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I’ve learned to master challenging tasks with lots of commitment and to combine my job with a functioning family life.

Dagmar Swientek

Executive Vice President Service Division | Department: Service |Dortmund, Germany

How did you come to join KHS?

After completing my high school diploma, I opted for a dual work-study course at KHS, then as now one of the biggest employers in city. I liked the idea of getting a good head start in the world of work. Studying and working in parallel was still a very new concept back then but it seemed an exciting prospect to me. Working my way through KHS’ various stations and departments gave me a deep understanding of how processes at an engineering company run from A to Z and at the same time enabled me to build up a network.

Which stations and departments were those exactly?

After two years in Order Management, I was able to help establish my own field of responsibility and work together with customers independently. In 2006 I took on my first managerial tasks for the region of Central Europe in the course of a company reshuffle. Four years later, I was entrusted with the task of global order management, i.e. I assumed responsibility for spare part and conversion offers, orders and invoices. After returning to KHS after my parental leave in 2015, I was given a strategic post in Service and later in Sales and Service, where I optimized global processes and systems, among other things. From the start of 2023 my last station was that of managing director of KHS Austria, responsible not just for Austria but also the entire Adriatic – from Italy, Hungary and the Balkans through Greece to Cyprus and Malta. Here, it was my job to establish and structure this vast region in the sense of our OneKHS strategy program together with the executive managers from the market zones and to further strengthen our presence.

What would you say has had a particularly big influence on your life and career so far?

One formative experience for me was that my parents were self-employed and ran their own logistics company. At the time, I consciously experienced their rather late venture into the unknown. I thus appreciate how important it is to take the initiative. I know how precious time is and what it means to set yourself goals in order to change. And I’ve learned what it means to master challenging tasks with lots of commitment and to be successful in your business while not forgetting that you’re also a private person and need to combine your job with a functioning family life.

“En route to senior management you need energy, perseverance and resilience.”

Which other skills do you think are important for your job at management level?

En route to senior management you need a huge amount of energy, perseverance and resilience – plus the trust of your superiors and executive management. It’s also essential to show a sense of initiative, be prepared to contribute and nurture a great interest in interdisciplinary topics. Here, supplementary training and mentoring programs help to encourage your own further development.

Have you set yourself any specific goals for your new role?

One of my specific aims is to continue to build up the service business on a global scale. The objective here is to strengthen my colleagues in the various regions and help them form an international network. I myself will then act as a kind of catalyst by providing suitable qualifications in the area and coordinating closely with the supply chain team in order to further optimize our delivery times. My overriding aim is to continue to be a reliable partner to customers worldwide and to ensure that KHS lines and machines have a long service life.

How do you like to spend your free time when you’re not at work?

Reconciling my job with my family life is often something of a challenge! My husband is also an executive manager; he’s in IT. Our top priority is thus to spend as much time as possible with our children. We all love being out in the great outdoors or at the soccer stadium, baking together and traveling. In the near future, we’re planning on maybe going on a safari together.

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