Benjamin Leth Andersen joined Pandora in January 2017 as a Senior Consultant Business Development in our global office in Copenhagen to work on our long-term global strategy. He was promoted very quickly in March 2018 to the Head of Marketing Projects to influence the Marketing unit as a piece of the strategy. After two more successful years, Benjamin was promoted to the Director of Global Marketing Strategy and Planning. Finally, he joined our team in Northern Europe in July 2021 to head our Sales in all Nordic countries.
The interview was conducted by Bianca Kroll, Talent Acquisition Manager for Pandora Northern Europe.
Benjamin, congratulations on your new role. 4 promotions in near by 5 years. What a success!
Thank you very much! Yes, it has been quite a journey, and I am extremely excited to now be part of the Northern Europe team! We move at a very quick pace at Pandora, and I really appreciate that there is always an opportunity to try new stuff and move around in the organization if you push for it. I am a very driven person and have always made sure that my leaders have been aware of my development goals.
So you would say, people development is a daily business at Pandora?
Well, as an organization, we absolutely have a high focus on development and career progression, but you also need to push for it yourself and take ownership of your own development. I think that one of the key things is that we have a lot of great leaders in Pandora with a high focus on people development, and I have been fortunate to work with some of the exceptionally great ones who have always been very supportive of me and my career.
This sounds great! You have worked the last 5 years in the global Marketing team. What was your motivation to change into the Sales business and leading now the whole Sales unit for the Nordics?
I have always wanted to see what it is like out here in the ‘real world’ where rockstar salespeople are and where we have our interface with all the lovely Pandora fans around the world, and when this opportunity then came up it felt like the right time to take the step. It is very exciting to couple the toolbox I have acquired in my global roles with this very hands-on role, and get the chance to learn from all the great people in our Sales and Retail teams.
It seems that you are also planning your next career steps at Pandora. What is Pandora’s secret keeping talents like you?
I wouldn’t necessarily say that I am already planning my next step, for now. I am 100% focused on growing the Nordics together with the amazing sales team we have here. That being said, I of course have some long-term goals to aspire to. I think the Pandora secret to keeping great people is very simple actually, and it is beautifully explained in our updated company values: We Dream, We Dare, We Care and We Deliver. These are not just words on paper, and even though they might be relatively new, this is part of the culture in Pandora, and is what makes it such a great place to work. I have had great leaders that have cared for me and my development, and dared to let
me influence key decisions and take responsibility – in turn, I have dreamt and set the bar high, and been motivated to deliver my best – and I believe this is what a lot of people in Pandora feels like and why there is so much passion in the company.