Women With Impact #11 - Dame Tessy Antony de Nassau
Welcome to Women With Impact, a newsletter all about the journeys of ambitious women and how they have a positive impact in our world.
I’m Clara Richter and this is the 11th edition of Women With Impact. If you enjoy this issue, please share it with a friend and like it above.
For this edition, I interviewed Tessy Antony de Nassau, formerly Princess Tessy of Luxembourg. She is a businesswoman and non-profit executive, leading a fashion brand and consultancy in Zurich. Tessy Antony de Nassau is a Global Advocate for Young Women and Adolescent Girls at UNAIDS and Patron at the United Nations Association (UK). Moreover, she holds several board member positions, such as being an Advisory Board Member at Una Terra VC.
Wishing you a pleasant read!
Best,
Clara
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The Journey
Who are you and how do you spend your time?
I am a Luxembourgish business woman and Charity Executive living in Zurich, Switzerland most of my time. I have several businesses including the fashion brand Human Highness and the strategic consultancy Taff Solutions. I am the mother of four children: TRH Princes Gabriel (17) and Noah (15), Julia (15) and Theodor (2).
I have been working and living all around the globe. Was deployed to a war zone at the age of 18 as the only woman of my draft and have been titled Princess of Luxembourg for almost half of my life.
I love spending my time with my family on walks. These quality moments mean the world to me and give me the opportunity to check in with my teens and to just relax from my hectic work life.
I am a proud working mum and take particularly good care in the everyday logistics in order to make sure no one is left behind or feels left behind. My family and I are a team and we support one another at all times.
What does impact mean to you?
Impact means responsibility for me. Everything we do has impact. From the one post we put on our social until the words we choose in an email. It is important to take time and think through everything you do in your lives - let this be your private or your working life. As such, we can achieve the best and most positive impact possible.
How do you make a positive difference in the world?
I make a positive impact in the world by spreading kindness wherever I go. Kindness is not something you just have, it is a skill one needs to foster at all times. Temptations to be unkind are all around us, which makes it even more important to set your focus and goals towards the world you want to live in, and you would like your children and their children to grow up in.
The Lessons
How has your journey of making an impact changed you?
My journey of making an impact has changed me dramatically and keeps on changing me everyday. It is the choices I made, and keep making, which matter. While being deployed to Kosovo in 2004 at the age of 18, I chose the path to be the best soldier I can be by serving the local population and my fellow soldiers with an open heart, understanding and knowhow. It was not always easy as I have experienced unkindness and violence in my life as well. However, having experienced these moments where I met individuals who have lost everything in a war-torn region and yet they invited me in with a smile, gave me a drink and took the time to speak to me, made me realise that the humanity we all feel within us is the true wealth other than the health that a person can have. This humbling experience - to name one - has always remained within me and keeps reminding me about why I do what I do.
What's a challenge you have encountered most often and how did you tackle it?
I had my fair share of challenges in my life. From an abusive partner to a messy public divorce. The corporate world and the competition between women has also been challenging for me. However, I am grateful to all these experiences as they helped me to build resilience while staying humble and kind. I think the key to this is to stay balanced within you, meditate and reassess your own actions everyday and see what you can do better in order to never become the person who hurt me in the first place.
What's the biggest lesson you have learned on your journey so far?
The biggest lesson I learned is that no matter how terrible a situation might seem that there will always be a solution and people do move on. A quote I love is that “People will forget what happened. However, people will never forget how you made them feel”. I find this quote fitting to all walks of live and situations.
The Inspiration
Who did you recently inspire to create impact? How?
My work inspires thousands of people around the world, which is humbling. However, I also recognise the huge responsibly this brings. I mentor many young people on their next steps and it is hard to keep track on my latest one.
An everyday project which I will always have are my four children. I show them my world, for example why charity is important and how business is conducted. As a result, my son Noah has joined the British cadets and has his own business (a 3D printing business) while being in school.
I inspire others to create impact by being true to myself and authentic. Real authenticity inspires and can lead to change. I hope that being the way I am, people see this, feel this and get inspired through it. Being authentic also asks a lot of vulnerability which is a complete different skillset one needs to work one. It took me years to be able to speak up in public about how I actually feel and what my likes and dislikes are, all while being kind and supportive even towards the biggest bullies.
What advice would you give to other women who want to have a positive impact?
I would tell them to be their true self and to stop comparing themselves to others. The grass is not greener on the other side. Just because it looks easy it does not make it easy. You do you, while I do me, and together we create We.
Enjoyed this or have any feedback? Let me know in the comments!
If you know someone who fits my mission and should absolutely be featured on Women With Impact, please nominate them here.
This is such a great testimonial. Tell it like it is. Thank you Dame Tessy Antony de Nassau.