In Germany: A Seat at the Table - The Board Room Table....

Last week, I marked my one year anniversary working for Merck KGaA.  8 business trips later, I find myself in Germany for the third time since joining the company last April.  I'm wrapping up a week-long trip in Darmstadt, Germany (approximately 30 minutes outside Frankfurt) where Merck KGaA's headquarter site is.  This trip was all business, so I apologize in advance for all the career talk.  But, I do find it fitting, since a lot of my travels this year would not have happened without my job and the experiences & opportunities it has given me in the last year....


Frankfurt skyline



Darmstadt city center

If all the traveling has taught me anything, it has been to expect the unexpected and to think on your feet!  In this trip alone, I've had the following happen to me:  (1)  My flight Sunday night leaving Boston should have departed at 10:20pm, but as we approached the edge of the runway ready to take-off, the flight attendants announced over the PA, "Is there a doctor onboard?  We have a passenger who is ill...."  Turns out the person had a panic attack!  Sheesh....After getting them to sign some waver forms, we continued with our flight, albeit 1 hr later since we missed our take-off window waiting for this person to recover.  (2)  The admins here put me in a hotel (Hofgut Dippelshof in Muhltal-Traisa) that is a bit out of the way and in the woods - so far away, that a cab driver didn't even know how to get to it when driving me home after dinner one night -- the guy didn't know English and didn't know how to use the GPS; he wanted to just dump me on some side street in the middle of nowhere.  Good thing I've learned to keep my cool, and thought fast to call the transfer company to have them either get this crazy driver to drive me back to the city or talk them through how to get to my hotel!

It's been all work and no play this time around....But, as usual, I've been able to at least get some good food and drinking into my trip....



A Super Sized Salad



Of course had to have my fix of Wiener Schnitzel



My Favorate:  A German Pils!



More Pils....





German Sausages



My new found love for Cappuccino



Our site in Darmstadt is pretty massive.  It's a huge compound/campus consisting of both offices and manufacturing plants, along with its own fire station and gas station.  It's my third time here, and it's starting to feel "comfortable" for me.  As I walk to our canteen (cafeteria) and throughout campus, it's nice that I'm starting to see familiar faces and get, "Hello's," from people all over the globe from all walks of life!  I had colleagues from our offices in France drive 2 hours to come meet with me, and German colleagues tell me that my Swiss colleagues report my meetings last month in Switzerland were a success -- it's nice to have some "wins" and see these faces, because it makes the world seem a bit smaller.... 



Merck KGaA Darmstadt Campus



"The Pyramid - Campus Main Entrance

4 job interviews ago with a prior company, a hiring manager had told me, "our business partners definitely give finance a seat at the table..."  Unfortunately, that didn't come to fruition....While I was inundated with meetings all this week and put on information overload, I leave Darmstadt with the feeling that I finally have  that "seat at the [board room] table" that I've always strived for.  I feel like I'm finally hitting my stride 12 months into the job and I get to make an impact on the job and I really hope this ride doesn't come to a screetching halt anytime soon....But, as I've come to learn 4 companies later, change is always around the corner.  Next week is supposed to be a big week at the office, as there should be some leadership succession announcements made, so I'm a little anxious in terms of what that means for my newly found "career bliss..."