Kindling a sense of entrepreneurship from an early age
When she was 65, my mother started her own school as a coach trainer. This meant I had a coach and a classic example of lifelong learning and entrepreneurship on my doorstep. Entrepreneurship was in the blood too: my grandparents were entrepreneurs as well.
From engineer to risk manager
After training as an engineer and a degree in business administration, I worked as an engineer, programmer and energy purchasing consultant. In this last role, I ensured tailor-made work: I wrote up a risk management model for one of my customers, Cargill, which went on to hire me and task me with setting up the international risk management department. From the start, I surrounded myself with highly-educated young talent that I recruited, trained and motivated.
Cargill: an informative period
When my energy purchasing department took over from local buyers, I went to talk to them to match their roles with their talents. The result? The buyers remained motivated and my department was able to continue to rely successfully on a strong local network. This is how I experienced how important it is to stand by your people.
And it didn’t stop there. From constantly-changing managers, I learnt that they were often not trained to supervise team members in their development. During a training session in London on creative thinking, I discovered how to motivate your team to tap into their creativity and to grow into an innovative thoughts machine.
The pieces of the puzzle came together
During a very difficult period in my personal life when I lost everything I had built, I went searching for myself and my dream, and saw how all the pieces of the puzzle fitted together. My motivation? Gaining impact by contributing to the development of young talent. The business virus struck and I got the final boost from... my mother. The circle was complete : )