Coffee with Annika

We grabbed a coffee with Annika Svensson, Director of Marketing for Symetri’s AEC Nordic business unit. Our chat covered a lot of ground – some of it on skis.

What are you drinking?
I’ll go for a cappuccino if it’s good coffee. If not, I’ll just grab a juice or tea.

Anything to eat with your coffee?
’ll usually go for a cinnamon bun or a Fazer blue chocolate bar.

LIFE BEFORE SYMETRI 
Annika studied economics and financial business before starting a career in sales, predominantly in telecoms. From there, she progressed to Business Development and Sales Director roles, including several years at Ericsson. Working with product development and analyzing markets and customer objectives, the migration to more marketing-focused roles was a natural progression.

So, what led you to Symetri?
I had been with Ericsson for around 16 years and felt the time was right to explore new opportunities. I worked as a consultant for a time but missed being part of a team.

And what attracted you to the organization?
Lots of things. I like to be part of an organization that provides a product or service that is genuinely fundamental to, and benefits, society. Symetri does that.

And I like to work with people who are highly skilled and passionate about what they do. Everyone I met at Symetri really enjoyed working here, they were passionate - and they were all really nice.

You’ve been at Symetri for four years; has your role or department changed much since then?
Yes. When I started, we were a team of two. Now there are six of us. Initially, marketing was perceived more like a support function. Now, we’re recognized to deliver values both from a more tactical / sales perspective and more long term brand building view. This of course is thanks to all of us in marketing cross-company working a lot more together.

And what have been some of your biggest challenges?
Soon after I started, Covid happened, so everyone was home working, which meant we had to find new ways to coordinate. But our main challenge now is developing how we approach marketing, how we can utilize our in-house strengths and capabilities to market both our technology and services. So, we’re looking at how we can not only demonstrate the value of our features and functions but also the business value or the business outcome of using our solutions, services and trainings.

What do you think makes Symetri a different kind of organization to work for, what do you like about it?
That even though we have grown dramatically over the past four years, which is exciting, it still feels like a smaller company, there is a real ‘family’ feeling. Everyone supports each other, trusts each other, and we’re honest with each other. And we have fun together.

If you could swap jobs with anyone at Symetri – work in another role - for a week, who would it be?
It would be fun to swap with one of our sales teams, to meet more customers face-to-face and hear about their challenges and ambitions. I’d also like to work in Symetri tech, why not be Jan Tore for a day or two? Understand more about tech development and how we can drill down and bring out the real business values – that would be interesting.

Are there any Symetri social events or activities you're involved in?
We get together for breakfast every week, for a regular catch-up. And right now, there are three teams of us getting ready to enter the Vasaloppet cross-country Skiing race – the 90km relay. So, we’re busy training for that.

What about away from work, how do you like to relax?
I like spending time with my family and friends making nice food. And I enjoy cross-country skiing, last weekend I competed in a race.

A cross-country ski race? That doesn’t sound very relaxing?
Well, it is in a way, you need to focus on other things. You have to work pretty hard for forty minutes or so, depending on the duration of the race. The Vasaloppet is of course different as it is 90 km. But it’s fun. Gets me to do some exercise. And afterward, you meet up and socialize with others from the ski club; so, it’s completely different from work – a chance to switch off.

Finally, what advice would you give to anyone considering or just starting their career at Symetri?
Be curious. Be open to new ideas. Be interested in our customers’ challenges.