Emma’s
marathon
run takes her all
the way to Australia

Talk about fate! In 2022, DLL member Emma Boerekamps ran in the Eindhoven Marathon. At an after-party in a downtown café, a complete stranger complimented her about her medal. That stranger turned out to be a colleague from DLL Australia. “We went from strangers to connected colleagues in seconds,” says Emma. “I mentioned I would love to work abroad. He said, ‘Then talk to this lady!’” Standing behind him was the Head of HR, DLL Asia Pacific, also visiting Eindhoven. The rest is history.

The great adventure takes off

As fate would have it, DLL Australia was about to post a job opening for a marketing specialist. Emma applied. Just a few months later, precisely on her 25th birthday, she and her partner, Geert Wijn, also a DLL member, boarded a flight from Amsterdam to Sydney. The great adventure was taking off.

“I love Sydney,” says Emma. “It’s like life in Eindhoven but notched up a few levels. It’s a bigger city with more excitement and more things to do. Great weather and beaches. Great restaurants. And a great job, of course.”

Pioneering marketing in DLL Australia New Zealand

Before moving to Australia, Emma worked in DLL Marketing & Communications Benelux. So the job in Marketing made sense. But one thing was totally different. In the Benelux, the marketing department is large and well-established. In Australia New Zealand, the marketing team is just starting up.

“The department consists of my manager and me,” says Emma. “That’s it!” But that small scope and start-up mentality adds to the fun. “We are pioneering marketing here and it’s great. I work closely with the Sales teams and they love to see how we can help generate leads and contribute to the business. Everyone’s excited to see this get off the ground.”

New offices, same company culture

Moving 16,000 kilometers for a new position is exciting, but can also bring some stress. According to Emma, the DLL culture helps make it a smooth move.

“I’m amazed how the DLL culture I felt in Eindhoven is something I also experience so strongly here in Sydney,” says Emma. “Everyone is friendly and supportive. The culture is open and hierarchy is almost non-existent. I can open Outlook and directly schedule a meeting with the Managing Director if there’s a need. He will accept and thank me for the initiative. You don’t see that in every large company.”

DLL facilitates, you activate

Emma earned her Bachelors Degree in Social Innovation. She applied those skills early in her DLL career in a project called Impact040, where Rabobank and DLL work with the local community to help financially stressed people. But she and DLL were already looking forward.

“I wanted to keep growing and learning,” says Emma. “DLL really supports that. I got a personal career coach, a DLL colleague, who is fantastic. We looked at what I want and how that fits in DLL. We decided I would just keep learning on the job, and do some external courses, which I did in marketing. Those decisions got me into Marketing Australia. When it comes to your career journey, DLL really facilitates it. But you have to take the initiative and activate it!”

Partner for a better world

The opportunity to live and work abroad is one thing Emma loves about DLL. She’s also passionate about the DLL commitment to “Partner for a better world”. “DLL takes sustainability seriously,” says Emma. “Not just words but also actions in our programs. Our vendors and partners see this and get on board.”

The commitment to sustainability fully resonates with Emma’s values and approach to life. “My generation has a strong sense of purpose,” she says. “I need to find that sense of purpose in my job. I’m delighted to find it at DLL. It makes me feel like I am part of something bigger.”