Job title: Sales Manager
Department: Automotive
At Henkel since: 2000

How did you get started with Henkel?
During college I took an internship with Henkel for two months. Basically, the first month they went over all the products, the different groups and jobs here at the Madison Heights facility. The second month of the internship I was traveling around with the representatives that covered the different industries. I spent four one-week periods with the different representatives to explore the business Henkel was in. Following graduation, I moved from Cleveland to Toledo to take on the Toledo Jeep account for Chrysler.

What are your day-to-day responsibilities?
There is a lot of problem solving to do on different issues with the sales representatives that are under me. There are product rollouts, trying to find out which products fit for development by Chrysler. I’m working with Chrysler hand-in-hand. I do a lot with the purchasing and accounts with Chrysler making sure they pay us what we are sending in.

Did you have a mentor?
My mentor was my current manager. Each manager I had became a mentor. I had about five different managers over the past six years. These changes weren’t bad because it’s good to see how every individual managed the business differently and how they each took on certain situations.

Did you have personal responsibility from day one?
As soon as I started full-time I had two weeks of training with HR and training and then I was placed directly into the field. As a sales representative for the Chrysler Toledo account, I was on my own and the only Henkel representative in the area. It was my responsibility to manage the account.

 What further professional training programs have you taken part in while with Henkel?
Internally I’ve had sales training, I’ve taken negotiation trainings through HR and presentation training. They’ve sent me over to Germany for adhesives and sealants training at our facility in Heidelberg. Besides those I had trainings on the different product lines. In addition, I have begun working on my MBA, which Henkel is funding through its tuition reimbursement program.

What makes Henkel special? What distinguishes Henkel from others? 
First of all, it’s an international company. It has been my experience that working with my colleagues outside America gives me the possibility to explore other cultures. In addition, when I first started at Henkel there were multiple divisions at Henkel’s Madison Heights facility. There are a lot of career opportunities and try-on possibilities of different businesses.