Roman Miserre spent 20 long years at Burda, 7 of them as Head of Purchasing at BurdaProcurement. Now he is leaving the company to start a private project: cycling around the world with his bike and tent. Here he reveals…
For the interview series "10 Questions for...", we spoke with Emily Lai today. She is the Strategic Finance Manager at Burda International in Munich. In the interview, Emily shares how she buys companies instead of clothes, how she juggles with finances, and what her tricks are for more effective work.
One of my current tasks is the post-merger integration of Extra Online Media. In May, we acquired the Czech online media company, which has a strong digital portfolio in the People (extra.cz), Food (toprecepty.cz) & Woman and Lifestyle (lifee.cz) sectors. Our online presence in the Czech Republic has been significantly strengthened by this acquisition. We are unifying the structures and processes of both companies (Burda International CZ and Extra Online Media) in the post-merger integration. I also support the finance work stream here, which includes tasks such as integrating the reporting structures of the acquired company with ours and preparing everything on the systems side so that the figures can be run in our business intelligence tool.
I joined Burda in 2019 and participated in the management trainee programme. Prior to that, I completed my Master's in management and technology at the Technical University of Munich.
So far, I have had the opportunity to take on many different projects and responsibilities in an international environment. For example, I set up the financial reporting for Cocolita (Polish beauty e-commerce), built investment decks, looked for suitable acquisition opportunities together with the Czech team and supervised the MORE trainee project in social commerce. I am constantly learning, being challenged, and supported in my work. I have fantastic colleagues.
I think the most important skills are: analytical thinking, quick comprehension, intercultural competence and assertiveness.
My biggest challenge so far has been figuring out what I want to do after my Master's degree. I have a lot of interests, so it was difficult to make a decision. I found out about the Management Trainee Programme at a career fair at the Technical University of Munich (TUM). It was the perfect way for me to start my career because I was able to work on many different projects. One exciting project, for example, was to improve the usability of the EFahrer.com website and create briefings for the UX team.
I don't have a tool, but I do have a method that has helped me work effectively so far: I break down big tasks into smaller to-dos and write down my priorities for the day every morning. I use Outlook every day to set reminders for myself. This helps me keep track of when I need to complete certain tasks and makes sure I don't miss any deadlines.
The book "Factfulness" by Hans Rosling. I think in times of fake news and information overload, we should be aware of how important it is to form our own opinions based on numbers, data and facts.
I have many smaller goals, like taking a surfing course for the first time. But one big goal this year is charity work: A few weeks ago, I was able to visit a charity and was very impressed by their work and purpose. I want to be more active and get involved with this over the next few months.
I can switch off very well when I go boxing. I also like to draw in my free time. At the moment, I'm learning to draw on the iPad.
I'm looking forward to the exciting projects I have coming up and my holiday in Milan.