MBA, Kids and Career

Managing a career and family

Helen Stöhr is working for Invest Region Leipzig and has chosen the part-time MBA program of HHL for further qualification. The Leipzig born manager appreciates the co-operating balance between her family life, her studies and her career. The part-timer at HHL know nevertheless: Part-time studies require a lot of planning and coordination work, especially if the job is demanding and your family responsibilities should not be neglected.

A power woman from Invest Region Leipzig GmbH

The manager and young mother has her professional background in business development. After graduating in media business in Ilmenau, Helen Stöhr gained seven years of experience at Germany Trade and Invest with a focus on business development for Eastern Germany. She then went to Auckland for a year as Manager Marketing and Events for the New Zealand German Business Association – until an offer came from the Invest Region Leipzig. Helen has been Manager for International Business Development there since 2015.

Bringing companies to the Leipzig region

Right from the start, she found the task of promoting her hometown worldwide very appealing. In concrete terms, it supports companies that are looking for a new location in the Leipzig region or want to set up a new company and accompanies them in the settlement process. “During the actual foundation, the search for suitable personnel and the development of the sales network I am certainly no longer involved in the project – and that was also a reason for the MBA study,” she recalls.

Added value from the MBA

Learning about the entrepreneurial process generates a better understanding and customer support. In addition, the strong focus of HHL’s programs on executives and potential founders, contemporary approaches such as corporate leadership or design thinking and the prospect of an exciting network of people were most decisive reasons for the part-time MBA.

“You have to live the imperfection!”

Growing a network through TedxHHL

Helen is already full of zest for action, you can feel that immediately. She can’t wait to put the added value of her studies into her job, whether it’s new approaches to teamwork or manager-employee interaction. Through her important role in organizing the TedxHHL events, she was also able to build up a large network of entrepreneurs and exciting personalities.

Strong support from partner and family

The twelve months of parental leave are still very helpful at the moment, which also made my decision to study at HHL much easier, because it simply takes a lot of pressure off of me. I’ll start working again in August, and then I’ll have to see how it develops.

The biggest support to get everything under one roof is her partner and her parents. They keep Helen’s back free, so she can do the things she enjoys, which she herself perceives as a great luxury. Nevertheless, this means a lot of coordination and long-term planning work to coordinate the HHL weekends and the business trips of Helen’s partner.

Reflect and prioritize

Helen’s tip is to be more relaxed if something doesn’t work out, to allow yourself a break and postpone things.

You have to live the imperfection! In the Leipzig Talents Program, I learned that I should not constantly work on optimizing my weaknesses, but to bear them and rather reflect on what is important to me and to prioritize them afterwards. That’s what I try to remember every day.