Breaking Barriers and Building Careers: Kristi’s Journey at PwC Switzerland

I joined PwC Switzerland nearly 15 years ago, and it has been an incredible journey of growth, learning, and transformation. Today, I am a partner in our Deals practice, specialising in People and HR topics. My work focuses on the human side of transactions—helping organisations navigate the complexities of people integration, cultural alignment, and talent retention during mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures.

Outside of work, I am married and a proud mother of an 8-year-old boy, they keep me grounded and remind me daily of what truly matters. Balancing motherhood with a demanding career has been one of the most rewarding challenges of my life, and I am grateful for the true partnerships I've experienced at home and at work.

Several milestones stand out when I reflect on my journey. Early in my career, I was fortunate to start working on pension due diligences (I joined as a benefits consultant) which triggered my passion for deals—projects which are often competitive, fast moving and never repeating. So, they matched really well with my natural preferences and personality.

Over the years I started to manage and later lead complex, cross-border deals that stretched my capabilities and exposed me to diverse teams and clients. Those experiences taught me resilience and the importance of building strong relationships. So, I started to further build out my own team, specialising in the People and HR dimension of deals. This allowed me to carve out a distinctive expertise and become a trusted advisor in a space that is increasingly critical to transaction success.

Becoming a mother was another defining milestone—it challenged me to set clearer boundaries, prioritise ruthlessly, and lead with greater empathy. I also benefited immensely from sponsors and mentors within PwC who believed in my potential and advocated for my advancement.

Absolutely. Like many women in professional services, I have navigated moments of self-doubt, particularly when returning from maternity leave and stepping back into a fast-paced environment. There were times when I questioned whether it was possible to excel both as a professional (in deals) and as a mother.

PwC supported me in several important ways. Flexible working arrangements allowed me to manage the demands of early parenthood without stepping away from meaningful work. I also had leaders who actively included me in key projects during a period when I could have easily been sidelined. Beyond policies, what mattered most was having great team members and clients — both men and women — who checked in, offered encouragement, and reminded me that my career was a marathon, not a sprint. 

PwC continues to make meaningful efforts by embedding equity into how we operate—through transparent promotion criteria, inclusive leadership trainings, being certified by Equal Salary Foundation for equal salary practice, sponsoring leading gender equity organisations, and accountability at the partnership level. I am encouraged by the firm's commitment to setting measurable goals and reporting on progress openly.

Looking ahead, I see tremendous opportunity in further normalising diverse career paths. Not everyone's trajectory will be linear and also the gender definition becomes more differentiated, and the more we celebrate different journeys, the more inclusive we become. I am also excited about the growing conversation around intersectionality — recognising that gender equity must account for the varied experiences of women from different backgrounds.