Name: Lissy Posthumus
Job:
Assistant Business Line Manager
Department:
Business Line Management
Employed since:
June 2016

Hi Lissy, could you introduce yourself? Who are you and what is you job at Smartwares?

My name is Lissy Aguilar, actually my husband’s name is Posthumus, so everybody in the company knows me as Lissy Posthumus. I’m the assistant of the Business Line Manager, which means that I am everywhere where he is, I’m his little shadow, following him everywhere. Just kidding, but I try to assist with all tasks. For example, I stay in contact with China and my colleagues here in Europe, so I’m the middle point between both.

Your last name sounds Spanish to me. I understand that you are not from the Netherlands?

Actually I come from Honduras (a little country in Central America), so I’m a Spanish speaking Latina. I started working for Smartwares in the Spanish Sales Support team. After some time I wanted to grow and this company actually gives you a lot of space to grow as long as you have the potential to do so. I saw the job opening for Assistant Business Line Manager (before: Category Management) which was perfect for me as I love to be in contact with the full company. Everybody needs something from the Business Line Managers as we are the ones who know our products the best.

You mentioned your husband. Did you come to the Netherlands because of love?

I came to the Netherlands because of love, yes. My husband, who is Dutch, and I were both working at Disney Orlando when we met and after a while we doubted between going to the Netherlands or Honduras. And at that time Honduras did not have the best circumstances, so I took on the adventure and came with him to the Netherlands. I didn’t speak the language and everything was different for me, but I decided to look for a job related with export and import. After only three months I got a job at Smartwares and from the beginning I loved working here!

And what kind of company is Smartwares to you?

Smartwares is a company that is not too small nor not too big, but right in the middle. We are still growing which means we need to help each other. Sometimes we are a small company where everybody has to be innovative and take on everything and other times we are a large company where everybody has their own work and has to focus on it. But as for now we are mostly in the middle. So every department has to help each other. Personally I think the company has become my family in a certain way. In the beginning I didn’t know much people in the Netherlands, than the Spanish team became my friends. As I started growing in the company itself, everybody became my family and friends. In general everybody likes to interact with each other you know, that’s what I like the most in the company.

What are you doing during your work week? What does it looks like?

Since we work a lot with China and they also work on Saturdays, I have a lot of emails on Mondays. Because of the time difference our best way of communicating is via email so I spend a lot of time answering and sending emails about our products. Between Tuesday and Thursday, there are always a lot of different questions and topics that come up both from China, Sales and other departments within the company. As for Friday my day is a little bit more relaxed as I have some more time to talk to my colleagues and spend time brainstorming about new products or improving current ones.

Are you proud of your work?

Yes, I’m proud of my work. First of all, I’m proud of what I have accomplished myself, I am in a country where I don’t know the language completely, but still I can take care of myself and my job. Many people say that they can’t work because they don’t speak the language and they need help from the government. I’m proud that I have a job and make my own money. I am proud at the company itself. This year I was at our stand at the IFA fair in Germany and got the opportunity to compared our assortment and presentation to those of our competitors. I notice that we have a very good assortment, coworkers with a lot of knowledge/experience and presence in the market. We are growing and you can notice it and that feels great!

What makes Smartwares such a good place to work for you?

First of all I think the company gives me the opportunity to develop. I have the mentality to want to grow. My managers and everybody at Smartwares have been really helpful. For example, my Spanish team manager always pushed me to grow and develop. My Business Line Manager was always sharing his knowledge and involving me in important decisions. I am grateful for both of them. In general, I think that we are a company that pushes their employees to be better and that’s something that makes you proud. I really like my colleagues and everybody here you know! I like the feeling of being one big team!

Lissy Posthumus

Assistant Business Line Manager