What's your background?
I studied Business, majoring in Management and International Business Strategy at Auckland University of Technology (AUT). I loved AUT- mainly for its collaborative learning structure and smaller classes, which tailored well to my learning style! Outside of studies, I grew up in Auckland, I am very passionate about health and fitness- specifically running, and love baking sweet treats (I think my colleagues love it too!).
What's your job about?
I am currently an Account Manager (AM) in our Life Science Healthcare (LSHC) sector, looking after six different client accounts. My role entails looking after and developing strong client relationships, and managing financial and commercial aspects of my accounts. The AM role is very collaborative (which I love) and exposes me to an array of different functions within the business including finance, business development, operations, projects and more! This means no day is the same and there are a lot of learning and development opportunities. Account Managers are required across the range of sectors we operate in at DHL Supply Chain, however, LSHC appealed to me as it means I play a part in delivering lifesaving medicines to Kiwis all over New Zealand, which is pretty cool!
Outside of my contractual responsibilities I like to get involved in more social areas of the business, by organising a DHL team for the Auckland Marathon every year and more recently being part of the group that organizes women's Networking events! This allows me to meet and work with people outside of my regular team. I am also a facilitator for our CSCS program, which is a training course that every new DHL Supply Chain employee partakes in when they begin their career at DHL! This provides a great opportunity to dust up on my presentation and public speaking skills and allows me to be part of the onboarding process for all our new employees.
How has the Graduate Program contributed to your journey?
Within the graduate program, you spend time rotating through the different functions within the business, gaining an understanding of how each one works and most importantly forming strong relationships within each team. This has been an invaluable advantage to settling into my role. As mentioned above, the AM role is very collaborative and having an understanding of how each sector works, and relationships to pull on when required, has been very beneficial! It also meant that I came into the role with a strong understanding of how the company and sector I was entering works, which allowed me to pick up the role much quicker compared to someone entering the company with no supply chain experience.
Could someone with a different background do your job?
Absolutely! As mentioned above, I don’t have a degree in Supply Chain however have still managed to stumble my way into the logistics industry. I think a key thing is having the willingness to learn, being open to being adaptable, being able to work well in a team and most importantly having a positive attitude!
What's the coolest thing about your job?
My favourite thing about being an account manager is that I get to work with an array of different people and functions across New Zealand and Australia! Not only does this allow for growth opportunities, but it has also meant I have been able to travel with DHL Supply Chain to Australia multiple times in my career, as well as down to Christchurch.
What are the limitations of your job?
As mentioned above a key responsibility within my job is forming strong relationships. As most of my clients are based in Australia it means I have limited face-to-face interactions which can hinder the ability to form strong relationships quickly. This means that when the opportunity does arise to meet face-to-face, it is important to make the most of it!
Three pieces of advice for yourself when you were a student…