We are delighted that Teresa will be joining us in Madrid for our final day of the Wellbeing at Work Summit Europe 2026. Teresa will be joining our Leadership Panel discussing “DEI and Wellbeing Outcomes in an Increasingly Complex Workplace”. As workplaces become more complex – hybrid environments, increasingly multi-generational/multi-cultural/neurodiverse – how should cultures ensure people and performance thrive together? One size does not fit all – what is the perceived backlash against wellbeing programs in organizations? How are organizations still falling short in delivering equitable wellbeing outcomes? As AI and automation will disproportionately affect different workgroups, how should employers adjust their wellbeing strategies to mitigate the psychological risks and skill gaps for specific employee groups facing major job transformation or increased workload demands?
We caught up with her to see how she’s feeling in the run up to the summit:
Hi Teresa, we are thrilled that you are joining us at the Wellbeing at Work Summit in Madrid next week. Our first and most important question is, how are you doing today?
Honestly? Well — and I say that with intention.
I’m in a season of learning to prioritize my energy and time more deliberately. We all carry a significant workload — the world moves fast, and we’re constantly adapting to keep adding value and generating real impact. In that context, being intentional about how you show up matters more than ever.
That shift in awareness — small as it sounds — has made a real difference for me.
As a leader based in the region, what are the main challenges you are facing when it comes to employee wellbeing and mental health?
Syngenta is an organization of high performers. That’s something we’re proud of — and it’s also where the tension lives.
The challenge isn’t ambition. It’s the invisible line between giving your best and forgetting yourself in the process. When high performance becomes the default identity, wellbeing can quietly slip to the bottom of the list.
As leaders, our role is to model that you can be excellent and take care of yourself. That those two things aren’t in conflict — they’re interdependent.
What strategies have you seen developing over the past 6 months, both internally and externally, that are moving the dial on wellbeing in the workplace?
One of the most meaningful moves we’ve made is bringing everything under a single, coherent identity: Syngenta Cares.
This brand brings together all the actions Syngenta takes to support our people — Wellbeing, DEI, HSE, personal development — under one umbrella. It’s not just a campaign. It’s a signal about who we are.
Within that, our wellbeing model focuses on Mental, Physical, Financial, and Digital Wellbeing, with initiatives running year-round. The way we design them is intentional: global initiatives set the framework and direction, which then gets shaped and activated at regional and local level — so that each layer complements the others and ensures everything lands with real, positive impact in the organization. People can connect with what resonates most with them.
We’ve also deepened our collaboration with HSE. Topics like psychological safety and health screenings become far more powerful when driven together.
And one thing I’m particularly proud of: we’re not treating wellbeing as a one-month event. The goal is integration — making it part of how we work every day.
Why is employee wellbeing so important to you personally?
Because before anything else, we are people.
That’s the foundation of my values — and it happens to align perfectly with Syngenta’s purpose. Our business exists to help feed the world. But you can’t nourish others if you’re running on empty yourself.
When I think about the teams I’ve led and the leaders I admire most, the common thread isn’t their output. It’s how they showed up — consistently, humanly, with energy and care. That only happens when wellbeing is real, not performative.
What impact is AI having in your organization and how are you managing that?
The reception has been largely positive — and genuinely enthusiastic. Most people see AI as another tool to help us fulfill our mission more effectively. And when they experience firsthand how it can support their day-to-day work, they get on board.
That said, I won’t pretend there’s no uncertainty. People are asking real questions: What will this mean for our teams? What’s the strategy? Those questions deserve honest answers.
What I believe — and what I’ve seen at Syngenta — is that we approach these shifts in a balanced way. We’re in the month of AI right now, and one of our global sessions is exploring how AI tools can support families and parents, while also addressing the challenges new technologies bring. That’s the kind of nuance I think matters.
I’m confident we’ll navigate this with the same values we bring to everything else.
Other than AI, are there any challenges that you are seeing for the first time and how are you addressing them?
The pace of change itself has become the challenge.
Our clients’ needs are evolving faster than ever — and for an organization of our size, adapting at that speed is genuinely hard. It requires not just agility in strategy, but agility in mindset.
What I keep coming back to is this: the answer isn’t to move faster for the sake of it. It’s to stay close to what matters — our people, our purpose, our clients — and let that guide where we move quickly and where we stay grounded.
What areas do you think employers should be focused on over the next 12 months?
Connection to strategy. More than ever, people need to understand how their work links directly to what the organization is trying to achieve. That clarity isn’t just motivating — it’s protective. It tells you where to focus your energy, what to say yes to, and crucially, what to say no to.
Focus is a wellbeing strategy. When people know what matters, they can show up constructively, sustainably, and with real impact — for themselves and for their teams.
Do you feel that investment in employee wellbeing in the region is increasing or decreasing and is that a direct reflection on HR leaders’ increasing ability to demonstrate effective returns of their strategies to leadership?
Investment is increasing — and I think it’s because wellbeing has stopped being an “HR topic” and become a business reality that touches everyone.
But the more interesting shift I’m seeing is how that investment is being deployed. The goal is no longer to add more wellbeing programs on top of everything else. It’s to make wellbeing a natural, integrated part of how we work every day — embedded in our culture, our rhythms, and our leadership behaviors, rather than something people need to opt into separately.
That’s a harder thing to measure. But it’s the right ambition.
How has your organisation been leading the way?
By listening first.
Everything we’ve built — from the Syngenta Cares brand to our global EAP (Employee Assistance Program, a confidential support service available to all employees), from our Wellbeing Month activations to our growing focus on Financial and Digital Wellbeing — started with understanding what our employees actually need.
Wellbeing is part of Syngenta’s culture, not a campaign we run once a year. We’ve elevated its importance with initiatives at every level: country, region, function, and global. And we’ve made sure those layers complement each other rather than compete.
The result is something I’m genuinely proud of: a framework where a manager in one country and an employee in another can both find something that speaks to them — and feel that Syngenta sees them as a whole person.
That’s the standard I want us to keep raising.
Teresa is speaking in Madrid as part of our Wellbeing at Work Summit Europe 2026 which takes place in Zurich, Amsterdam and Madrid this month. Click the links below to find out more and book your tickets:
