Karolina Barczak

Can you describe your role at Umicore?

I am the Plant Controller and Finance Manager at the Automotive Catalyst Plant in Nowa Ruda, Poland, and joined in December 2014 during the start-up phase. During these past seven years, many tools and processes have been put in place to run the business. I continue to support the Nowa Ruda team to achieve entity goals.   I do this by monitoring and forecasting financial figures and checking if we are still on track to reach our goals.

What do you enjoy about your job?

My position has many facets and is very diverse. I like preparing different types of analyses and sharing the outcomes with team members.  I feel this helps them understand the financial impact of operative decisions.

What do you enjoy about working for Umicore?

I appreciate the ability to have international interactions with colleagues. Meeting with co-workers and interacting with them exposes me to many different cultures. I also enjoy working with the most recent computer software and hardware versions to increase my knowledge base and expand my communication abilities.

Why did you want to join Umicore?

Umicore is a company that makes employee safety and career development a priority. Additionally, the strategic goals of Umicore to be a clean mobility leader match my worldview perfectly. At Umicore, I am honored to work for a company that strives to make the environment cleaner. 

What do you look forward to when you begin work each day?

Every day I come to work to improve processes and close gaps in collaboration with my colleagues.

What is a career highlight at Umicore?

A highlight for me is constantly building awareness related to risk mitigation and cost estimation within the team. In the precious metal business, those aspects have a significant impact on achieved financial results. For example, we work on a system which estimates precisely precious metal quantity in scrap materials sent for refining losses. We measure the gap, and we can explain deviation and improve other processes concerning refining.

Advice for new employees?

Take every opportunity to develop yourself.  Don’t be shy about asking questions and building relations with team members. You can learn a lot by interacting with interdepartmental teams and even bringing new insights that someone may not have considered.