Join our diverse and inclusive family at Boehringer Ingelheim:

”The company knew my ambitions to live abroad and grow.
Here I am, 6,000 miles away from my home country, Mexico.
They helped me make it happen.” ​

“I had always wanted to live abroad, but had never been able to,” says Lourdes Navarrete. That is, not until the enticing job opportunity as Sourcing Manager came up in Boehringer Ingelheim’s regional office in Amsterdam. “Moving to the Netherlands from my home country, Mexico, leaving my family, friends and colleagues, was a huge decision. But that was almost two years ago now and I haven’t regretted it for a minute!” 

Opportunities abound and new family found​

Lourdes has always been extremely focused on developing herself professionally wherever and however possible. After a brief internship with an insurance company following the completion of her Bachelor’s degree in Economics, she came across a position in purchasing with Boehringer Ingelheim Mexico. That was in 2012. She explains, “I first worked in purchasing for indirect services, and after two years, I moved into purchasing for the marketing and sales categories. Then, after another two years, I was charged with supervising these categories, responsible for managing a team and co-leading global initiatives.” Leading a team and implementing the country pilot of a new global system at such a young age is one of Lourdes’ biggest career highlights so far. 

Her manager and colleagues at Boehringer Ingelheim Mexico played important roles in Lourdes’ decision to apply for the Sourcing Manager vacancy in Amsterdam, one of Boehringer Ingelheim’s regional office, called MIDI. “They knew about my ambition to live abroad and to grow, so they kept encouraging me to apply to MIDI office, until I did! My manager in Amsterdam told me he selected me for the role because I am dynamic, have a passion for trying new things and because I could bring in valuable new experiences and insights coming from a non-European culture.” She adds, “I feel very lucky and thankful to have been so embraced by my colleagues and the company. They’ve really become my family outside of my own family.”  

Multiculti
Working in the MIDI office means working with 26 different nationalities, and also 8 different operating units where they are located, i.e. Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, and Sweden. Lourdes thrives on the diversity throughout the office. “Everyone is different. A lot of colleagues leave their home countries to work in another part of the globe. We only become richer from the different points of views. We also share our impressions of living in a new culture with one another, we share words and phrases from our languages and learn about one another’s traditions. We definitely breathe diversity and inclusion here at Boehringer Ingelheim.” 

“Everyone is different. A lot of colleagues leave their home countries to work in another part of the globe. We only become richer from the different points of views. We also share our impressions of living in a new culture with one another, we share words and phrases from our languages and learn about one another’s traditions. We definitely breathe diversity and inclusion here at Boehringer Ingelheim.”

But it hasn’t all been easy, as Lourdes points out. “I have had to recognize my own cultural bias as well, (re-)learn how to communicate with people with different communication styles, and adapt to living in a new city. Amsterdam is a bubble of expats, a big international community with lots of interesting things to do.” Lourdes’ trick to adjusting to the new life? Fully embracing where she is in her life at this moment and only looking ahead. 

Cost-savings social butterfly
Lourdes gets a lot of energy from being able to communicate with a lot of people from different areas within the company – across the globe – but also with supplier organizations outside of the company. “I love being social and the balance in my work. I get to meet and negotiate with external parties, but also analyze opportunities to look for savings.” 
A typical day for Lourdes is far from boring and involves a mix of everything: global category calls with colleagues around the world, calls with colleagues in corporate, approving purchase orders, interacting with my purchasing team members, checking in with colleagues in communications and marketing to see if there are any new tenders, pitches with suppliers, and more.

A bridging partner

“The company is 'walking the talk', they care about their people and you can feel it.”​

She strives to empower her colleagues and those around her by participating in projects where she can help bring them closer to the strategies of the company (and vice versa), foremost by acting as a bridge. “I like to enable colleagues to reach our team’s objectives, in a compliant way. In my sourcing role, I provide a helicopter view, I am an enabler, and I’m a link between Boehringer Ingelheim and the outside world.” 

Given the above, it’s no surprise then that Lourdes gladly helps onboard new purchasing colleagues to the MIDI team but also to new colleagues outside her team. “I love meeting new people, connecting and supporting them, and being their partner during the onboarding process. They are in a great company and I want them to get excited about the projects and to feel welcome, just as my colleagues have done for me. It's obvious that Boehringer Ingelheim is 'walking the talk'. They care about their people and you can feel it.”

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MIDI is Boehringer Ingelheim’s regional office based in Amsterdam, which consists of 8 different operating units (Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, and Sweden).

Come, join us, and enjoy the diverse and inclusive family environment that Lourdes does: