Welcome to Karoline!

Can you tell us a little about yourself, Karoline?

I am an outgoing and happy girl, raised on Hosle in Bærum. After moving around the country a bit, a few years ago I moved back to my childhood funnel, something I am very happy about! Here I live with my husband, our two teenagers and our dog Winnie.

Living in Bærum suits me perfectly! I love the easy access to nature and I really love being outdoors! I walk a lot with the dog, ski (when it's cause it) and love to run. In recent years I have also started playing tennis actively, and I now play in a veteran tournament! Here I am (fortunately) the youngest, but also the least experienced, which means that I have to run a lot 😊 I am very fond of both learning new things, at the same time as I am concerned with keeping old, long-term relationships.

A little about education and career

I have a master's degree in economics from BI. Coincidentally, a former classmate had gotten a job at IBM. He therefore tipped me off about a student job in the PC department there. I applied, got the job, and after graduating, I also started full time at IBM. It was here that I was introduced to technology and sales, something that has followed me throughout my career.

While working at IBM, I was also introduced to HR and this is where my HR enthusiasm began. In 2014, my professional journey took me to SAP and SuccessFactors and it was actually here that I had the pleasure of meeting Sariba for the first time.

After a visit to SAP , the journey continued to CatalystOne. Here I had the pleasure of working as Head of Customer Success in Norway. The goal was to help customers get the most value out of their solutions, and in this role I got even closer to HR. I became very familiar with the challenges many customers face and what it takes to solve these challenges.

What are you going to work on in Sariba?

In Sariba I am employed as Senior Solution Architect. The focus will be on the customer's solution, and the goal is to show customers what opportunities Sariba and SuccessFactors actually provide, by building good business cases. I will help to understand the customers' needs, and highlight the benefits that a new HR system will provide.

It is my view that HR has traditionally not been the best at showing what benefits their work actually delivers, nor at talking up their business needs. I find that the HR role is changing and that there are completely different profiles now stepping in as HR leaders. They are used to talking about their own needs, and they are also incredibly good at seeing the important role HR plays in digitalization.

Why Sariba?

I really enjoy working at the intersection of HR, IT and sales. The great thing about working in sales is that you get the opportunity to show the world what amazing features a solution has, what benefits a potential customer can get, and how the solution will improve everyone's working day!

In Sariba I get the opportunity to work with just this, something I am really looking forward to! Sariba is also a competence-heavy organization that can deliver so much good to the customer. I think that's really fun! In addition, I look forward to working in an international environment with colleagues in several countries. Sariba is really in a very good position for further growth, and to be part of the journey from here I find very rewarding.

In addition, I must say that I got an incredibly good impression of Sariba through interviews. The whole culture and all the people made me want to throw myself into something new.

What motivates you, Karoline?

I am motivated when I get to work with customers, deliver value and see that customers succeed. I am a people person so I really appreciate being out working with people! I thrive very well in interaction with others, and I am motivated by learning new things! I actually thrive in a little uncertainty! This is where you learn a lot of new things, as long as the security is in place at the bottom.

What are you looking forward to?

I'm looking forward to this pandemic being over! I look forward to traveling to places other than the cabin on summer vacation (nothing wrong with the cabin, but it does not come with a weather guarantee!) I look forward to us being able to return to work and experience the office community, to a normal workday and to to get to know my new colleagues!

I look forward to meeting the customers, and not just on teams! Teams work well there, but it does not give you the same as when you enter the reception of a new company; you see what happens, you smell the coffee, you get the small talk at the coffee machine .. I look forward to experiencing that dynamic again 😊.