Vera, what made you decide to study business information systems?

Straight after leaving school, I did a vocational training programme in commerce. During this time, I encountered different application systems. Somehow, I knew that I didn’t want to just sit in front of a screen and get annoyed with software bugs. I was more interested in the technology behind it. Of course, software and IT have since become the heart of every company. Any changes that you make there have wide-reaching effects on the business. After completing my vocational training, I therefore moved to Cologne to study business information systems.

What then led you to Gira?

I come from the region and love it here, despite having had a great time in Cologne – a city that will always be close to my heart. Everybody knows Gira. I have followed the company and watched it grow. I feel quite proud to be part of the team. I believe that Gira is a good fit for me because it is a family business and a location-oriented company. We develop and manufacture our products here in Radevormwald. This means that I get to see the results of my work immediately.

At Gira, a great deal of value is placed on acting responsibly – what impact does this have on your everyday work?

I was made responsible for my own areas and given access to the systems from day one. This has an immediate impact on the productive sectors, production and logistics and is quite nerve-racking. I decide if I’m capable of something and when to seek advice and support from my colleagues. This confidence in myself and my work is tremendously motivating, yet I never feel overwhelmed or isolated.

You work in the IT service department. What exactly does this involve?

I look after all systems, mainly SAP for the areas of production, logistics, material requirements planning and QM. I am the interface between the departments and the technical world. In my team, we are always searching for improvements. You could say that pretty much every project I work on has something to do with simplifying complexity or making the lives of Gira employees easier.

What do you do to escape from technology now and again?

I have played volleyball for many years with my friends in Cologne and am happy that I’ve managed to keep this up alongside my work. "Volleyball probably appeals to me so much because there are actually similarities between volleyball and my job as a computer scientist." You must pay attention to a thousand things at once, including many things that aren’t so obvious at first. And then make the right decision at the right moment. You only succeed by working as a team.

What are the next steps for you at Gira?

I think the greatest challenge of my professional career still lies ahead: the construction of the new plant. This is a huge project that affects administration, production and logistics. As a computer scientist, this means that I get to be involved in building a completely new system. I am currently working with my colleagues on various process tests for the new logistics system and material flow system. Implementing this in practice is going to be a lot of work. At the same time, the project is tremendously exciting, and we can already see the preliminary results of our work. Otherwise, I hope that everything continues pretty much as before. I learn a great deal with every new task. It never gets boring at Gira. I look forward to whatever’s next.