Mirella Lancz obtained a Master in Business Economics, and is currently working as a Marketing Specialist at DSV, one of the leading global transport and logistics companies. As part of the Business Development team, she is responsible for marketing and involved in all commercial areas. This is her story, from student to alumna.
Antwerp became home
I majored in Marketing with a minor in International & European Management, which was a perfect combination to provide me with the academic background for my current work environment. The content of the courses was very up-to-date and reflected on the current hot topics around the world.
“Coming back to Belgium to obtain a Master’s degree was a very important life decision, and it ended up being a great one – Antwerp is a vibrant, culturally exciting European city, where I feel like I am at home and on a great adventure at the same time.”
From a professional standpoint, Belgium is an important hub in the global transportation industry. International mobility during and after my studies enabled me to experience different communities and have a better understanding of where I want to live and work.
From internship to first job
As part of our European Trade and Integration course, the class was involved in a project with DSV. Following the successful work during the semester, the company granted a few summer internships to students, including myself.
“Three years later I am still here, my responsibilities expanded and my role has evolved, and I am still fostering a great collaboration with the manager who hired me in 2017!”
It is quite difficult to find a job in Belgium without speaking Dutch or French, however, the university project gave me the chance to showcase my motivation and skills, which proved to be enough to convince the company to give me a chance. Since then, with their ongoing support, I started to learn Dutch.
Currently, my job is a very exciting mix of different commercial responsibilities and projects. I have the opportunity to engage in a very wide range of tasks connected to sales, marketing and account management. As the marketing responsible for the contract logistics division in Belgium, I manage the local content on our website and social media accounts, as well as support our HR team in employer branding. I work together with our sales organisation on improving sales communication, on understanding better our prospects’ needs and creating value based and targeted commercial offers.
Staying connected
The corona outbreak however impacted everyone’s lives, routine, and made employees as well as companies vulnerable – I am not an exception. I am lucky enough that my work can be almost fully done remotely and that our IT infrastructure allowed us to switch to home office from the first day of the lockdown. With my team, we tried to stay connected through daily calls and virtual platforms.
Personally, it was challenging in the beginning, especially because of the uncertainty and lack of personal contact often made me feel anxious and stressed. However, with time I built my own “new normal” and I used the extra time to work on my apartment, take a couple of online classes and reconnect with friends.
“That brings me to my final tip that I would like to give fellow alumni: stay in touch with your university connections. It is one of the most important network we will ever have!”
Find out more about the Master in Business Economics