
Breaking Barriers: Women Thriving in Male-Dominated Fields at wienerberger
Breaking Barriers: Women Thriving in Male-Dominated Fields at wienerberger
As we celebrate International Women’s Day, we want to spotlight three exceptional women at wienerberger who are excelling in fields traditionally dominated by men.
Let’s meet Nesrine Haddar, Sadush Zeqiri, and Diana Bonkova, who are driving change and delivering impactful solutions across wienerberger. Their expertise, resilience, and innovation are shaping our digital and data-driven future while pushing boundaries in technology, engineering, and product digitalization.
Building the Future of Data at wienerberger
In the ever-evolving world of data architecture, Nesrine Haddar plays a crucial role in wienerberger’s Business Analytics team within Group IT & Digitalization. Since joining in 2023, she has been instrumental in transforming our Data Platform, ensuring its scalability, resilience, and cost-efficiency.
Her work is not just about numbers and code; it directly impacts wienerberger’s ability to make informed business decisions and drive digital transformation across our operations.
My passion for data comes from my drive to bring value and unlock business potential through data-driven insights. I believe that if data is used in the right way, the possibilities are limitless, and I’m passionate about leveraging it to drive meaningful impact.
Thankfully, I’ve always been treated equally by my managers and colleagues and never felt undervalued because of my gender. However, I often found myself the only woman in some meetings, sometimes in some projects. While this was a noticeable reality, it never discouraged me. Instead, I saw it as an opportunity to confidently contribute, prove my expertise, and advocate for diversity.
In this industry, leveraging data effectively isn’t just an advantage—it’s the key to long-term success and innovation. Data empowers us to make well-informed, strategic decisions based on facts and insights rather than relying on intuition or traditional guesswork. With advancements in AI, automation, and real-time analytics, we can optimize our operations and enhance efficiency. Many technologies like digital twins, predictive maintenance, and AI are revolutionizing industries, enabling smarter workflows and proactive problem-solving. When data is leveraged effectively, it unlocks limitless possibilities, transforming the way we work, create, and innovate.
One of the biggest challenges I faced was designing and developing the Data Platform with limited internal resources. This meant I had to expand my expertise beyond my core skills. Instead of seeing this as a setback, I embraced it as an opportunity to grow. With resilience and dedication, I pushed myself to learn quickly, adapting to new domains to ensure the successful completion of the project. This experience reinforced my belief that with the right mindset, we can overcome any challenge and achieve more than we initially thought possible.
It’s not as intimidating or complex as it seems. I always remind myself, ‘If they can do it, so can I.’ The only real limits are the ones we set for ourselves. Believe in your abilities, stay curious, and don’t be afraid to challenge yourself. If I can do it, so can you—set your sights high and go for it!
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Transforming Production with Data Science
Sadush Zeqiri, a Data Scientist in our Industry 4.0 Strategy & Applications team, is making a significant impact with advanced analytics and machine learning. Since joining wienerberger in 2022, she has been at the forefront of using data science to optimize production processes.
Next to modeling data, her role is deeply people-focused—providing dedicated training sessions and empowering teams to harness the power of data for continuous improvement in our factories. Her work eliminates cumbersome reporting, introduces automatic data capture, and supports projects by providing actionable analytics. Sadush's ability to translate data into insights is transforming wienerberger’s approach to efficiency and sustainability in manufacturing.
It is the ability to transform raw data into actionable insights for practical solutions. In this environment, data science goes beyond theory—it has great potential to optimize production, reduce waste, and improve energy efficiency.
A practical example is the energy optimization in brick production. Given the complexity of the process and its many influencing factors, understanding the entire production chain can be challenging. However, advanced analytics and machine learning have proven valuable in identifying process behaviors and optimization opportunities. By integrating and analyzing data from multiple sources, machine learning helped identify optimal process parameters, increasing plant efficiency and reducing gas consumption.
A key lesson has been the value of collaboration between data science and plant operations. Building strong models is just one part—making them practical, scalable, and easy to use is equally important. Continuous feedback from local teams has been crucial in improving the solutions.
One key challenge is scaling data-driven solutions across production sites while ensuring they remain adaptable to local specific conditions. At the same time, it is important to foster a data-driven culture, ensuring insights are not just available but actively used to improve decision-making in manufacturing.
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Driving Digital Innovation in Roof Solutions
Balancing a high-responsibility role with academic excellence, Diana Bonkova is an inspiring example of determination and expertise. While leading digital product initiatives at wienerberger, she also recently completed her PhD in Civil Engineering with a focus on Computer-Aided Design, Building Information Modelling, and Sustainability.
Since joining in 2019, Diana has played a key role in wienerberger’s digital transformation in roof solutions. She translates business needs into digital innovations that enhance product information management across our ecosystem. Her work in sustainability research and product category analysis is shaping the future of environmentally conscious roofing solutions.
The digitalization of the construction business has been a focus of mine since I was 13 while studying architecture in a specialized high school. The inspiration came naturally with my first CAD software—the freedom to design and amend without limitations felt like a game. Sustainability is something I grew up with—recycling from an early age, planting trees, and taking care of the environment. Now, being able to make a transformation on a larger scale in the roofing industry is a driving motivation and inspiration.
All4Roof is beyond a calculation tool in terms of product management. One of the key aspects is delivering a top-quality digital service that establishes a connection with roofers and decision-making stakeholders. All4Roof covers various aspects of roof planning—detailed material calculations, technical documents compliant with local regulations, quotation generation, and providing a warranty for installed roofing solutions.
I see digitalization and automation as the necessary way forward. Data is needed more than ever to focus on two main pillars—preserving the existing housing stock through renovation and building more durable structures for the future. The industry will increasingly rely on data-driven solutions based on algorithmic analysis and large data sets.
Sustainability has become a passion of mine. Even after finalizing my doctorate, I keep track of the latest research and take part in different conferences and webinars. Being part of technical committees allows me to share and gather broader knowledge that can be integrated into our roofing business strategy.
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Nesrine, Sadush, and Diana exemplify how women are shaping the future of technology, data science, and product innovation at wienerberger. Their contributions go beyond technical expertise – they are paving the way for more inclusive and diverse teams in fields where women are still underrepresented.
As we celebrate International Women’s Day, let’s recognize the incredible talent within our company and continue fostering an environment where everyone can thrive.