Thomas

From Start Finance Trainee to Director Sales

Thomas about his Dynamic Ascent in the Holtzbrinck Group

Why did you decide to join Holtzbrinck?

It was the exciting combination of an economically-oriented trainee program at a large corporation in combination with the operative perspective in the traditional Rowohlt publishing house. The best of both worlds, combined in a very attractive location (at the time almost) in Hamburg.

What was your development within the group like?

I've been here for over 11 years, so it's going to be long. In addition to operative work in Controlling at Rowohlt, I took part in the Start Finance Trainee Program as a young executive. During the course of this program, I completed the Media Manager Program, which provided me with additional thorough preparation for the challenges as an executive. Furthermore, it was a great opportunity to meet other junior executives in the group. In addition to my activities in Controlling, I took on the newly created position of Business Development Manager. In this position, I was able to accompany many projects in the course of digitalization of the publishing world. Thereafter, I switched to the Holtzbrinck Publishing Group in Stuttgart, in order to find out more about our group and the German book segment from a strategic perspective in particular, and to drive joint publishing projects in my position of Project Manager Trade Publishing. In the course of the expansion of my responsibility for projects, I switched to Holtzbrinck Buchverlage with a strong focus on sales projects in the position of Senior Manager Group Projects. I am now Director Sales of Holtzbrinck Buchverlage and coordinate the joint activities of our group's publishing houses in Germany.

What was the most important project for you and your team?

One of the most sustainable and exciting projects to date is the implementation of a cross-departmental digital Think Tank during my time in Hamburg. I had the opportunity, together with this amazing team, to be part of shaping the digital change and to initiate many pioneering and digital projects.

What do you especially value about your work at Holtzbrinck Buchverlage?

In my position as a link between the publishing houses, customers and vendors, I work on all kinds of challenges in a very dynamic environment. This makes my work very diverse and extremely exciting. I am also fortunate to be working with lots of great colleagues in the publishing houses and in our industry.

What would you recommend to students or graduates who want to join our group?

Try to get a foot in the door with an internship or as a working student. Make a mark during this activity and express your desire for subsequent work early on.

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