while walking. This conference unfolds the 5 principles of effectuation through high mountain stories and concrete business cases from the tech ecosystem:
*Start with what you have — begin with your resources, not an ideal plan *Reason in acceptable loss — invest what you are willing to lose, not what you hope to gain *Leverage surprises — turn the unexpected into resources (the “lemonade” principle) *Build your patchwork — engage those who commit, rather than convince skeptics *Be a pilot, not a passenger — create the future rather than endure it
Particularly useful for executive committees facing a strategic inflection point, teams in charge of innovation or intrapreneurship, and leaders who want to awaken an entrepreneurial culture in organizations that have become cautious. The promise: break free from analytical paralysis and restore teams' power to act. Modular format — from an inspiring 1-hour keynote to a full day.
The extended version includes a transposition workshop where each team applies the 5 principles to an ongoing strategic project and leaves with a concrete action plan. Available in French and English.
Laurence Bret-Stern is the General Director of Mountain Path (Chamonix), a consulting and training firm that draws inspiration from high mountain experiences to develop leadership in uncertain environments. A former international tech leader (LinkedIn — which she launched in France in 2011 —, AOL, Orange, Pipedrive), she has experienced the logics of effectuation from the inside during hypergrowth and the launch of new platforms. She has been speaking for over 15 years on international stages (Women's Forum, Web Summit, SaaStock, Hub Forum) and with major groups (Deloitte, PwC, BNP Paribas, L'Oréal, Nespresso, Porsche, Warner).
Pioneers in a Team: Pitching, Negotiating, Leading in a Still Largely Male World Concrete Strategies for Women Entrepreneurs and Leaders — Cross-Lessons from Tech and High Mountain
In 2023 in Europe, 100% female teams raised less than 1% of venture capital amounts. For 20 years, less than 1% of high mountain guides were women. This is not a coincidence: the same mechanisms — unconscious biases, authority norms associated with masculinity, networking and pitching codes built by and for men — hinder women in investment committees, executive committees, and on icy ridges.
This conference intersects two worlds where pioneers had to — and still have to — carve their own path: French Tech, experienced from the inside by Laurence Bret-Stern since the launch of LinkedIn in France, and high mountain, through the journeys of inspiring climbers she has met in Chamonix.
Four concrete questions are addressed:
*Pitching in the investor room or in front of an executive committee — decoding questions of protection vs potential and regaining control with calm and assertiveness *Anticipating and defusing prejudices — preparing troubling questions rather than suffering them *Networking in a male-dominated territory — without renouncing oneself, without exhausting oneself *Talking about diversity without fear or emotional overinvestment — choosing one's battles, mobilizing allies
The intervention is based on reference research (Columbia/Wharton on questions posed to female founders, BCG/Sista on funding, sociology of female guides) and on Laurence's direct experience: former international leader in very male executive committees, member of several boards in France and the UK, investor.
Modular format — inspiring keynote of 45 minutes for International Women's Rights Day / diversity event, or workshop format of 2 to 4 hours with practical situations (pitch, answering difficult questions, public speaking). Available in French and English.
Laurence Bret-Stern is the General Director of Mountain Path (Chamonix). Former international leader in tech, she launched LinkedIn in France in 2011 and led the marketing teams of AOL, Orange, and Pipedrive. She sits on several boards in France and the UK, and invests in women-led startups. She has spoken on the stages of the Women's Forum For The Economy & Society, European Women in Tech, Talent Connect, Digital Women's Day (JFD), Web Summit, and Hub Forum, as well as with major groups (Deloitte, PwC, BNP Paribas, L'Oréal, Nespresso, Porsche, Warner).