You've been with CNC since its start-up phase. How do things compare to back then?
Ultimately, CNC is about ten times larger than back then. The way we deal with individual projects and the possibilities open to us have evolved. Today I can call partners and colleagues in twelve offices across the world and count on their expertise for my projects. At the same time, we have remained very flexible and have maintained the even hierarchy.
What have you learnt on the path from Associate to Senior Consultant?
In the first years I learnt the practical tricks of the trade and acquired skills in new communications disciplines such as Investor Relations and Change Communications. Your wealth of experience and areas of responsibility grow gradually with project work until you're leading a team yourself and are responsible for projects. CNC offers extensive support for professional and personal development, such as an exchange programme throughout the international offices.
You spent half a year in CNC's office in Moscow. How did you benefit from this period?
In an international environment, you soon notice that a project's success does not necessarily depend on concrete factors like efficient planning or tight management. In Russia, for example, you have to spend a lot of time on getting to know the client. The classic kick-off meeting on the first day won't get you very far. Apart from that, any time spent abroad is of course a great personal experience, and Moscow is a real hot spot - even if you are there for the winter as I was.
Right after that, you were appointed as an on-site press officer for a DAX-listed group for a further six months. What were your experiences there?
The change to being part of the company was extremely exciting. The demands of the individual target groups on a group’s communications are enormous. At the same time, in urgent situations a company must be able to react within a few hours, and on a worldwide scale. Coming from a small company, it was very interesting for me to become acquainted with the opinion-forming processes in a large organisation. Business experience is very important for competent consultancy, because only then are you credible and can really predict whether your recommendations can be performed in practice. Therefore, this kind of business experience is a prerequisite for a Senior Consultant position.
