Marlyse
Demartin Maeder

Armed with a master’s degree in materials science, Marlyse went on to pursue a PhD in technical sciences. After completing her thesis, she turned to teaching and gave evening classes at the University of Applied Sciences of the Canton of Vaud, all while balancing family life with young children.

When her youngest son started school, she felt drawn toward the industrial world. Browsing job postings, she came across a SICPA advertisement. She knew neither the company nor the banknote industry at the time. The role was meant to be a liaison between patents and scientists - a position she ultimately didn’t get due to lack of specific experience. But her application caught the attention of an internal manager who was looking to strengthen his team with a chemist. This is how her SICPA adventure began.

Her first six years were dedicated to researching innovative new materials, for example for banknote automatic reading systems and in the field of liquid crystals. She was then promoted to Manager of the Materials Laboratory, which at the time consisted of 5 to 6 people. Under her leadership, the lab grew and would, a few years later, include about fifteen collaborators.

In 2022, she took a new step by becoming Head of the Security Features & Detection department. In this role, she coordinates five laboratories and leads a multidisciplinary team of 80 experts in fields ranging from chemistry to algorithms. Her mission? Creating links between workgroups, ensuring coherence between technical roadmaps and business priorities, allocating resources effectively, and clarifying objectives.

During her studies, Marlyse recalls women being a minority in her courses. At SICPA, she has seen technical teams evolve:
“When I was managing laboratories, I had several women as team leaders, but the higher you go in the hierarchy, the fewer there are.”

Nevertheless, she has never felt any particular obstacles:
“I was never made to feel that I didn’t belong,” she says. She feels grateful to SICPA for the opportunities provided -training, coaching - which have enabled her to advance in her career.

Her greatest achievement? Bringing together very different profiles: chemists, software engineers, optics specialists…
“As a manager, you shouldn’t be the expert in place of the experts but rather know how to leverage everyone’s strengths to create a complete solution.”

She describes her leadership style as “soft”: convincing and explaining rather than imposing.
“It takes more time, but people follow because they understand the purpose. As a manager, you can make two mistakes: not listening to your team and deciding alone, or worse, listening… and not deciding.”

Mother of three now-adult children, Marlyse works at 90%, a schedule that enables her to maintain a healthy work–life balance. She has also promoted such flexibility within her own teams, allowing both mothers and fathers to work part‑time.

With experience, passing on knowledge matters more and more to her:
“It’s important to help teams grow and prepare the next generation. I particularly enjoy working with young people - motivated and interesting - with whom I love exchanging ideas.”

Routine is nowhere to be found in Marlyse’s daily life. She starts her day early, at 6:30 a.m., to prepare briefs and handle urgent matters. Her days then alternate between technical meetings, strategic sessions, client visits, and interactions with her teams.

“I can start the day with a Teams meeting with Australia, follow up with a technical issue in Indonesia, and end with discussions on new materials with the United States. It’s extremely varied, and that’s what I appreciate most.”

She draws energy from the richness of expertise within SICPA and the strength of her internal network:
“Here, we are surrounded by highly competent people in every field. It’s very motivating.

If she had to describe SICPA, Marlyse would choose three terms:

• Competence, for the exceptional expertise of the teams

• Sustainability, for the importance given to social and environmental responsibility

• Motivation, because the collective energy is a real source of daily inspiration

As a mother of three young adults, she emphasizes the importance of knowing oneself:
“You need to think about what you enjoy doing, find your passion, and understand which direction you want to grow. What matters most is having people who feel good in their roles.”