When Inga Bösecke thinks back to one of the goals she had for her career she smiles and says, with conviction, that she achieved that goal at Meltwater Group — on her very first day.

Name: Inga Bösecke

Birthplace: Magdeburg, Germany

Joined Meltwater: 2005, Sales Consultant, Berlin, Germany

Current Role: Human Resources Business Partner, Europe

Who inspires you: Christian Finstad, Area Director Client Relations

My three words to describe Meltwater: Teamwork, Trust, Ambition

When Inga joined Meltwater, her instinct that this was the place she would fulfill her career objectives was spot-on.

She explains, “Before joining Meltwater I think I had typical career goals in mind, progress quickly, take on responsibility and work in a fun environment — all the usual things; but on top of those the most important goal for me was to find a role where I would learn something new every day. I didn’t want to be repeating the same tasks over and over,” Inga says resolutely. “I can say that I have achieved that goal at Meltwater because, from the very beginning, every day was a new challenge, so in effect I get to fulfill my goals afresh every day.”

“From the moment I saw the Meltwater role advertised I could tell that this was a company that valued offering real career opportunities to people. The ad was different, fresh, non-corporate, determined — yet also humble, it was a company that seemed to care more about people and the strength of their ambitions than a list of qualifications on a resume,” Inga says. “At the interview my instinct was confirmed. Meltwater presented itself as an enthusiastic, energetic company. The people were vibrant and passionate about the industry and the company’s heritage. I simply couldn’t wait to start,” she says.

And start she did. Inga Bösecke joined Meltwater News in 2005, at the stage in the company’s history where they had just begun to branch out into Europe.

“This was an exciting time for the company and for me,” Inga says. “I was promoted to Sales Manager of the Berlin office in less than a year. But only 10 months after that, I was given a new challenge — I was promoted to Managing Director of an entirely new region, Zurich, Switzerland.”

Grow

Bösecke thinks back to the move to Switzerland and remembers being excited and, admittedly, also quite nervous.

“When I originally joined Meltwater we were recruited to open the brand new offices in Germany,” Inga says. “We were entering a virgin market, at a time that very few organisations had even heard of online media monitoring. It was an exciting challenge, but back then I was part of a bigger team. When I moved to Switzerland, I moved there as the leader. That presents a whole new set of challenges on top of breaking into a new market.”

Inga goes on to talk about opening the new Zurich office, from scratch, and how her skills developed during this time.

“I needed to step out of my comfort zone, literally,” Bösecke says. “I had only been with the company for two years when they entrusted me with this managerial role.  The move to Switzerland was a move away from what I knew, but the support I received from the Management team, all the way up to the Executive level was inspirational. During the entire process I never felt alone and I’m proud of the results we achieved.”

“The Zurich office grew from strength to strength,” Inga says. “We had some challenges recruiting the right amount of team members to begin with, so I remember feeling a little deflated. However even that soon turned out for the best as the new team members we had hired flourished quickly and soon became the mentors for the next wave of recruits. Zurich from day one achieved sales goals, or over-performed, so I think I will always remember my time there and the amazing team we built in Switzerland, and how much we all learned together.”

Teach

And from being eager to learn something new every day, it seems now Inga is the one doing the teaching. After her success as the Managing Director of the Zurich office, Inga was relocated back to Berlin before being promoted again, this time to Area Director DACH Meltwater News — responsible for a territory that encompassed the whole of Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and all less than three years after joining the company. In 2010 Inga accepted a new position, as the Meltwater Group HR Manager of Europe.

In her new role Inga is working as a business partner focusing on supporting business units to help them become even more successful. She works closely with the regional directors in Central Europe, UK and Middle East & Africa, and is also the point of contact for the Managing Directors and all the new Trainees.

“My favourite part of my new role is the constant interaction with our employees, at all levels. From our executive teams all the way through to new consultants and first time managers; sharing experiences with them, providing guidance and support and watching each individual grow within the company really makes me proud.”

“I am also getting the opportunity of implementing plans that will help our staff with growth in another area,” Inga says. “Our new global Meltwater Family Leave Program acknowledges that the Meltwater Group wants to offer our staff a long term family-friendly and supportive environment. It’s a great initiative that recognises it’s a rapidly growing and evolving company.”

Inga continues, “Speaking of evolving, I’m also very proud of how Meltwater has managed to hold on to its unique company culture despite its rapid growth. Lesser companies would have lost that intimacy; that feeling of teamwork from the micro level — within each office, all the way through to the global level. We have grown from a one-product company to the Meltwater Group, offering a variety of Software as a Service solutions, and reaching a turnover of over US$100 million. And yet the organisation still sees individual achievement as a reason for global celebration.”

“When I think back to my goals I have to smile, because truly I have come full circle — from a desire to learn now I am the one helping others learn the same way,” Inga explains. “I’m really quite fortunate to have found a company that nurtures those who want to keep building skills. Meltwater provides an environment of growth and potential … and for that I am very grateful.”