Danny Pfeiffer is the Chief Financial Manager of easysquare. In this interview he introduces himself and his tasks at PROMOS.

Interview

Hello Danny, you were already working part-time at PROMOS while studying business informatics at Brandenburg University of Applied Sciences and also wrote your master’s thesis at PROMOS. How did you end up doing this and what convinced you to start at PROMOS?

Danny: Through Erik. We were already personally acquainted from university. He had advertised a vacancy for a student employee via the FH Brandenburg email distribution. That´s when I applied. I had already mentioned in the interview that I needed an internship during my studies and would also be interested in writing my bachelor’s thesis at PROMOS. That was when I was guaranteed that can be realised here. With this perspective given by PROMOS I made my decision. That PROMOS is interested in taking on students after they graduate has completed the overall package for me. In the end, I was able to write both my bachelor’s and master’s theses at PROMOS.

You’re now a manager and can proudly look back on your career trajectory. How was the path from student worker to your current position?

Danny: Everything went unexpectedly quickly. For both my bachelor’s and master’s theses, I had practice-oriented topics and a second supervisor at PROMOS. I was able to directly continue in these fields, since PROMOS offered me a consulting position once I finished my studies. And then I was able to independently conduct projects relatively quickly. It helped a great deal that I was able to interact with my colleagues so much and learn from them. Over the past couple years I’ve worked on many projects at the management level, which has allowed me to expand my own leadership skills. I would also say that I’m an open person and a quick decision-maker – those qualities fit quite well together and led to me now leading my own team.

How does your daily working routine look like? Let´s start with your front door…  

Danny: [laughs] I live in Brandenburg an der Havel, so I take the train to Berlin – every now and then I meet Erik in the morning and we ride together. People do often ask me whether the train commute is draining, but that’s not at all the case for me. PROMOS equips us all with the latest technology. This allows me to already begin work while on the train every morning. I can also unwind there and simply watch a film until I’m home. Arriving at the office I firstly get a coffee – clearly. These days I have a weekly plan, which I then break down into my daily to-do list. And then there’s always the normal project business as well.

How would you describe PROMOS as an employer to your friends? In three words!  

Danny:  Flexible. Exciting. Inquisitive.  

Why inquisitive?  

Danny: Well, PROMOS is suitable for people who are greedy for knowledge. The IT sector seems to be developing further every single day. And what really excites me is how we learn from each other here on a daily basis. Just because I’m confronted with a problem for the first time does not mean that my colleagues have not already encountered it before. It’s great that we can exchange ideas in such situations. And on the other hand, the increasing complexity of customer inquiries requires us to think in ever more innovative ways. That is only possible if I advance my own professional development as well. Being hungry for knowledge is absolutely everything.

How would you describe PROMOS to friends who do not work in IT?

Danny: Funny you should ask that – people often ask my wife what I do for a living and she does have trouble describing my work [laughs]. I always say that we are a 360° IT service provider for the real estate industry. This means that we run a data centre for our customers’ systems and that we provide a consulting service regarding SAP® landscapes, make adjustments to such systems and develop new solutions. We additionally offer our customers full support.

Name three reasons why you like working at PROMOS!  

Danny: The hierarchy in the company is awesome. You can be open and honest with everybody. And you also always get honest responses from your colleagues. To me, it feels like we are a sports team. We stick together like sworn confidants and approach all our tasks with everything we’ve got – from student workers all the way to the CEO.

Are there lots of employee events at PROMOS? How do you like them?

Danny: Yes, there’s our summer festival and the Christmas party. There is also a team event, which the teams organise themselves. In addition, we have a FIFA tournament every year in May. I really like that we are able to interact with each other in a completely different atmosphere. And I also find that it strengthens our sense of community and brings the teams even closer together – there always seems to be positive energy following the events, which is great.

Is there one event or situation which you look back on particularly fondly? We certainly all remember your Champions-League-worthy commentating for the human table-football tournament at our 20-year anniversary party.

Danny: Yes, our 20th birthday, where I spontaneously served as commentator, was a great success. But lots of other events spring to my mind too! My first summer festival, for instance, which was really great. But I also always really enjoy the team events, and they bring a real added value. I like to think back on the time when we drove go-karts. It was certainly a highlight to see all of our colleagues in the go-karts and how everyone tried to outdrive each other. It was really noticeable afterwards that there was a new cohesion within the team and a fresh ambition to tackle future projects successfully together.

What do you hope to get from PROMOS as an employer in the future?

Danny: I hope that PROMOS remains employee-oriented – that every individual continues to be valued here as a person. I think we get lots of things right here, and I hope it stays that way in the future.

Thanks for your time, Danny!

Danny: Thank you, it was a pleasure.