Career journey through three continents

When did you start at Metso Outotec and in which position?

I started at the company in March 2008 as an HR Officer in Johannesburg, South Africa. It was a small group of 28 people and my role was to implement the HR function and ensure compliance.

What kind of roles have you had?

I feel very fortunate that my career has progressed from HR Officer to HR Specialist, HR Manager, Market Area HR Director, all within the Africa region. It then shifted to business HR, as I was appointed Vice President HR for the Services Business Unit and moved to Finland.

Late 2019, the opportunity to learn about Asia Pacific market area presented itself, and I had a dual role as a Market Area HR for Asia Pacific and Business Unit HR for Services. This dual role was a great opportunity to learn about new cultures and different environments.

Through the Metso Outotec merger, I realized that I enjoy being close to our people and our customers, and the Market Area HR roles really inspired me, leading me to the role I fulfill today – Vice President HR for Asia Pacific.  I am excited to be part of the amazing team here in Asia Pacific region and the global community, working closely with some of the best HR and business professionals I know.

What are the main responsibilities of your current role?

In my current role as Vice President, Human Resources for Asia Pacific, I work alongside a very talented team. I am based in Perth, Western Australia and in our team we have so many different cultures, from all over the world. We support employees in Australia, Thailand, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam and Japan. The main purpose of this role is to provide leadership and guidance to the HR operations in Asia Pacific, to provide HR policies, practices and support through the entire employee lifecycle to our people and leaders. Having a highly engaged organization to continuously build our culture and deliver business results. 

What is it that you most like about your job? What do you like about Metso Outotec as an employer?

I am interested in people and how motivators drive behavior. I feel that as an HR professional, I have an impact on shaping an environment where people can be their best selves to drive the best business results. I enjoy seeing individuals, teams and our company succeed.

What I like most about Metso Outotec, is that we always strive to be better than we were yesterday. Not being satisfied with good, but looking for ways to progress.  I feel that I can live out this personal value in my daily work. What I also enjoy is the global and diverse environment – there are so many opportunities and so much to learn.

What do you do in your spare time?

I enjoy spending time with my family. I have a very supportive husband (his name is Michael), and two girls, Taylor (six years old) and Lia (three years old). In my free time, I like to do things with them: reading stories, painting, making cards and being silly.

We also enjoy the outdoors – a day at the beach or a hike in the bush are some of our favorite things.  I also enjoy running and photography – I am an amateur at both, but in the spirit of progressing, enjoy giving it a try.

What is your motto?

I have recently attended a leadership development course and one of the key takeaways were around the concept of ‘enough-ness’. This has inspired my motto: Our strength lies within our differences, ‘be yourself, everyone else is already taken’ – Oscar Wilde