After having worked for other specialty chemicals companies as an application engineer, I became technical director at Evonik Gorapur, a small unit within the Comfort and Insulation Business Line in Wittenburg, near Schwerin, that develops and manufactures release agents for polyurethane foams.

Eventually, nine years ago, I moved to Hanau to work as an information specialist. This is my absolute dream job. Every day I work on exciting new discoveries, new fields of application for our products and strategic topics, and I have an inside view of the various developments of the Evonik segments.

The constant change affects my position, too, of course. When I started in the unit, we were often just document suppliers. Now we have become an acknowledged partner to our internal Evonik customers. In the entire I2P® process, from the initial idea to the marketing of the products, we support our customers with information, analyses, and recommendations for action. Not surprisingly, then, people seek our expertise each day. 

So it is particularly important to be up to speed with the research databases and analytical tools we use. We keep up-to-date and, at the same time, get the chance for personal development through a wealth of continuing education classes and training opportunities.

I have been able to build a strong internal network across all segments through the work I do. In the future, I think such contacts will be key to facilitating continuous cross-segment knowledge exchange at Evonik.

Ultimately, such a network is also an extremely positive thing for me personally, as it helps me identify and exploit my own development opportunities.

At a strong company like Evonik, changes also offer continuous opportunities to adapt working conditions to the unique aspects of our private lives. As a Young Spirit sponsor, I have frequently used the offerings to instill a love of natural sciences in children in kindergarten and elementary schools.

Overall, the favorable salary scale, added benefits like employee pensions or long-term accounts, as well as flexible working hours with time for the family are extremely important to me personally.