From self-employment to product management:
Ira's journey to Local Brand X

Hi Ira, it's great that you took time for the interview today.
Please introduce yourself briefly.
 
Hello, my name is Ira, I was born in Baden-Württemberg and studied printing technology at the University of Media in Stuttgart. I have lived and worked in the Rhine-Main area for over 30 years and have always worked professionally on the topics of media production and marketing technologies.

Before Local Brand X, you worked as an independent consultant with software solutions in the area of web-to-publish and marketing management systems, how did this interest arise and what fascinates you about these systems?

As a consultant, I worked on the topic of automation in media production and this brought me into contact with web-to-print over 15 years ago. I found the extensive continuous automation in the production chain that this made possible exciting. Even back then, there were a lot of software providers and areas of application, which motivated me to create transparency here. This also resulted in the “Market Overview of Web-to-Publish Systems”.

After such a long period of self-employment, what were your motivations to start working for Local Brand X?

I was able to follow the development of Local Brand X right from the start and have always been impressed by the dynamic development that the company has undergone. In addition, I always had the impression that requirements at Local Brand X are implemented very quickly and do not just exist on paper. That simply made me curious and that is why I am very happy to be able to experience it “behind the scenes” and to help shape it.

What exactly are your responsibilities as a product manager/internal consultant?

As a product manager, I am responsible for a whole range of tasks.
This includes creating concepts for functions of the local marketing platform, which are then programmed in IT, but also the integration of service providers and the support of the demo portal and the knowledge center. The Knowledge Center is a very important source of information for our customers, but also for internal employees. My tasks as an internal consultant include developing strategies for platform development and also supporting the marketing and sales department, as I have been running an expert portal myself for over 20 years.

How did you start this professional career and what was your dream job as a child?

There was actually a special occasion in my childhood. My father always designed the print templates for his soccer and tennis club's club booklets. The pages were glued together as templates made of individual parts and photographed in the printing house for the printing plates. That impressed me and my father was my role model in this regard.

One of my wishes as a child was also to become a teacher and I was later able to implement this in various ways with teaching activities. I've held seminars and held workshops. I also worked as a lecturer at the university for a few years, which I really enjoyed.

What do you still want to achieve professionally in the future and what goals do you think you have already achieved?

I would like to do my part to make Local Brand X even more successful. I can make use of my many years of experience in this area very well and my expertise in the printing and media industry helps me to better understand many processes and functions.
And what have I already achieved? In my opinion, I have already been able to contribute some ideas to Local Brand X and am happy to implement them together with the team.

And last but not least: What do you like to do in your free time or what are your hobbies?

I like to do sports in my free time. I go to yoga and Zumba regularly. I also love jogging, swimming and hiking. Being in nature helps me stay balanced.

Thank you dear Ira. I wish you continued fun and success with Local Brand X!