“Being influential means having a certain responsibility, because our words, actions and decisions can have a positive or negative impact on those around us,” stated in her Paperjam Top 100 acceptance speech on 10 December 2024. “Being influential means measuring the consequences of your influence, acting with integrity and ensuring that the impact you exert serves fair and ethical objectives. Well-used influence can inspire, motivate and bring about change. In this sense, influence is a powerful tool that requires discernment and humility. It is a privilege that comes with great responsibility. It's essential to surround yourself with the right people and, above all, to stay true to your values."
On the Top 100 2024 stage, with the prime minister and PWC CEO looking on with a big smile, Muller is almost professorial. An assertive leader, the CEO of Fischer bakery chain and chair of the Luxembourg Confederation trade group, takes the time, like each of the Top 10 winners at Paperjam's flagship event, to greet her first circles. Her family. And her team.
"She doesn't impose herself when she doesn't have to, and hates wasting time with power plays. Innovative and patriotic in the best sense of the word, she always defends Luxembourg, both as an entrepreneur and as chair of the Luxembourg Confederation," said Julie Becker, CEO of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, introducing Carole Muller at the Paperjam Top 100 ceremony, 10 December 2024. Photo: Nader Ghavami / Maison Moderne
Muller stated: “Today, having influence means being able to act directly or indirectly on things and people by touching them through reason, emotion and example. Influence is only possible if you are surrounded by people. I'm lucky to have motivated, competent and dedicated teams at my company, Fischer, and at Luxembourg Confederation. Without them, I wouldn't be able to combine all these jobs. It is they, the experts in their fields, who enable me to move forward with confidence and make a real impact. Their expertise, commitment and day-to-day support are the keys to my success and my ability to combine several responsibilities. Together, we form a close-knit team in which everyone plays an essential role. I'm grateful to be able to count on such passionate and professional colleagues who share my vision and help to turn our ideas into concrete action. It's thanks to them that I'm able to exert a positive influence and take on challenges with confidence and efficiency.”
Her style is a vestige, no doubt, of her early years in diplomacy, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a junior official during the Luxembourg presidency of the European Union in 2004 and European studies at the College of Europe in Warsaw. Ten years after taking the helm at Fischer, after a spell at Lenotre and another at PWC, she had to explain to her children on Tuesday evening that she was an influencer without having her own Youtube channel. In 2022, Muller went from vice president to president of the Confédération luxembourgeoise du commerce (CLC), now the Luxembourg Confederation, which represents 1,800 companies and more than 100,000 employees.
"Being influential means measuring the consequences of your influence, acting with integrity and ensuring that your impact serves fair and ethical objectives", Carole Muller said in her Paperjam Top 100 acceptance speech at the Rockhal, 10 December 2024. Photo: Nader Ghavami
In front of an audience of 1,200 guests, who had come to enjoy a meal concocted by Ma Langue Sourit's two-starred chef, , and by the CEO of the Steffen Group, , it was her career path that she wanted to remember. “It all came about thanks to the Fédération des jeunes dirigeants [young managers federation]. The federation helped me to understand myself better, to understand what influence means, and to be able to work as part of a team. It was also there that Fernand Ernster met me and asked me to run the Luxembourg Confederation. Today, it's the Luxembourg Confederation that allows me to have influence and I hope to use it wisely.”
And more than her words, the impromptu family photo she organised with all the current and former business leaders who have passed through the Fédération des jeunes dirigeants gives a better idea of her importance. There are a good fifty of them, all of whom are now making the Luxembourg economy hum.
"The jury appreciated her energy, her passion and her commitment to the industry she represents, but also her human qualities: her kindness, her outspokenness, her simplicity and her accessibility", said , CEO of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange and winner of the 2022 award, introducing Muller. “She is hard-working and humble. And she gives a lot to society. She's a role model for the next generation, for women and men alike, as she symbolises that 'anything is possible', that in the end we only have the limits we set ourselves. She is the embodiment of surpassing yourself. She has succeeded in establishing herself as an influential figure, taken very seriously by her contacts, while developing an impressive network. She is a fighter whose mission is to serve her country and the entrepreneurs she represents through the Luxembourg Confederation. She is also known as 'the Joan of Arc of small traders'. An outstanding negotiator, she is capable of drawing the right conclusions in everyone's interest. As chair of the CLC, she is always looking for compromise. She doesn't impose herself when she doesn't have to, and hates wasting time with power games. Innovative and patriotic in the best sense of the word, she always defends Luxembourg, both as an entrepreneur and as Chair of the CLC.”
The top 10
1. Carole Muller, CEO of Fischer and chair of the Luxembourg Confederation
2. Pit Hentgen, managing director of La Luxembourgeoise and chair of Lalux
3. Françoise Thoma, CEO of Spuerkeess and on the board of directors of Cargolux, Enovos, Luxair, Luxembourg Stock Exchange and SES
4. Claude Strasser, CEO of Post
5. René Winkin, director of Fedil
6. Gérard Hoffmann, CEO of Proximus
7. Michel Reckinger, CEO of Reckinger and chair of the Union des entreprises luxembourgeoises business group
8. Maxime Straus, CFO of Cargolux
9. Christophe Goossens, CEO of RTL Luxembourg and Broadcasting Center Europe
10. Marc Lauer, CEO of Groupe Foyer
The strength of the collective
The panel of judges, who worked throughout the summer on this tenth edition of the Paperjam Top 100 (2024), were full of quips and anecdotes as they presented the winners. The jury members--including Becker, at Elvinger Hoss, at SES, at Luxconnect, at Landewyck, at Lamboley Executive Search and independent consultant Laurent Probst--played with the audience's curiosity in a little guessing game.
Highlights from the recipients speeches included:
- the relaxed manner of Pit Hentgen, a regular in the Top 10, where he has been six times,
- Françoise Thoma's call to understand and defend the Luxembourg ecosystem,
- the moving speech by Claude Strasser, who paid tribute to the special commitment of his team during his illness,
- René Winkin's references to Liverpool, winner of the previous day's Champions League in Girona,
- the pre-recorded message from Gérard Hoffmann, who had left for the AI summit in New York with a confidential delegation from Luxembourg,
- the modesty of Michel Reckinger,
- the freshness of Maxim Straus,
- Christophe Goossens' call for vigilance against fake news and the gravediggers of democracy,
- and Marc Lauer's genuine joy, despite what he's used to.
Read the original French-language version of this report /