Wiebke Meents
Wiebke Meents works in the Legal Affairs division as Head of Corporate Affairs, Compliance and Intellectual Property. She is a self-confessed Apple devotee. Her motto is “Every man is the architect of his own fortune”.
What made you choose Media-Saturn-Holding as your employer?
What is important to me is whether or not I can identify with a company’s philosophy or product. At Media-Saturn, the answer is easy: an interesting dual retail brand strategy, a company which is up to date and anything but average, and a structure that allows the manager of a store to be an entrepreneur within the company.
What career path did you follow on your way to a job with Media-Saturn-Holding? A degree in law, time spent abroad, practical legal training and work experience. When I started out at Media-Saturn, I had to find answers to a variety of legal questions related to trade and commerce but was also allowed to focus on particular aspects such as, for example, intellectual property. What was important for my personal development was the fact that I was always open to new topics, e.g. compliance.
What are your current responsibilities within the company?
As Head of Corporate Affairs, Compliance and Intellectual Property, I have to answer any questions that crop up in these areas, and I have to provide legal support for these areas at an international level - be it in the area of company law in connection with equity interest management for the Media-Saturn Group or compliance, as well as with regard to trademark law, competition law and copyrights. All of this is, of course, accomplished as a team, together with the colleagues in the departments involved.
What was your favorite project up to now?
I don’t have just one specific favorite project, I have many. What was, and still is, interesting is competition law: for example, monitoring advertising campaigns. Just as interesting and challenging was providing legal support for the company’s expansion into Turkey.
What tip would you give a colleague starting at Media-Saturn today?
Be open-minded and flexible, think pragmatically and be true to yourself.
What job qualifications and personal traits does an applicant need to be successful at Media-Saturn?
For the legal department, I recommend that you be qualified as a lawyer. As far as personal traits go, I think that you need to be dynamic, a team player, flexible and, above all, practically-minded and an analytical thinker.
Have you been given support with achieving your career goals?
Of course - the support I received reflects Media-Saturn’s open-door philosophy, i.e. the fact that you can always talk to whomever you please without having to first overcome hierarchical or bureaucratic hurdles.
If you were able to choose one of the products available at Media Markt or Saturn, what would it be?
An Apple iBook.
What electronic device drives you crazy?
My Blackberry.
Which of our advertising campaigns did you like best so far?
The campaign with the slogan “Manchmal ist mehr drin als man glaubt“ (Sometimes there’s more than meets the eye), especially the commercial with the Mexican band inside the customer’s ear.
