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 Hel-sinki, 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.
Right now I’m based in Kuala Lumpur, where I’m working on advancing our Organic ambition in South East Asia. More specifically, I’m responsible for launching a product in one of our key markets in the re-gion. This includes everything from developing the recipe to creating the right concept, packaging, posi-tioning strategy, launch plan, etc. With no prior experience in Marketing, my learning curve is incredibly steep!
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 im-portantly, 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 completed the F15 Graduate Programme in 2018 and is now in a permanent role as Channel Manager in Foodservice Marketing in the Danish business group.
