Helga Würtele’s biggest strength? Keeping several balls in the air. As the TRATON GROUP’s Head of Sustainability, she juggles a variety of topics, maintains regular contact with brands and departments — and always manages to get the balance right.
Helga Würtele lives on an island: Kungsholmen, the most central of Stockholm’s 14 islands, has been her home since 2020. “I really do feel at home here,” Munich-born Würtele explains. What she loves the most about her new city is that it brings together things that are seemingly opposite: old buildings stand next to examples of modern architecture, urbanity and nature lie side by side. After graduating with a degree in business administration, Würtele began her career in the investment banking industry. She worked at BayernLB before moving over to the industrial sector, joining MAN’s Capital Markets department in 2008. Today, the 49-year-old is responsible for sustainability in the TRATON GROUP. “Constantly learning something new is a good thing,” she believes. “That way, you can be sure that you have the right learning curve.”
Sustainability expert
Sustainability has become the number one priority in the transportation sector. But what does that mean for a company like TRATON? This question is what Helga Würtele examines in her role as Head of Sustainability. “If you look at the brands of the TRATON GROUP individually, you realize that sustainability is already deeply ingrained,” Würtele says. “Among other things, I am now responsible for creating a forum for these brands to communicate and share ideas.” The most important question right now: how can the TRATON GROUP take responsibility — ecologically, economically, and socially? “Together, we define cross-brand priority topics in the field of sustainability and think about the strategies and measures we can use to put these into practice,” Würtele explains.
Mediator
A lot of different people, brands, and departments are working together to drive this cross-functional issue forward. “I coordinate the exchange of knowledge, bringing multiple worlds together in the process,” Würtele continues. For example, colleagues responsible for products or production, as well as specialists working in the Finance or Human Resources departments. “This dialogue opens up new perspectives and inspires creative ideas,” Würtele explains. But she believes finding a happy medium between work and fun is just as important: “There is a time to work and a time to celebrate your success. For me, the two go hand in hand.”
Simplifier
Helga Würtele believes that it is often the simple things that lead to success. Take her recipe for successful collaboration — ultimately, it is straightforward: “Sharing knowledge, being respectful, and asking questions for clarification: for me, transparent, open communication is absolutely essential,” she says. Würtele loves the outdoors — her favorite way to spend her free time is out in nature: “Skiing, mountain biking, canoeing — when I am up in the mountains or near water, it becomes clearer to me what is truly important.”
