Can you identify how SCIEX stands out from the market and your competitors?

When I applied for SCIEX, what stood out for me was its technology. The company has been a major leader in mass spectrometry for the last 50 years. What makes SCIEX different is its innovation used in products and systems. If you look at other players in the market, SCIEX stands out for high precision and ground-breaking technologies. 

Personally, it is important for me to work for a company that helps society and contributes to the world, especially now in COVID times, and that is exactly what SCIEX does.

What is it like working for SCIEX and, as Senior Manager of the Finance Shared Service Centre, how would you describe the culture?  

What I absolutely love about working for SCIEX is its entrepreneurial culture. It is also an environment that cultivates teamwork and a do-it-yourself attitude. Since I joined SCIEX, I put a lot of focus on engagement and purpose creation in my organisation. What my management team and I have done initially is to assess all Finance services that we provide towards our internal stakeholders. As a result, we jointly created a vision statement around how we, as Finance, will become a value adding business partner to various departments within the organisation. For us to build those business partnering relationships, we need to become the backbone of the organisation, providing impactful services to enable our front office departments to support our customers better.

Additionally, my team is based in the Netherlands, Germany and India. It is a very diverse team with a mixture of various cultures. Of course, that brings its own challenges with COVID and being remote. Therefore, for me, more than ever, the engagement and the motivation of the team is very important. Hence, my management team and I are constantly looking for various ways to engage teams across the continents, find a common language, have fun together and connect on a personal level during events we are hosting.

A pertinent topic currently, what does your organisation currently do to contribute towards Diversity & Inclusion (D&I)?

SCIEX prioritizes D&I and we are leading our day-to-day operations with inclusiveness agenda in our minds. There is a lot of focus created, not only in terms of gender, but also beyond gender, such as race, ethnicity, etc.

One topic which is dear to me is the awareness and actions taken by Danaher to increase female representation in managerial bands. This is done through development, mentorships and coaching. In my organisation, we also create awareness and focus on facilitating career aspirations of the female members.

What do you think makes a successful and inclusive work culture? What challenges do you see?

If I look at my own background, diversity has always been part of my life. I grew up in the Baltic States, with a Lithuanian mother, Russian father, was raised in Sweden and I am now living in the Netherlands. I have been very lucky in my life to have had the exposure to various cultures, and what I have learned is to respect differences, not to judge and be open. This is just as important in private life as in business.

By being open, respectful and curious towards new cultures, I believe that one can learn new things and get new experiences and become creative. As a result, you will naturally build relationships based on trust. This is key to a successful and inclusive culture.

What do you love the most about your current role as Senior Manager, Finance?

I love the purpose of the company and being able to contribute to society. In terms of my own role, I have a great and talented team around me, who is always willing to take an extra step, seek good results and have fun at the same time.

I also have support and freedom from my senior leaders to evolve and innovate, and that’s what I really enjoy, too.

What great decisions do you believe you have made throughout your career?

To do my Executive MBA study at Erasmus University was a real eye opener for me. The two years I spent working and studying has put me on a personal journey to better understand who I am as a person and as a leader. I have learned to be comfortable outside my comfort zone. I have discovered my strengths and what drives me as a person. Also, I discovered my purpose in life and learned to see perspective in all decisions that I make. It was a great journey for me.

What are your personal motivators?  

This is a very good question; I think I had different motives before I became a mother. I wanted to be very successful in my career and have a certain role in a certain timeframe, and I was looking to find a purpose in life within the job. When I became a mother, my motivation changed significantly; my biggest motivator today is my daughter.

My purpose is to help her to become a fulfilled person, and to empower her to think freely and not limit herself based on whatever limitations our society puts on us. I would like her to grow up feeling that she is empowered to become anything she aspires to be, and I would like to give her all chances to discover her inner voice and her self-confidence.

What would be your advice to someone aspiring to be where you are now?

A very important thing that I didn’t have in the early stage of my career was a mentor. Having a mentor is crucial when various paths open up. When there is an experienced person to give advice on the future and help navigate the career jungle, it can be an important element in making the right decisions at an early age.

As an interviewer, what was the worst/best interview experience you have had?

The most interesting experience was when I needed to set up two teams for a Finance transformation project at short notice and I had 35 interviews in two days. I remember I had to come up with one outstanding personality trait for each person in order not to forget the candidates. It was a fun and intense experience.

Who was your most admired person in your childhood and why?

My grandfather. He’s passed away now, unfortunately. He was a man with strong opinions and a determined mind. This must have come due to his military background. He taught me a great deal of self-discipline. He believed in values such as honestly, perseverance and rewards for hard work. His way of being has given me a sense of my own worth; that my voice and aspiration matters, and if I do my best I will succeed in the end. I was very happy to have him in my life and all the support he gave to me.

What books are you currently reading? What book could you recommend to Accountants that are wanting to progress?

I got myself Notorious RBG by Ruth Bader-Ginsburg. She was the Justice from the Supreme Court. I find it amazing how one person, through knowledge and perseverance, can change an entire society by leading from behind.

Describe yourself in three words.

Ambitious, passionate (and doing things that are important for me) and caring.

Thank you to Viktorija for speaking with our Associate Director, Georgia Wright.

Views and opinions contained within our Executive Interviews are those of the interviewee and not views shared by EMEA Recruitment.