Sales Professionals: Changing The Future For Our Customers

We recently spoke to Sonja Pierer, Director of EMEA Digital Sales. Sonja gave us some insights into her journey and how she believes we can have a positive impact on our customers and their businesses.

Tell us a bit about your background.

I started with Intel a little over a year ago, leading the Business Consumption team within Germany. Since January, my role has changed and I now lead the Digital Sales team in EMEA. My whole career has revolved around computer science, and I’ve worked for a number of well-known companies in this area; Cisco, NCR, Manpower Group, VCE and, most recently, Amazon.

With such a variety of experience, what attracted you to Intel?

I watched Intel with interest last year before joining. Patrick Gelsinger, the CEO, is a great leader and he’s transforming the company within the market. He knows the technology and can translate this into market opportunities and demand. Under his leadership, Intel is following the IDM2.0 vision, which will allow us to extend our portfolio in the market. Pat is very fast to act, and it’s going to be interesting to translate his vision into do-able steps.

It was also a clear path for me to join a technology company. We are the leading company in this environment, and we need to transform to protect our leadership position and be worthy to lead the market.

What makes your role so interesting?

I’m a salesperson and my department is leading sales in Germany and Europe. The market is changing so fast, but we are always ahead in shaping the market and asking how we can help our customers in this dynamic world. That’s the really interesting part of my work. With my recent role change, I can also bring in the digital sales part and shape how we work with our customers and partners in the future.

I also like to understand why and how we do things, and how to bring this to our customers. Leading the team to a solution outcome-based organization is very exciting.

What is the culture like within Intel?

It’s an exciting brand to work for and there are lot of opportunities within the market. The team is very diverse and open minded, and communication is key. We’re able to discuss future market demand, how we can provide solutions for it and how we’re transforming and shaping the future.

We are an innovative company, and having studied computer science, technology really excites me. And my interaction with different people, especially with customers and colleagues, matters to me.

Where do you think Intel is on the D&I journey?

We keep doing what is good. We keep asking ourselves if we need to change. That’s the sentiment on my team. I enjoy listening to the team and they also enjoy hearing my feedback. In this very fast changing environment, it’s interesting to see how everyone’s new ideas can influence how we’re working and transforming. Together, we change to what the market needs in the future.

Why do you think people should join Intel?

As a company, we are very open-minded, diverse, and we place a lot of value on innovative thinking. People listen even though I come from a different background in terms of experience. We have a lot of collaboration, and we can really shape our customers’ businesses – we are relevant to them and provide support. It’s really motivating to see how we positively impact them.

So, when you join us, there is the combination of being part of a big brand in an industry that’s going through so much transformation and being part of the right team to deliver that change.

Ready to do more with your career? At Intel, we give you the freedom to push ideas and yourself. If this sounds like your kind of challenge, you should join our team.

Find out more about jobs at Intel Germany.