"When my school days were coming to an end, I asked myself about my professional future. Right at this point, PETER/LACKE GmbH advertised in our school with a flyer that they were looking for trainees to become paint laboratory technicians. The offer was a good match for my interests and skills and within a few weeks I signed my training contract. After my training, which I was able to shorten to 2.5 years, I was given a permanent contract in development, where I worked for about 1.5 years. I then decided to study chemistry at the University of Paderborn. My understanding of organic and inorganic surfaces and interfaces was rounded off with a doctorate. By comparing industry and academic research, I quickly realized that I wanted to return to industry. As a laboratory manager for innovations, I was about 60% occupied with administrative tasks and about 40% working and developing new smart coating systems in the laboratory. I have since taken over the entire area of sustainability. Because corporate social responsibility, bio-based coatings and/or biodegradable coatings now play a major role."