The People who use our Parts: Carolin Wirth
17th July 2020
In our latest edition of ‘The People who use our Parts’ series, meet Carolin Wirth, Aftersales Commercial Manager at AGCO who shares her story about how she has developed a successful career within Sales and advice for others looking to embark on a similar career path.
Tell us a little more about your role?
I work as Aftersales Commercial Manager in Germany. My job is to support our AGCO Dealers in western Germany to grow their Aftersales business and provide the highest level of support to our customers.
Why did you choose your current career and did you have any mentors who gave you encouragement and advice along the way?
I grew up on a farm and so have a strong connection to the industry. I have worked for agricultural manufacturing organisations for more than ten years, mostly within the Sales and Marketing environment and I have been with AGCO for over three years. At the beginning of my career I started as a cooperative student, which gave me the chance to work in several departments and gain an insight into the various different jobs. That helped me decide to focus on developing my career in Sales and Marketing. I then had a great opportunity to meet a female senior manager within the marketing environment who taught me a lot.
How do you think more women can be encouraged to pursue a similar career path?
I think an important factor is authenticity. As long as a person – whether a man or a woman- has this, together with a strong attitude, this is a perfect fit to follow a similar career.
What is the most important piece of advice you would give to a woman starting a similar career?
Keep your feet on the ground, listen carefully and make sure others listen carefully to you as well. If that is not the case speak louder.
Why do you think diversity is so important in the workplace?
You know our customers are also not only one specific gender, ethnicity or age. In order to be successful as an organisation, I think it is crucial to reflect the diversity of our customer base.
Do you think there are equal opportunities for women in your field of work?
That’s a tricky question. At AGCO in Germany I am the only female in a field role. From my perspective the first step is to engage and encourage other women in taking up a similar career in Sales.
What barriers have you faced as a woman in the workplace, and how have you overcome them?
You have to deal with various different people. Some individuals have been doing their jobs for many years and are very experienced. Sometimes it is a challenge to push your ideas forward in established organisations that have grown over many years. And to overcome certain gender stereotypes of women is one of the trickiest challenges.
What do you see is one of the key issues today facing women and the drive towards a gender equal society?
In my view there isn’t one single key issue, but several which are all inter-dependent. I read a book written by Sheryl Sandberg, the previous CFO of Facebook called ‘Lean In’ which made me laugh a lot, because she talks about many of the exact same situations and experiences that I went through. I would recommend the book to anyone, whether a man or woman, who is interested in understanding these issues from a female perspective.
CAROLIN WIRTH