Middle aged guy in Procurement...

Hi Guys,

I am new here, and to be polite, I would like to introduce myself.

My name is Marc (Stettler). I am from Switzerland (as you may have already noticed by wonderding about my errors... But I hope to improve that).

I have a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering with specialisation in Business Engineering. Before that, I did an apprenticeship as Electronics Technician. I speak german, french and some english. I will start an Executive MBA degree in International Management / Innovation this spring, as this seems to be missing to have a well rounded education.

I did work in procurement for about 10 years now, in several industries, companies and positions.

For the last 5 years I worked in one of the biggest companies for Photovoltaic-Production equipment. I held several positions, and worked myself up the ladder in procurement. I was planned to be the successor of the Head of Procurement, which left the company (Team of approx 3 qualified and 2 highly qulified people).

But due to the bad market in the PV-Industry, my company got merged with a sister company and had to move 50miles to the sister company's headquarters. Here, I got offered a position as a group leader (2-5 highly qualified people in Procurement), reporting to the "Chief Procurement Officer".

I declined (bad industry outlook, 3-4 hours of commuting per day, unwilling to move due to the fact that I don't know if my group still exists in 6 or 12 months, after 5 years ready for something new).

So, tomorrow, I will start a new job in Strategic Procurement in a new industry... 

When I am not at work I like to do sports. I did finish several Ironman, Half Ironman, Olympic and Sprint Triathlons plus a few Marathons. After a break of 2 years, I am now getting back into some easy and regular training...

I did listen to Manager Tools/Career Tools for many years now, but did not yet get active on the website. I really like the content that you guys provide. It all makes sense and what I really like is that fact that it is so easy applicable.

So, until my next Forum Post...

Best regards

Marc