Strong characters: Anna Ostoj

In our series “Strong Characters” we introduce them: The heroines and heroes at ESSERT who give their best day after day. In the interview Anna Ostoj (33), commercial manager.
Hi Anna. It’s great that we can conduct this interview from our home office.

Tell us something about your tasks at ESSERT and, of course, about yourself?

Anna: laughs I’m Anna, 33 years old, I’ve been part of the team since last year and I work as a commercial manager at ESSERT. That means any administrative tasks, a lot of administrative work but mainly the area of finances are under my responsibility.

I can imagine that it’s very versatile. Is there anything that you particularly enjoy?

Anna: I think it’s exactly this versatility that I really enjoy. Not only the area of finance in general, for example, but also the respective sub-areas play a role.

Through the accounting tasks and controlling, you get a very good impression of which measures are effective and how the company is growing. Then again, you can control a lot through purchasing. All subject areas separately are very different and yet they intertwine through processes.

I would say that’s what makes my work so exciting and interesting. I also generally like working with numbers.

So you’re a little number cruncher, are you? *laughs

Anna: laughs louder Yes, I like numbers and love my Excel spreadsheets. I open Excel in the morning and close it again in the evening. I even use a lot of Excel spreadsheets privately.

Do you and your team work very autonomously and independently of other departments?

Anna: Well, of course we have a certain view of things. A kind of bird’s eye view, if you will. But it’s precisely in order to break down this perspective that it’s super important to have contact with all departments and to engage with individual colleagues. Since we all get along very well with each other on top of that, it’s rather a nice bonus.

Take the last 6 months, for example. This approach has enabled us to implement an incredible number of internal processes. You could really feel that everyone at ESSERT is pulling together and has the same goal in mind. The team spirit is simply palpable.

Let’s talk about the current time/situation in Germany and the world. What impact does the situation around the Corona pandemic have on your private life or on your work?

Anna: As you know, I am very enthusiastic about sports. I miss my weekly training rounds in the group for the next triathlon. It’s also hard for me to keep a certain distance from my family and friends, which is important. But I hope for the best and that the situation will improve as soon as possible.

For my work, the current situation does not have such a strong impact. The fact that many of us can work from home, or that we are very strongly digitally networked with each other, gives us great opportunities to continue without significant restrictions. That is, of course, an absolute benefit and luxury.

You hear a lot about solidarity and community at the moment. What do you think we can take with us after the “crisis”?

Anna: Of course, the current period is sometimes very difficult and upsetting. Not only economically alone, but also from a purely human perspective. It is terrible that people die from this infection. I hope that just as you mentioned, solidarity or a sense of community will not become empty words again in the future; we all take that as principles. No matter if in a small community, Europe-wide or globally.

Anna, thank you so much for your time!

Anna: I was happy to take them.