When and how did you join Arla?
I first joined Arla as Summer Intern in 2015 while I was still studying for my master’s degree in Aarhus. It was a great experience, so I stayed on as Student Assistant, coordinating a large scale data collection project in Corporate HR. After finishing my Master’s degree I started as F15, which first took me to Helsinki, working as Executive Assistant for the Managing Director. My second rotation then took me back to Aarhus, where I worked in Commercial Development in Arla Foods Ingredients. In my last rotation I was based in Kuala Lumpur, where was working on advancing our Organic ambition in South East Asia. More specifically, I was responsible for launching a product in one of our key markets in the region.
Today, I’m working out of our Copenhagen office, where I am responsible for B2B export sales to various of our international markets in- and outside of Europe.
How has the F15® programme helped you to grow your career?
Besides the obvious advantages of being exposed to multiple areas of the business and building a great network, the F15 programme helped me to take a structured approach to my personal development. There is great emphasis on identifying and consciously working with your development areas. Most importantly, this goes beyond functional skills and to a more personal level. It helped me to identify my strengths and weaknesses and gave me a clearer picture of the career I want to build for myself.
What has been your biggest challenge so far?
Being a F15 means moving to a new geographical location and often times radically different culture every 8 month. Whilst being overly excited about the professional aspects, it is easy to forget the impact on your personal life.
In your new location you might easily be the only “expat”, whilst most people will go on with their every-day life. As a very social person I found this at times challenging. On the other side, it has challenged me to become even more open and proactive, which lead to many new connections that have outlasted the duration of my rotations.
What’s your next step?
I’m currently based in Copenhagen, working as Export Manager for some of our international markets such as Panama and South Africa. This is super exciting. In the longer term, I would like to move abroad again to support our commercial agenda locally, in one of our emerging markets.