Optimizing processes and technology for manufacturers across the globe.

In August 2023, Ingrid Syrstad took a new step in her career by joining Mazeppa, a move that aligns with her professional goals. With experience in B2C sales and education from BI Norwegian Business School and ESADE BusinessSchool, Ingrid's career has been focused on building connections and understanding customer needs.

Starting in Sales and Moving to Business Development

Ingrid's journey in sales began at 13, selling newspapers door-to-door, which sparked her interest in customer relationships. This interest carried her through her education and into her professional life, including a significant role at Infor in Barcelona as a Business Development Representative at Infor. This position gave her a global perspective on business and customer service.

Later, as an Account Manager at Infor Norway, Ingrid continued to develop her skills in sales and learned more about creating customer solutions.

Joining Mazeppa

Joining Mazeppa presented an opportunity for Ingrid to face new challenges and contribute to the company's goals. In this smaller, dynamic environment, she found the opportunity to take on a variety of roles and deepen her knowledge in specific areas, which was a key reason for her decision to join.

"Joining Mazeppa was about stepping into a role where I could truly influence and contribute to the company's direction," Ingrid explains. "It was about being part of a team where my work directly affects our success and growth."

In her role at Mazeppa, Ingrid aims to enhance sales strategies, maintain strong client relationships, and support the company's growth. She sees her role as not just about selling but about partnering with clients to help them reach their goals.

– I’ve worked for some of the biggest companies in the world, as well as some smaller ones. I learned that I need to be at a place that is big enough to make a difference but small enough for me to make a difference right away, says business consultant, Lasse Dahl Hansen.

In 2023, Mazeppa employed six young and talented people in a trainee program we’re setting up together with our biggest partner, Infor. The goal is to find new talent and develop the next generation of ERP consultants.

Hansen is 37 years old from a very small town in the south of Denmark, just by the German border, called Tønder. He’s a passionate worker, someone who deep dives into the work at hand and who loves to learn new things. Hansen is also active in Danish politics.

– On the organizational side, mind you, I’m not running in any election. I sit in the leadership of one of the political parties in Denmark. Not surprising, I’m passionate about our root causes: people having freedom to do what they want, Hansen says.

Apart from politics and a love for music, Hansen marks that he doesn’t have any concrete hobbies, rather he enjoys life: good food, good wine, good music.

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From politics to ERP

As far as being a trainee goes, Hansen is almost over-qualified, having a solid educational background and a lot of previous experience working with ERP – but from the other side of the table.

– Having first completed a bachelor’s degree that would only be useful if I wanted to work in public sector (which I didn’t), I worked a few years as a team leader in a warehouse, before going back to school to study logistic management, says Hansen.

He finished his second degree in 2014 and has since been working with procurement, planning, and as project manager in different IT projects – also doing ERP implementations.

– Hence, I have a lot of experience with ERP, working with some of the biggest systems there is, not on the technical side, but rather with change management.

After a while, Hansen felt he reached at a point in his career where the natural choice would be to become a middle manager with staff responsibility. That choice didn’t feel right, having touched upon the consultant business, a career change was much more appealing.

– I had so far only been on the other side of the table, but I liked what I saw so I thought: If I were to go down that path, I needed to hit the right company.

Not just a cog in the wheel

The right company turned out to be Mazeppa: A company big enough to get interesting projects and attract different competences, but small enough for Hansen not to become “a cog in the wheel”.

– I don’t want to be a very small ant at a big company, just following orders. I’ve done that while working as a logistics controller where I had no leeway. That just killed me.

– I feel at home at Mazeppa: They are some of the smartest people I’ve ever worked with. At the same time, they’re open, welcoming, and supportive. They let us grow and influence, and they let us make our own mistakes; helping us when we fail without holding our hand the entire time, says Hansen.

It was over a year and a half ago, that Hansen first spoke with Christian Gierahn, country manager for Denmark, about joining Mazeppa. However, Hansen knew that being hired as a consultant right away wouldn’t work.

– Even though I knew ERP, I needed to get a way in to the more technical side. So, when Christian reached out again, ready to kickstarted the trainee program I knew I wanted to be apart of it.

An ever-changing business

The most significant thing Hansen has learned so far, he says, are the soft skills: about what the consulting role is and how you act in a project and toward a customer.

– I can learn to work in any system but to succeed in the consulting role is something completely different. That’s where I feel I’ve grown the most.

Having spent seven months at Mazeppa, and his biggest expectation of being challenged met, Hansen sees himself being in the business for many years.

– This is the place where you can stay in the same position without doing the same job. This business will always be interesting, always evolving and you’ll always get new challenges.

Hansen has great faith in trainee programs like Mazeppa’s being the right way to get fresh blood into the industry. Reskilling or upskilling people from different educational and professional backgrounds.  

– It shows that Mazeppa have the intention of still developing, still being relevant and being an interesting place to work. If I were to hire a company, being on the other side of the table, it would weigh heavily that Mazeppa do more than “just” consulting, and actually making a difference.

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– I am someone who is always eager to learn new things that can help me in the future. Whether it's acquiring new skills or knowledge, I believe that learning is a lifelong process that can only benefit us in the long run, says ERP consultant and trainee at Mazeppa, Vit Brandejs.

In 2023, Mazeppa employed six young and talented people in a trainee program we’re setting up together with our biggest partner, Infor. The goal is to find new talent and develop the next generation of ERP consultants.

The travelling consultant

Brandejs is 27 years old, from the Czech Republic, and aside from learning, he’s always looking to stay active, and explore the worldaround him. In addition to a passion for sports, hiking, biking, and running,Brandejs loves to travel. – There's something about exploring new places, meeting new people, and experiencing different cultures that makes me feel alive, he says.

Thus, a life as a consultant is well suited for Brandejs. Even if it’s for business, travelling is always another adventure, and the dream is to travel exciting places, have some meetings during the weekand then spend the weekend exploring, he explains.

Brandejs has a master’s degree in logistics and wrote his thesis on optimizing production, stock handling, cooperating with suppliers and improving service level. Since then, he’s specialized in logistics and ERP, becoming a SAP key user for Materials.

– Overall, I like projects, small or large. The most important thing for me is to work on projects where there are improvements to be made in a company's efficiency and profitability, says Brandejs.

Changing sides of the ERP table

When Brandejs was first asked to join the trainee program, he declined. He was happy in the position he was in and didn’t want to change. Luckily for Mazeppa, after a few chats with Petr and Stepan at the Prague office, he changed his mind.

– I found a passion in Mazeppa’s area of expertise because I want to someday become a consultant. My problem was always that I wanted to gain more knowledge before I could become one, and it’s often required that you have at least five years of experience before you can start being a consultant. Through the trainee program however, I learned that I could start much earlier and learn on the go, Brandejs says.

Despite having quite a bit of experience working with ERP-projects previously, Brandejs has always been on the other side of the table, being the one to work with consultants on the systems. Regardless, he came into training with an advantage in already being a technical person.  

– I’m fortunate having worked with large ERP systems like SAP previously. It gave me an advantage going into learning Infor LN from scratch. Technically, there are some similarities between the systems, but for the end-user, they are completely different. So, it’s exciting to be able to help clients navigate and use the system in a way that suits them perfectly.

After finishing the pure training, the trainees are now moving on to “shadowing” the seniors. The goal being to connect what they’ve learnt in training with a more practical usage and to start working with real clients.

– Since I had a lot of the technical knowledge already, the most valuable things I’ve learned at Mazeppa so far is about consultancy: to work with clients, help them understand the systems and how technology can help their business, says Brandejs.

Giving back

Moving forward, Brandejs has a goal to cultivate the knowledge he’s gained, and to become an expert in one area to give back on Mazeppa’s investment in him.

– I find it a bit difficult to suddenly be a trainee and not immediately bring value into the company. I’m an asset, but I’m also an expense. I feel in debt, but also very grateful, so I’m looking forward to paying it back, Brandejs says.

He emphasizes how important it is for companies to invest in new talent, in a market and an industry that lacks professional expertise.

– I’m impressed and happy that the senior consultants at Mazeppa were able to search in three different countries and find six completely different people (but with similar mindsets and values) to join the program. Everyone has different backgrounds and strengths, which means we get to share our knowledge and learn from each other, which is great.

– If we’re going to have all the competence that the ERP industry needs, it’s necessary for companies like Mazeppa to invest in new talent, to carry on industry experience. Also, all companies need to have bright minds to improve their business, to have people come in with fresh ideas and new perspectives to the IT world.

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