Steven Chen
Describe your journey within Konecranes
I started in May 2007 as a Business Controller assistant. Back then I had a boss from Finland who worked for Lift Trucks in Lingang. Soon he moved to work for the Industrial Cranes instead and I took over his Job. Now I’m The APAC Business Controller for Lift Trucks and report Anders Jannesson, the Head of Finance in Sweden, and my Chinese boss.
What is it like to be a controller?
Some would say it’s a boring finance job with all numbers and figures, and sometimes it is. Bookkeeping and closing are not always fun. But as soon as you start to analyse the numbers and data and you begin to see where the profit is coming from, where the losses are made and how the business actually works – that’s when it starts to get really much fun! This is why I enjoy my job. I get to impact the company and give advice to the department heads that I work with. Together we can create goals and make sure to keep them. But, of course, sometimes it’s challenging due to the global economies. You never know if the steel price will drop or increase, or if there will be another financial crisis. My job is always affected by these unexpected factors.
What gets you motivated at Konecranes?
First of all, I like the business where in. We make big machines and for me that was incredible. I almost felt like a young boy again when I saw the lift trucks for the first time! I’m also really interested in this kind of engineering. But it all comes down to that I’m a finance guy, and I love, as mentioned before, the analyze of the numbers and figures. By that, I get to talk to all the different department people to understand their goals and what they are thinking about the future. That makes my job interesting, and to reach the objectives is what keeps me motivated!
What is good with working for Konecranes?
The working environment. Konecranes gives you freedom and space to do your job and there’s not a lot of bureaucracy between departments. The atmosphere is open and human, people like and truly respect each other. I work a lot with the people over in Sweden, and they always listen to what I have to say and respects my thoughts and ideas. Due to the global working situations where we work with people from different countries with different approaches the respect and understanding are crucial. It’s not something you should take for granted; I didn’t have that at my previous job for example. And thanks to Konecranes I found out that I Love Swedish meatballs!