Meet Janis...

Student Challenger since 2008

Describe your educational background. Where did / do you study, what degrees did / will you receive?
I studied at the HHL – Leipzig Graduate School of Management and will receive the classic german degree Diplomkaufmann.

Describe your career history. What have been your professional experiences?
Before studying I worked four years as a IT-Consultant and Programmer. I was involved in the development of several big german online sites, such as Volkswagen.de or E-plus.de.

What attracted you to Bertelsmann and your internships? What is / was your favorite aspect about your job?
The decentralized structure and broad variety of the Bertelsmann branches as well as the international character gives me the opportunity to gain business know-how which one can hardly find in other companies.

What has been your most memorable moment (so far) during your internship?
Actually, there are two. First, when I met Bertelsmann CEO Hartmut Ostrowski. He was visiting the Bertelsmann Start-up scoyo while I did my internship there. He took the time to come and meet every employee.
The second was being in a meeting with Random House CEO Markus Dohle in the Random House board room in New York. The meeting was about a project I worked on for 4 weeks, and the final decision was quite unexpected for me. I think in that moment I realized what decision making means for a CEO and how far those decisions can reach.

What has been your most challenging / rewarding / exciting task or project thus far?
To be involved in the business plan of scoyo.

If you could meet anyone from history, living or dead, who would it be? Any other role models? – And why?
I’d like to meet Dr. Wendelin Wideking, since he did an impressive job managing Porsche.

What qualities do you feel are necessary to be a successful employee at Bertelsmann?
Being committed and structured but nevertheless having the ability to think out of the box.

Have you had the opportunity to travel as part of your job?
No.

What was / is a typical day during your internship like?
At scoyo the day consisted mainly of doing research and trying to figure out the validity of business data.
At Random House no day is like the other, because I lead two projects on my own. One day I’m in meetings and do interviews, the next I work on a project on my own.

What are your professional goals? Any others ;-) ?
To show what I’m able to do and to find the best solution to any given problem.

If you had one word to describe Bertelsmann – what would it be?
Entrepreneurship