I started my professional career in the business & management field, where I founded a wholesale trading company for cosmetics after my studies.
With exclusive contracts I distributed various cosmetic products from Germany to West-Africa (2013-2014). I left this business (sold my shares) and
started an online shop, being one of the first shops to sell power banks in Germany and later expanding my product range with mobile phone accessories and eventually hardware wallets for the crypto space (2014-2020).

With that venture my passion for IT was discovered. Next to running my own company a started a position as a database admin, which let me have my first tech experience (2015-2019). I got even more interested in the technical side and dove into Blockchain technology back in 2016-2017.
Adding value and gaining practical experience I joined ING as a Blockchain Consultant in 2019.

Eventually I transitioned into Big & Fast Data topics, becoming a DevOps engineer dealing mainly with real time event streaming (2020-2022).
In November 2022, I took over the Product Owner role for our platform squad that hosts our ING´s Big Data Openshift Platform as well as
a machine learning platform, which was developed by the squad in order to offer machine learning as a service to internal clients.

The Pop in My Job

The environment I´m in with the ING Big Data Team is just fascinating, as we work with powerful and innovative technology. But being in such a fast paced environment also means that learning is an intrinsic factor, if you want to keep up. That is so ideal to me, because I love to learn new things constantly.
That’s also why I call myself a lifelong learner.

Another thing that drives me are challenges. In my previous position I had technical (hard coded) challenges, which I loved to solve. However, with my new position it has become more a management, especially human management thing. It gives me the opportunity to gain more knowledge about how to run a team, how to deal with people.

Lastly none of this is possible without the right team. And that I am so proud of being surrounded by people that have the same collaborative drive.

ING is a pioneer in digital banking and on the forefront being one of the most innovative banks in the world. As ING we have a clear purpose that represents our conviction of people’s potential. We don’t judge, coach, or to tell people how to live their lives. However big or small, modest or grand, we empower people and businesses to realize their vision for a better future. We made the promise to make banking frictionless, removing barriers to progress, and make people confident in their financial decisions. As a global bank we have a huge opportunity – and responsibility – to make an impact for the better. We can play a role by financing change, sharing knowledge, and innovating. Being sustainable is in all the choices we make—as a lender, as a partner and through the services we offer our customers.