Harvesting opportunity: from the family farm to global surety

In a way, it began with growing up on my family’s farm in Norway, which taught me the value of hard work from a young age. I was able to put these lessons into practice when I later pursued my studies in France and the UK, ultimately earning my Master of Science degree in Management. I then began my career in Poland before returning to Norway, where I worked in several marketing consultancy, telecommunications and IT roles.

The burst of the dotcom bubble in 2000 led me to seek the stability of a long-term position in banking and finance. My earliest exposure to Allianz Trade was actually while working with trade finance solutions in a bank that was a trade credit insurance client of theirs.

After 15 years in finance, I wanted to expand my knowledge and saw there was a vacant position at Allianz Trade’s surety team here in Norway. I had always been attracted to the international scale and leading reputation of Allianz Trade, so I applied and got the job in August of 2020. Even though I knew little about surety as a professional field, I felt that embarking on this area was a natural next step for me.

I hold a hybrid role based in Oslo that encompasses commercial and underwriting responsibilities for local contracts. I also work on an international team dedicated to Allianz Trade’s biggest accounts across the globe.

As Senior Manager of Surety and Guarantees, my responsibilities include developing a strong portfolio of key accounts, analyzing and presenting proposals to our committee for credit decisions and issuing bonds. I am brilliantly supported by a highly competent team serving both domestic Norwegian and global clients.

Two years ago, I became part of a newly established multinational team to serve and grow our largest global clients. In this role, I represent the Nordic area: Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark. My colleagues on this team hail from Asia, Australia and the US, among other worldwide markets. During regular team meetings, we benefit from sharing our collective expertise ­– the past two years we have gathered in Amsterdam and London. These in-person workshops are both inspiring and great fun, giving us the opportunity to listen and learn from our colleagues who provide unique insights from their respective regions!

Some of my greatest challenges relate to managing stakeholders – external and in-house, attached to large, complex projects with many parties involved. I’ve thus learned to remain proactive, as well as the value of a well-timed, face-to-face customer meeting: closing a deal takes time, and you can lose momentum if you’re not regularly engaging with the client.

It can also be challenging to juggle the different aspects of my job. At the same time, I thrive on the learning curves this busy role provides and find the ongoing development of knowledge motivating. My workload is also made more manageable given the flexibility provided by Allianz Trade, which enables me to work remotely and be present for my family when needed. 

I’m excited to welcome the continuous change we’re seeing within surety. This may not be a sector many people are familiar with, but it’s such an important contributor to economic growth. We’re currently securing a lot of green infrastructure developments which promise long-term durability.

For me, professional development is about following my instincts and embracing opportunities as they come. The future of surety looks very promising, fueled by digitalization, AI and government initiatives promoting sustainability. I look forward to continuing my journey in this field as part of the Allianz Trade family.