From production to purification
THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE SCENES
Jacobi Group is made up of almost 2,500 people, each a person with a purpose and part to play in the success of our company. Some of these employees are at the forefront, featured regularly in publications such as this, however, many are working behind-the-scenes. In our sixth edition of A Pure World, we felt it was important to spotlight some of those people who are working in essential but less frequently seen areas or roles. From Lab Managers in the UK to Sales Directors in Asia, we spoke to a handful of Jacobi’s key people about their roles and what inspires them about working here. Keep reading to find out what they told us.
Mark Downs
Global Laboratory Manager
What does your role involve?
I’ve been at Jacobi for 30 years now. I was here at the start, doing absolutely everything. I prefer the more scientific side of carbon. I went into laboratory work within the UK and then eventually where I am now.
Today, my main goal is to ensure the quality testing of the products are all aligned. We've got 11 production facilities, and each has its own laboratory. Results need to be aligned so that if someone in Vietnam tests a carbon sample to a particular method, they get the same number statistically in France or in the US. When everything is aligned, people can trust in our values.
What does a typical day look like for you?
Days are very varied, but communication is a common theme throughout the day. At the start of my career, we used to get telexes but now it’s instant chats. I prefer the informality of messaging because you can get to know your colleagues and understand them.
First thing in the morning, I’ll check on my messages. These come from different regions depending on the time zones. When you’re working with colleagues around the world it’s a 24-hour deal.
I still love getting my hands dirty so I love when I can set up a carbon filter (I can make one out of anything!) and embrace the more practical side of being Laboratory Manager.
What motivates you working at Jacobi?
After 40 years of working with activated carbon, I tend to learn something new every day almost. It still absolutely fascinates me. It's an incredible product. Everyone is using carbon every day – it's everywhere - and many people don’t even realise. To have an invisible but significant effect on people’s daily life, potentially keeping them safe from harm, is quite a nice thing.
I actually collect activated carbon testing methods – it’s a bit of an obsession with me. I’ve got hundreds of the things all over the place!
Maura Vander Veen
Director of Customer Services Americas
What does your role involve?
I lead the end-to-end supply chain for the Americas, overseeing everything from demand planning and procurement through production and importing containers, and then ultimately the fulfilment side of the business. Our goal is to deliver an optimal level of customer experience and just in time deliveries, so we must work efficiently.
What does your typical day look like?
In customer support we pride ourselves on our quick response times and we’re very email driven, as that is our main contact channel with customers and each other. Clear, concise written communication that’s sent quickly is critical.
On the supply chain side, we have to manage inventories against customers’ forecasts, review what we have in the production queue, and update sales managers who want to know how quickly they can get product and how much it will cost.
I'm more heavily involved on the supply chain side of things, but I get involved with analysing inventory levels, reviewing demand forecasts, looking at slow moving, figuring out strategic ways to move that material. Overall, my day is really about balancing the more operational details with broader coordination, to make sure that we're supporting the business and our customers as effectively as we can.
What motivates you working at Jacobi?
I think for me, it's the people that work here. We're a group of really good, kind, supportive, ethical, hardworking, smart people. I feel energised by our discussions, by the collaboration. It’s this feeling of feeling safe too, because if I don’t have the answer someone else will. We’re like a think tank, working together for a common goal. Even before I was a manager here, I always felt like I had a voice. Feeling like I’m part of a movement motivates me daily.
Daniel Raj
Asia Human Resources Director
What does your role involve?
Firstly, I establish our company values and work with our people to instil these values and ensure people find happiness in them while at work. I also develop our talent, focusing on enhancing career journeys, professionally and personally.
Human rights are key to HR too, it's essential that managers are aware. I also manage our community engagement programmes, something really close to my heart. We employ almost 2,000 people in Asia and most are from local communities. We are intertwined in these communities and have to think about how we give back to them. We want to help them grow, so we reach out to local people.
What does your typical day look like?
My priority each day is time with people. It’s critical that I understand them and how they’re feeling. I’ll talk to people, ask them how their day is, crack some poor jokes, and, if they’re stressed, help them to find a solution.
In HR, understanding people is critical. You can’t audit someone’s emotions. People are all people but none of them are the same. My perception is that we should treat people like we do our children: with understanding if they make a mistake and support.
Later I will be writing policies or answering queries from customers. Culture has switched from ‘how quickly can this be done?’ to ‘how is this done?’ and customers often want to know how we’d deal with things like grievances or whistle blowers, our labour policies and our certifications.
What motivates you working at Jacobi?
It's a fun job! The smile on people's faces really motivates me. I love people, and I take most pride in spending my time with people – the more the merrier – and in this role I get to do that a lot.
Alexandra Rodriguez
Team Leader Sales Support DACH & Benelux
What does your role involve?
I support sales teams here in Germany but also in Luxemburg, and the Netherlands as well as Eastern Europe, so I am the interface between customer service and sales teams. I’m the tender manager, too, and I also organise the logistical details of our team travel at exhibits or fairs.
What does a typical day look like for you?
My day starts with a good coffee! Then I’ll check in with enquiries from customers, potential customers and my team, distributing their tasks and helping where I can.
Later, I might be organising travel or food for our people on trade shows, responding to customers and referring them to the right sales teams, or working on the tender management. Every day is a little bit different.
What motivates you working at Jacobi?
It's really the internationality of the company. I love the people and interaction. I need to talk to customers and colleagues, to communicate with others. I enjoy being able to speak in English or Spanish, not just German, too. Jacobi is like a huge family full of people all over the world, which I love.
Linda Magnusson
Sales Team Leader Nordics and Global Key Account Manager Tobacco (starting April 1st)
What does your role involve?
I work as a Sales Team Leader for the Nordic region, managing a team of five. Since 1st of April this year, I have also been supporting the global tobacco industry, which I see as a great opportunity in my journey with Jacobi.
What does a typical day look like for you?
My work involves maintaining business connections within the company and with customers, globally and in the Nordics. Some days I am on the road travelling, visiting customers or distributors; some days start in the office checking in with my team.
I have daily talks with distributors and catch-ups with team members. Our aim is always to fulfil our customers’ needs, so we are constantly talking about how we can achieve this. Often there are surprises, so you can’t always plan your day.
What motivates you working at Jacobi?
I’ve been at Jacobi for the past five years, and I’ve learned and experienced a lot. Firstly, I want to see my team glow; I believe that part of good leadership is identifying and refining each person's unique strengths. I love finding a solution to each customer's request, but I also love seeing people take new steps and gain confidence. Often, they exceed their own expectations, and helping them with this is really important to me.
A real strength of Jacobi as a company is its flat hierarchy and genuine diversity. You’re free to speak to anyone you’d like to, which is great. We are a global but strong team where everyone brings something individual; everyone is a different piece of the puzzle. When I meet with other sales managers, I'm often the only woman, and I’m not made to feel any different. The men on our team see me and hear me, and I really appreciate that.
Sam Hanson
Senior Group Systems Manager
What does your role involve?
It’s split between maintaining Jacobi’s IT systems that support the day-to-day operations, providing support for users, and developing new tools that help us to overcome challenges or achieve goals.
What does your typical day look like?
We’re a small IT team in a huge company, so there’s a lot of hats to wear in one day. It’s unique but certainly never boring! We’re a tight-knit team too, which brings me a lot of confidence.
We have a ticketing system where users can report their issues, and this dictates what happens for the day.
We work with all departments across the whole span of the company, listening to their challenges, really understanding their role and coming up with a way to improve their processes and make the tech work for them. Jacobi works in its own way, so everything is custom made.
There’s not really a set routine for us. We work on multiple projects at the same time and must be able to focus in multiple directions.
What motivates you working at Jacobi?
I’m a strong believer that technology should enhance lives, and I get to imagine tools that do this and build them. I have creative freedom to create tools that are quick and easy to use, and that’s special.
When someone’s spent a long time working on a certain task, and you can build something that shortens that task down to a 10th of the time, it feels great. Improving people’s day-to-day lives at work is a great part of the job.
We’re quite behind-the-scenes here in IT, so sometimes it almost surprises me when I see our work out in the world. When I see the software I’ve built on all these screens and see people using it, that’s really fulfilling.
Christy Cheah
Sales Director Asia
What does your role involve?
I joined Jacobi as an area manager and now I am Sales Director for the whole region, responsible for sales across all of Asia plus Australia and New Zealand. I lead the whole sales team and drive the regional growth.
What does your typical day look like?
Day-to-day, my main task is to support our sales teams. If there’s an issue, they can come to me for help. Price challenges, maybe competition from other companies, they can come to me. I’m there to guide everyone, pull them together as a team to reach our goals.
We work with many distributors in Asia, so I spend a lot of time liaising with them and our customers. I love talking to anyone and everyone, getting to know people and building relationships like this.
What motivates you working at Jacobi?
I’m a really adventurous person and I love a challenge - this motivates me a lot. At Jacobi I feel a real sense of freshness. There’s something new for me to learn every day, even though I’ve been here for ten years.
At Jacobi Group we understand it’s important to be satisfied in your day to day work role. We listen and keep constant communication with our people in order to foster a culture of support and personal development. If you’re interested in joining Jacobi then you can check for open opportunities or express your interest via jacobi.net/careers