Job title: Vice President Marketing
Department: Laundry and Home Care
At Henkel since: 1995

What is your position at Henkel? 
I’m currently working as Vice President of Marketing in the Laundry Care section of Henkel in North America. I work with a team focusing on the further development of the brands that we market in the U.S. as well as driving awareness, increasing use and building a loyal consumer base for our laundry products. In addition to this we work closely as a cross-functional team with the Market Research and the R&D group to identify future business opportunities in our markets. We’re also actively evaluating which synergies and successful concepts we can adapt from Henkel within the European marketplaces to bring them here into the U.S. or vice versa.

What job experience have you had at Henkel?
I’ve been with Henkel for 11 years now and I’ve worked in several positions within the Laundry Care division so far. I started as a marketing assistant for specialty laundry care products in the German Marketing organization. Two years later I went into the German sales unit on a job rotation, where I gained experience as a regional manager in the field, as well as in in the category management group. Then I relocated to marketing and worked as a junior product manager in the home cleaning section for the auto dishwashing brand, “Somat”. In 1999 an interesting project opportunity arose based on a joint venture between Dial and Henkel. I participated in the project as a manager for Germany and besides establishing a whole new product category in a European roll-out mix, the team created and launched an entirely new international brand for Henkel. In April 2000 I moved to Paris, France with my family and worked as an International Brand Manager for the auto dishwashing brand “Somat”, where I had the opportunity to gain insights into a different European market and its specific retail structure as well as consumer habits and attitudes. In March 2002 we relocated back to Germany where I became Director of Marketing for the German Home Care product group. After managing a complex portfolio of brands and products with my team for three years, I started my second foreign assignment for Henkel in summer 2005 and came to the Dial Corp. in the United States.

What further professional training programs have you taken part in while with Henkel?
I’ve taken part in several internal basic training programs, e.g. communication, project management, work efficiency, time management or leadership. Furthermore, I’ve taken part in programs from renowned international business schools such as INSEAD (Fontainebleau) where I was invited for a business seminar together with other Henkel managers from all around the world. I’ve taken part in a similar program at IESE business school (Barcelona).

Did you have a mentor?
It strongly depends on the geographical business region you’re working in, but also on the team constellation. When moving abroad, you always get a mentor who helps you get into your job. In France and here at Dial in Scottsdale, I have a mentor supporting me from a personal and business standpoint.