Please tell us a bit about your background? Do you come from a financial family?
I’m originally from Germany and have a Master’s in Business Administration. I moved with my parents to Bahrain in 1985, got my very first job at AMEX Middle East in marketing 20 years ago, met my husband, started a family and since then Bahrain has been home for me. Although my father was in the banking industry, that didn’t influence my decision to join the financial services industry.
Having studied business administration, international studies and marketing, how did you move into the world of finance?
I started as a marketing assistant and was always eager to develop and grow. With the support and coaching of the senior and experienced leaders at AMEX Middle East, who believed in my capabilities, I took various roles from marketing to new product development, to project management, strategic bank partnerships and now customer experience and operations.
I’ve had eight positions at AMEX Middle East over the span of 20 years. Each one has enhanced my skill and competencies in different ways, allowing me to grow and develop within the company. Not every move was a step up the ladder, of course; some were lateral at the time. However, each offered the right experience and insight in order for me to move forward in my career.
What have been the most enjoyable roles you have held, and why?
I have truly enjoyed every role as they all involved building trusted relationships, negotiating, learning from people and understanding why they do what they do. But, if I had to pick, I would say the role I learned from the most was when I took over the massive implementation of the Single Technology Platform project for a year. It was incredibly challenging but probably the most satisfying role yet. My current role is by far the most exciting and enjoyable role, where my team and I strive day and night to deliver a seamless, trusted and rewarding service experience to our customers and partners, allowing us to build meaningful connections and long-lasting relationships.
What does your current role entail?
Simply put, I am responsible for continuously providing indispensable services to our cardmembers, corporate clients and merchant partners through an omni-channel approach 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The team consists of more than 100 colleagues who focus on delivering a service experience that makes a difference in our customers’ lives every day.
Have you found it difficult to reach such a high-level position in a traditionally male-dominated industry?
In my experience, having the patience, conviction, passion, hard work and confidence in my own abilities were the key ingredients to my success. I have always had a leader who recognised my strengths, had faith in my abilities, when sometimes I didn’t, and was open and honest about my shortcomings so I could work on them. I must admit that I often thought – long before I got to this position – that one day I’d be sitting around the executive management table. I know that at AMEX Middle East it is not being a male or female that will give you a seat, it is the right attitude, the passion and the hard work the employees demonstrate.
There are many factors to what have helped me grow: the appetite to learn, accepting constructive feedback, perspective-taking, active listening, good mentorship and being true to yourself and, above all, being passionate about what you do and maintaining a positive attitude.
At AMEX Middle East, the focus is on creating an environment where all employees are respected, feel fulfilled professionally and personally and look forward to coming to work. There are several programmes that focus on helping employees develop their skills, knowledge, and abilities through training, goal setting, employee career development, performance management, coaching, mentoring, succession planning and more. There is an open-door policy and we have formal and informal programmes to communicate with employees and to receive feedback about our workplace.
I would say, if you work hard and show results, use your strengths and acknowledge your weaknesses, work with passion and positive energy, you will succeed. In addition, mentorship and camaraderie are critical to the success of women across all industries.
