I grew up on the Lower Rhine area and therefor knew the Chemical Park Marl even before I started studying. However, some time should pass before the first contact. It was only shortly before the end of my PhD that I met my future boss at a conference. The interviews were held quite quickly after the application. Above all, the good atmosphere between my colleagues in bioprocess engineering at Evonik Technology & Infrastructure GmbH convinced me to start at Evonik. After working only on a laboratory scale during my doctorate, I was looking forward to the large plants.

After about 6 months at Evonik, I participated in the Global Ideation Jam 2017. The Global Ideation Jam is an Evonik internal ideas competition. Every year, a corporate entrepreneur gets the opportunity to develop an idea for a product for one year. In the summer of 2017, my team and I won this competition. In the following 2 years I worked together with colleagues on the idea in order to make it a marketable product.

In 2019, the project was handed over to the business where colleagues are now preparing the final steps for the launch. For me, after the successful project transfer, it continued with a new function. As Manager Commerce Excellence, I am now globally responsible for the development of new business models. Both in my old role and now, I'm always thrilled how openly I was able to reach out to my colleagues at Evonik – no matter which business line they belong to, no matter what level of hierarchy. Colleagues from the laboratories and the operational business supported me as well as the senior management. The openness to new things is something very special for me, which I really appreciate!

In addition to my job, I was also able to actively participate in the development of a new corporate culture last year. My idea was to connect departments even better through mutual visits. This is important, because that is the only way we can all learn and grow professionally as well as on a personal level.

When I chose to work for Evonik at the time, I did so because I found my colleagues very sympathetic on the day of the job interview. I didn't expect the direction I've been developing in the last few years. The combination of teamwork, flexibility and responsibility give me the opportunity to create and change things. This, and the chance to make our world greener through chemistry, motivates me every day.