How professionals work. Pia Wemmelund, CEO of Momondo

The heading "How Professionals Work" continues to acquaint the readers of "Megamind" with the working habits of various specialists in the IT market.

Recently, we are increasingly able to communicate with foreign professionals - and it pleases! Indeed, throughout the world a huge number of enthusiastic people, not only in Russia. So today, a native of Denmark, the executive director of Momondo , Pia Wemmelund, will tell us about his working habits.

Ms. Wemmelund has been working at Momondo since 2007, taking the position of commercial director, where, as expected, she was engaged in sales, internet marketing, finance and administrative matters. Already in 2012, Pia is appointed managing director, since 2013 she has been on the board of directors of the company.
')
Prior to joining Momondo, Pia Wemmelund worked for more than 19 years in the Scandinavian airline SAS, rising from one of the ordinary positions to the commercial director of the holding. Continuing to work in the tourism industry for over 25 years, Pia notes that she still likes it.

Current Location:
Copenhagen, Denmark

Current place of work:
Managing Director of Momondo A / S, tourist meta-search momondo.ru

One word that best describes how you work:
Resolutely. For me, the concept of “extreme business” is conceptually important. Such a format requires special “flexibility” from the manager and speed in adjusting decisions depending on situations. Sometimes they are radically different from the original plan and need courage to change the vector.

How many hours a day do you work?
I work until I finish my schedule. Usually 10-12 hours a day.

In general, I devote a lot of time to communicating with team members, because the result depends on them. Often I just go up to people in the office, wonder how things are going, have lunch with the staff. All this makes it possible to “scan” the general atmosphere and detect emerging difficulties, which is especially important when the company is growing rapidly like ours.

Current mobile device:
iPhone 6

Current computer:
A Dell laptop connected to a large monitor, like many momondo employees. In general, I do not care at all what brand and model of my computer. For me the main thing is that the equipment works stably and does not give failures.

Without any applications, programs, utilities you can not live?
For office work, I use Microsoft Office programs like all team members, and for planning trips, of course, our product.

Which life hack helps you save time?
Due to the fact that we are building an international business, I often have to go on business trips around the world. To optimize the time during registration and control, I always use the application of the Copenhagen Airport, which tells you where to face long lines.

What kind of to-do manager do you use?
I use the Outlook calendar, through which you can make an appointment in one of the office meeting rooms, making sure that it will not be occupied by other employees. But to organize meetings of members of the board of directors of the momondo group, where I enter, Doodle is usually used.

What do you listen when you work?
I listen to my children's playlist to stay up to date with what they like. My daughter loves pop music, and my son loves rock. My musical preferences are somewhere in the middle. But in the end, I often have to listen to the playlist of our marketing director, since we work in the same office. I do not mind, because our tastes are the same: we both love light, positive music with a motivating effect.

What are you reading now?
I simultaneously read several books. All of them are somehow connected with management and personnel management. Also in the zone of my interests are books on how to develop yourself and change your mind in order to always remain in the zone of positive.

I am reading now: Ken Follett, “The Pillars of the Earth” and “Runs in the Wind” by Khaled Hosseini.

Which book from the last read was remembered the most?
I just finished reading the book “5 Dysfunctions of the Team” by Patrick Lensioni. Very useful reading about what to pay special attention to when optimizing the work of the team.

Do you use e-readers or prefer paper books?
I love paper books, but more often I have to read from my iPad, since it is more practical.

How long do you sleep?
On average 7 hours

Are you an owl or a lark?
I like to wake up early, but at the weekend I allow myself to sleep a little longer than usual.

How do you have breakfast?
In food, I am conservative. For breakfast I usually eat scrambled eggs and avocados and drink a glass of water.

How do you spend your time on the way to work / from work?
I live in a suburb of Copenhagen, so I ride my bike to the station, and when I get on the train, I immediately begin to check email. Then I read the industry news, reports on how things are going in the company, and skim through the media.

What advice you have ever been given can you convey to others?
Arne Nilsson, a famous Danish canoeist and Olympic champion, said: "You can be either above the situation or under it . " I am sure that we always have this choice. Putting ourselves above the situation, we get the opportunity to look at all the processes from above, to find a way to manage them. For me, it works like a setup - always try to direct what is happening in the right direction.