MY CAREER AND PATH TO THALES
From an early age I was passionate about technology. My passion for technology led me to an HTL and as part of a compulsory internship I was given the opportunity to work at Thales.
A stroke of luck - because three more summer internships at Thales followed. I was allowed to spend all of my internships in the development team of the TAS Platform technology platform.
Then I started studying electrical engineering at the Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien). During my studies I was able to continue working as a freelancer for Thales, this time in the hardware department under the direction of Dieter Baumgartner. In the meantime, I changed my field of study and successfully completed my bachelor's degree in electronics economics and my master's degree in innovation and technology management.
MY TASKS AND CURRENT POSITION
I quickly realized that over the years I had found a permanent place in the Thales family. However, I got my current position by a lucky coincidence. The position of a product manager became vacant and Thales first looked internally for a suitable candidate. My boss at the time, Dieter Baumgartner, considered me suitable for this position and suggested me for the job. Thanks to him, I am where I am now - I am grateful for this chance to take on a new challenge.
What is the job of a product manager? The area of responsibility of a product manager is complex. There are points of contact with a wide variety of products and customers. The challenge is to create a straightforward interface between the customer, product development and the individual specialist departments in-house, as well as to support cross-interface communication in order to ensure smooth, sustainable sales and further development of the individual products.
You can also see it this way: The product manager is a diplomat who represents the customers in the company.
ONGOING PROJECTS
There is no boredom as a Product Manager. At the moment I am overseeing four products; many more are already in the starting gates. Among others, I am responsible for the product Checkpoint, which is used in Saudi Arabia. Some of our products are already well established at the Saudi market. After a decade, a modernization needs to be done, to guarantee the highest possible safety in the future.
THE MODEL RAILWAY – A PROJECT CLOSE TO MY HEART
Our model train - installed in the showroom at Thales in Vienna - has become a project close to my heart. Using the model railway, we can show our core business in Austria - safe rail travel. We are continuously expanding our offer in this area. With the model we can playfully represent our various future versions. We show new and modern things in an exciting way and want to arouse interest and acceptance for our innovations.