Okan Demir
Okan Demir studied Corporate Management & Economics at ZU and works as a Senior Manager in Mergers & Acquisition, Cooperations, and Joint Ventures at ZF Friedrichshafen AG in Friedrichshafen.
How did your studies prepare you for your current job?
"In addition to all the 'technical' knowledge, the methods and the tools, my studies taught me to always think outside the box, to approach new tasks and topics with open eyes, and to approach other people and opinions with an open mind, as well as to allow them.
Teamwork, networked and interdisciplinary thinking, critical questioning but also always wanting to 'understand' are further characteristics that are of high importance for a successful exercise of my profession. In terms of stress resistance, my studies have also taught me to deal with complexity in a very short time, to deliver results, and to see the unknown and unexpected not as a problem but as a challenge.
Last but not least, my studies have also prepared me to take on different roles (e.g. consultant, decision-maker, coordinator, moderator, mediator, motivator, coach) depending on the situation in my current job and work environment and to act accordingly. Similar to a chameleon."
When I look back on my ZU time today...
"... I think of all the enriching and horizon-expanding insights, discussions as well as conversations; I miss the many irritations that, looking back, I can only really appreciate today; remember all the great as well as interesting people and friends I met. I smile and am happy when I look back, but at the same time, I become wistful that this period of my life was over so quickly.
In short: I think studying at ZU was one of my best and most conscious decisions so far. Or as Franz Kafka once put it: 'Paths are made by walking them."
