From Student Worker to Country Manager

When Paul came to the end of his last semester of the master's program in Business Economics at Aarhus University, it was with the hope that he might get the opportunity to stay at DynamicWeb, where he worked as a student worker for four years.

He knew that the company was planning to expand with an office in Germany. And he, therefore, hoped that he could help support the new Country Manager for the future office when the time came.

"Even before I got the job, it was clear to me that I could have a career at DynamicWeb. Because the management was good at showing me the trust and give me a chance to influence tasks," Paul says.

"So quickly, it became a dream for me, and a driving force, that the more work I put into the company, the greater the chance of getting a foot in if we decided at some point to open an office in Germany," he says.

Rather than offering the Student Worker a desk next to another Country Manager, CEO, Christian Beer instead chose to give the then 24-year-old German-born student responsibility for starting up the department himself. A choice he has no doubts about being the right one.

"There are many of the types of customers we would like to get a hold of, and therefore it is a large market with great potential," Christian Beer acknowledges.

But while the Swedes, Norwegians, and Dutch like to use English as a business language, most German companies use their mother tongue as a starting point. It, therefore, requires at least knowledge of German, and preferably also a physical presence, to get to customers.

At the same time, Paul had made a great effort to prepare for the company to move to new offices in Berlin. So, he was aware that the road was headed for a German office.

But even so, it came as a surprise to the now 24-year-old Paul when he was asked if he wanted to continue in the company as DynamicWeb's youngest-appointed Country Manager.

"So, I would like to continue delivering results, as I did in Denmark, and show the company and my Manager, CSO, Brede Bjerke, that I have earned the spot, Paul says. A task that he is currently hiring more employees in to help hom prove.

It might exactly be the management task that poses the biggest challenge for the 24-year-old Country Manager, who with his young age has not previously had employee responsibility.

"The plan is for him to lead four or five men during the next couple of years. And he's not used to that. In addition, he must create growth in an almost new market. So, it is both business-wise and personally a new challenge that he is facing," Christian explains.

"We will support him on this journey, and make sure he succeeds with us", Christian promise.