I joined Hilti in 2003 as a project manager in the corporate development team. Due to its excellent reputation in the Swiss market, its greatly engineered products and a recommendation from a friend, Hilti was my first choice.
During a project on market strategy for the Netherlands, I realized that I didn’t know much about sales and Hilti products, so I joined the Hilti Germany team as a territory sales representative. Even though this was out of my comfort zone, I learned a lot about what makes Hilti tick: its products and its customers. About a year later I decided to go back to an area I had my strengths in: dealing with numbers and analytics. I became the new Head of Controlling & Business Development for the Middle East, Africa & Central Asia region, where I learned how to develop business in a very dynamic environment and deal with very different cultures.

Four years later, I wanted to take on more operating responsibilities, so I got the chance to become the Finance Business Partner (CFO) for our Swiss market. It was a very exciting and colourful journey of six years, being responsible for Finance, Legal, Logistics and Repair, where I could also bring in my expertise as a mechanical engineer. Working very closely with my colleagues in the management team and in all departments, my focuses were steering the market organization, business partnering with different functions to introduce new concepts and business models, while also building and developing a strong team. Looking back, I’m very proud that I have been able to leave a financially strong organization with well-established processes and a strong team. 

My most recent role as Head of Group Controlling was an ideal development for me, as it enables me to put my learnings from previous experiences into practice. Being more strategically and long-term oriented, I am able to embark on large change initiatives with a far bigger impact for the whole organization worldwide.

Throughout my career, I was able to grow both personally and professionally. Mostly, this was due to a lot of freedom I was given in each of the roles I had. Freedom to act, to take initiative, to shape.
I am very grateful for all the opportunities I got throughout my career, and for everything I learned on the journey!
 

Almost 24 years ago, I had no idea what Hilti stood for. But I was inspired by people who worked for Hilti at the time, and lucky to have met them in the first place. They’re the reason I joined the company.
 
Hilti is my second employer, and hopefully my last before I retire. Through the lens of a younger generation, that might sound truly boring. I get it. Before I joined Hilti, I felt the same way: why stay with one company for decades of your life?
 
But the way my career has developed – the different experiences, challenges, job functions and cultures that I’ve had the chance to explore; plus all the opportunities to contribute to the company and develop on a personal level – a career like this can’t be described as boring, right? It’s the opposite, in fact.
 
I’m thankful to Hilti for being so open minded, for letting people follow their passion rather than judging or shoehorning them based on their education or work background. It’s thanks to this that I had got the chance to move from finance to HR. Not many companies would give you that opportunity.
 
The other thing I’m grateful for is the people I’ve met at Hilti. Many have become good friends, from whom I’ve learned a lot about work and life in general. This is really special.