Els Loesberg was the youngest, and first female editor-in-chief of Libelle, the biggest women’s weekly in the Netherlands during the most successful period of this magazine. The circulation skyrocketed over the 800.000 sold copies each week. Els invented, before the word existed, the ‘360 degrees’ by developing brand related products, special events and even ‘Libelle money’.
During those years she discovered that the key to success lies in the combination of creativity and intuition balanced with professionalism and an open eye for people.
“A fantastic time, full of creativity and fun. I never thought of the millions and millions the magazine made. When you came at our floor, you felt the spirit, you heard the laughter, the winning mood gave us wings. Everything we touched changed into gold. Unbelievable.
Of course I learned a lot. I, who stepped into journalism with the idea to write world changing stories, I discovered that I like figures and numbers too, that I like to work with people, that I like to be the engine of change whether it is an organization or a mindset. But perhaps the most important thing I learned was: you never can do it on your own. You have to embrace the people who are with you in the same game”.