Shorts, Thongs and an Insurance Company

Shorts, thongs, a digital vision – and now a full-time gig at an insurance company. Didn’t see that coming either. 😉

I’ve officially been with Die Haftpflichtkasse VVaG for a month now – this time not as a freelancer, but in a full-time role as Digital Experience Manager. Last week, I was in ⚜️ Darmstadt for the first time in this new setup. Time to finally share a few thoughts.

When I first joined as a freelancer about half a year ago, some of my friends were genuinely puzzled. “Martin? At an insurance company? Really?” The guy who likes to take shortcuts, finds ways around processes, wears Pippi Longstocking or Elmo T-shirts (shoutout to Jens for dubbing me Nerd-Shirt Martin years ago), and considers shorts and thongs (yeah, only Aussies call them like that – for others those are jandals or flip-flops – and I really like the puzzled faces when I call them thongs) perfectly acceptable office attire – though it’s not warm enough for either right now, unfortunately?

And honestly – I had my doubts too. It was an adventure. And what happened? It turned out to be a great fit. So I stayed.

It’s a fantastic team – I’m excited for what’s ahead. Thanks heaps, Sina, Angelina and Michael. Looking forward to shaping great digital experiences with you, Sascha, Frank and Claus. And thanks for making the ride a breeze during my freelance chapter, Domenique, Ramin, Robin, Jesper and Florian – wouldn’t have been the same without you.

In my new role, I lead user experience across key digital platforms. I’m working on a holistic UX strategy, defining metrics, and building solid design and research ops foundations – all with a clear focus on customer needs and accessibility.

There’ll be plenty of travel between 🐻 Berlin and ⚜️ Darmstadt – but it’s definitely worth the ride. 😉 Looking forward to catching up with my Rhein-Main friends over a drink whenever I’m down south. 🍻

Originally posted on LinkedIn.