Divan has grown within the finance department. He emphasizes the importance of seizing opportunities, taking risks, and combining intuition with discipline. For him it’s about making a difference and driving change.
I am Divan, and I joined Franke in early 2010, in Johannesburg, South Africa. Since then, I have taken on several roles growing within the finance department, and in 2017 I had the opportunity to relocate to Nashville, USA to take on a challenge within the Franke Coffee Systems division. The company really supported me in this move and the division was a high growth environment. I then transitioned to a new role in 2021 moving to the Home Solutions division, in my current role.
I would say that my journey has been a success story of growth, and to those seeking similar opportunities, I would advise being open to new experiences and willing to take risks. Accept challenges, express your goals, and seize opportunities when they arise. Because they will, especially at Franke.
What’s good about Franke is that it combines the strengths of a large organization with the feeling of a small company. The continuous opportunities for improvement and growth, along with the chance to lead and work with a team, is what keeps me motivated.
Furthermore, I really enjoy working within the finance department. It’s easy to just look at the numbers and stay with a silo mentality, but for me it’s about having a comprehensive overview of the business and using this knowledge to make a difference and drive change. It’s important that the numbers can tell a story, and you need a certain level of intuition: I believe that intuition plays a part in creating a balance between discipline and risk-taking.