What attracted you to Evonik?

I have worked as a consultant in my previous life and saw a lot of different sites and companies. When working with Evonik, I recognized the unique spirit of innovation, a huge amount of passionate people and a clearly visible dedication to outstanding quality, safety and novel approaches to product and process development. I felt like I was among like-minded people in a business that is extremely exciting, diverse and significantly growing. I wanted to be part of building Evonik to be the number one service provider for parenteral drug delivery in the industry.

Why did you join a specialty chemical company instead of a pharmaceutical company?

At Evonik, our approach to contract development and manufacturing is extremely suited for people that want to solve complex problems on a regular basis, crave diverse challenges, want to be connected to the customers (which are small and big pharma companies) and at the same time serve a higher purpose of helping people that need drug delivery solutions to improve how drugs work. I did not think I could get the same diversity, drive for innovation, complex project management exposure and overall impact opportunity by joining a pharmaceutical company.

What do you love about Birmingham? How do you spend your time when you’re not at work?

Before I knew Birmingham I was afraid of it. Alabama didn’t sound like paradise for someone who had lived in Munich (Germany), St Andrews (Scotland), Calgary (Canada), Boston and Philly. However, I was quickly convinced that I have done wrong by Birmingham. There are great opportunities for outdoor sports (I like to trail-run and play soccer and the weather is quite suited for spending significant times in and at pools); cool, new restaurants (I am a foodie) and lots of opportunities for cultural relaxation that I like to tap into.

What does #TeamSpirit mean to you?

#TeamSpirit for me is taking on large challenges with the power of our collective intelligence and utilizing each other’s strengths when serving the customer. It also means that we try to develop each other by providing constant feedback and being there for each other in tough times. #StrengthBasedServantLeadership

What unexpected benefit did you find at Evonik when you started but was a great surprise?

I thought working for a corporate company will be a huge ordeal as those companies usually lack agility. However, one of the employees at Evonik described the company more like a bunch of speedboats in comparison to other companies that are big tankers. I like that picture as it describes how we want to operate—be innovative, speedy and highly adaptable. I think the spirit of agility and innovation is very predominant in Evonik employees. That this can be felt throughout the company wherever you go on the globe came as a nice surprise.