Meet Eva...

Student Challenge since 2006

Describe your educational background. Where did / do you study, what degrees did / will you receive?
I am in the final months of completing my PhD thesis about “Essays on Strategic Customer Relationship Management for Media Products” at the University of Hamburg. My cumulative dissertation includes topics ranging from ‘success factors of books’, ‘willingness to pay for online products’, to ‘management of unprofitable customers’ and ‘retention methods in e-commerce’. Before Hamburg, I studied business administration at Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg and Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel and hold a M.Sc. in Business Administration. I also attended a foreign semester program at the School of Economics in Prague.

Describe your career history. What have been your professional experiences?
I have been fortunate in being able to take advantage of several professional experiences during my academic career. The most significant was with Bertelsmann DirectGroup in Canada where I started as an intern. It worked out so well that my contract was extended to accommodate additional projects (nine months).
In my position as academic assistant at the Institute of Marketing and Media Management, University of Hamburg I have had – next to teaching and research – the opportunity to engage in several consulting projects for companies such as Otto, T-Online, Random House, Gruner+Jahr, and Burda. Topics included ‘impact of digital media’, ‘customer churn rate’, ‘success factors of fiction books’, ‘market conditions in the context of technology and competition’, ‘customer word-of-mouth impact’, etc. (three years)
Work experience also includes internships at Quelle AG, and Socialdata GmbH, focusing on one-to-one marketing, store location, call center efficiency, and statistical data analysis.

What attracted you to Bertelsmann and your internships? What is / was your favourite aspect about your job?
What attracts me to Bertelsmann is the sheer number of business Bertelsmann encompasses that involve my area of interest (marketing and media).
My favorite aspect about my internship at Bertelsmann was that management is willing to take a chance with giving junior staff opportunities to prove themselves by quickly giving them significant responsibility and enough latitude experiment.

What has been your most memorable moment (so far) during your internship?
My most memorable moment was independently finding an external marketing partner for Bertelsmann and managing the relationship with full responsibility.

What has been your most challenging / rewarding / exciting task or project thus far?
My most challenging and, subsequently, most rewarding experience was completing my first PhD paper and having it accepted by a peer reviewed academic journal.

If you could meet anyone from history, living or dead, who would it be? Any other role models? – And why?
Marie Curie, because of her brilliance, independence, and pioneering spirit… first female professor at the Sorbonne; first woman to win a Nobel Prize; one of the only two people to win a Nobel Prize in two different fields. And to top it off she was apparently not corrupted by her fame.
Also George Sand, who had an incredibly interesting life. My favorite quote: “Die Kunst zu reisen ist fast die Wissenschaft des Lebens” (the art to travel is nearly the science of life).

Have you had the opportunity to travel as part of your job?
Yes, my half year Bertelsmann internship was in Toronto, Canada – which was a great experience. During my PhD I also had the chance to present my work at several international marketing conferences, and so I was able to visit interesting places like Lisbon, Vancouver, Iceland and most recently New Zealand.

What are your professional goals? Any others ;-)?
Immediate Goals: Find employment in a respected firm, with a supervisor who believes in delegation of responsibility; work with an energetic and productive team where I’m able to play a significant part in achieving results.
Other Goals: travel, travel, travel :-)