Lydia J. Goutas, MBA

Senior Partner at Lehner Executive Partners Global Head of Financial Services and FinTech & Project Lead for Regional and International Projects at Cornerstone International Group

Lydia J. Goutas is Senior Partner at Lehner Executive Partners, Global Head of Financial Services and FinTech & Project Lead for regional and International Projects at Cornerstone International Group, as well as Chair of the Future Innovation Group, formerly known as The Financial Services Club CEE.

Born in New York, she heads an international team providing services to growing multinational companies in the European region, particularly in financial services including banking, insurance, FinTech, professional services and IT. In addition to supporting board and executive decisions, Lydia also tracks trends on a pan-European basis. As Chair of the Financial Future Innovation Leaders Group DACH & CEE/Future Innovation Group DACH & CEE (“formerly FSCLUB Austria and CEE”), a regional futuristic club for executives, Lydia has been looking at the future of banking and transformation strategies, including digitalization, blockchain and regulatory issues that hinder business growth.

Furthermore, Lydia was invited to be a member of the AESC (Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants) Council of Europe and Africa, the highest accreditation body for the Executive Search and leadership consulting industry, and Lehner Executive Partners is one of the few Executive Search firms to hold this accreditation in Austria.

Prior to her current roles, she served in various capacities at Webster Vienna Private University, including Director of Admissions & Enrollment Management and Managing Director of the Professional Development Center. In New York, she worked as a molecular biologist. Apart from her scientific publications, she taught at several universities, wrote for Economy Austria and was academic director of a Master’s program for personnel development at PEF Private University for the EADS Space Agency. She regularly hosts executive dinner discussions for the banking and financial services industries.

Her current and former board and consulting roles include:

-Financial Future Innovation Leaders Group DACH & CEE/Future Innovation Group DACH & CEE (“formerly FSCLUB Austria and CEE”) Chair & Co-Founder

-Emeritus “Advisory Board Member” at Webster University

-Member of the Board of Trustees of the Austro-American Society (ÖAG)

-President of AWA from 2008 to 2010 (served on the board for 10 years)

-Member of IWF (International Women’s Forum)