Name: Manuela Pachoinig
Current job: Head of
vendor and cross-border business at UniCredit Leasing
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Career: About 20
years’ experience within the UniCredit Leasing Group, with roles
from running the cross-border business from Austria into CEE
countries, to setting up the new subsidiaries in Romania and
Slovenia. She has extensive experience in vendor business and is
now in charge of vendor finance for the whole UniCredit Leasing
Group in 17 countries.
What was your first ever
job?
I was a waitress in a hotel, dating back to my school days. That’s
probably where I learned my negotiating skills.
Where is the best place to go
if you want to find out what’s really going on in the
office?
The best place is the office of the
assistants: there, you’ll find out everything, because they always
know everything. I don’t know how, but they know it.
What time do you usually leave
the office?
Between 7.30pm and 8.30pm. I am travelling a lot so sometimes it’s
even later, travelling around 17 countries takes up a lot of
time.
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By GlobalDataWhat’s your favourite
restaurant?
It’s a Japanese restaurant in Vienna on Naschmarkt. They have the
best sushi.
What do you do at
weekends?
If the weather allows it, I play tennis or golf, or I go to visit
my family in Carinthia, in southern Austria.
Who is your mentor or role
model?
Businesswise, it is Johannes Porak. He was one of my first bosses
at UniCredit Leasing Group. He had great knowledge and was a great
human being, one of the most decent and honest people I have ever
known.
If you weren’t in your current
job, what would you have been?
Maybe I’d be a therapist, because I studied psychology, not
economics. I found a job in finance when I was studying at
university. That’s when I realised that finance was something that
really suits me and that I like very much – so at the end of my
studies I decided to stay in this job.
What’s your biggest
work/career mistake?
My biggest work mistake was at the beginning of my career, when I
took over responsibility for other people. I underestimated the
time that you have to put into people, and as a result I lost a
team member, just because I was not aware that he needed more
attention.
What cars do you
drive?
I have a BMW 3 series.
What book are you currently
reading?
I read two or three books at a time, because I force myself to read
books on work topics. I also like reading thrillers and crime
books, at the moment I am reading Donna Leon.
What’s on your CD player or MP3 player at the
moment?
I am a very easy music listener, but what
you’ll always find in my CD player is music like Pink or Avril
Lavigne.
