Isabelle Lochon joined RTL Group as a finance trainee in 2007. During her traineeship, Isabelle was involved in a variety of projects in Group Finance both at the Corporate Centre and in our Profit Centres. After a first experience at the Controlling and Treasury & Corporate Finance departments in the Corporate Center in Luxembourg, she packed her bags and went to Croatia for a six-month assignment.

How was your transfer to Croatia organised? How did it go?

I left by car with a first stop at the Croatian Embassy in Belgium to collect my visa. After driving seventeen (!) hours across Germany, Austria and Slovenia, the Croatian border and Zagreb were (finally…!) in sight. Public transportation in Croatia is not very developed and it was essential to have my own car to travel around the country.

The HR teams in Luxembourg and Zagreb dealt very well with all the necessary administrative procedures. Everything went fine, although there were some delays due to the fact that the country is not part of the European Union.

What were your first impressions at your new company/team?

Curiously, my first impression upon arrival was: am I really at RTL Televizija??? The company logo is almost identical to that of RTL Television in Germany. My first day started with a tour of the building (350 employees), after which I was introduced to the Finance, HR and Legal teams (30 employees, of whom 26 are women!). It was a very nice and warm welcome and my colleagues were full of good tips about going out in Zagreb.

What were your responsibilities at RTL Televizija? What did you learn from this experience?

As part of the Reporting & Controlling team, I was lucky to be involved in a wide range of projects. Among other tasks, I was responsible for the monthly financial closing of the Business Development department. Furthermore, RTL Televizija was RTL Group’s last Profit Centre not to hedge its dollar exposure. Thanks to my brief stint at the Treasury & Corporate Finance at the Corporate Centre beginning of 2008, I was able to set up the appropriate hedges with Spliska Banka (Société Générale) and freeze the FX change when the dollar was at its weakest. 

Finally, I created a cash-flow model allowing RTL Televizija to better track the payments by department and thus to better manage monthly cash flows. At the end of my mission, I also concentrated on the update of the Sales department workflow in order to organise internal controlling.

Such an assignment is endlessly enriching, culturally speaking – but also on a professional level. This experience allowed me to see the connection between the work done at the Corporate Centre with the work that is done “behind the scenes” at the Profit Centres. I gained deeper insight into the problems that can arise on a daily basis and ways to resolve them. At the same time, my stay at RTL Televizija allowed my colleagues to learn more about our Corporate Centre.

Just like you, Clément Schweibig started his career at RTL Group as a Finance Trainee. Today, he is CFO of RTL Televizija. Did he give you some tips?

Clément wanted me to work on many different projects to give me a more precise and tangible vision of the operational side. This initiative definitely added value to my programme. Clément, of course, also took the opportunity to give me a few tips on how to make the best of my training.

Did you learn Croatian? Tell us about Zagreb. Any anecdotes?

“Naravno da sam naucila hrvatski! Zagreb je prekrasna grad, potpuno odan nogometu. Za vrijeme euro kupa, auti su bili maskirani, u male zastave, cak sam i ja kupila t-shirt da navijam s njima!“ -  which means: “Of course I learned Croatian! Zagreb is a lovely city, completely devoted to its football team. During the Euro Cup, cars were decorated with flags and I surprised myself by actually buying a football t-shirt to support their team…”

Of course, there are numerous anecdotes from the six months...From the hacking of my credit card in a Croatian supermarket, which deprived me of means of payment for nearly a month, to discussions between a French girl who didn’t speak Croatian and a Croatian who speaks only Croatian...You can picture the scene!

Back in Luxembourg, you now work on the Controlling team. What is your role?

I am indeed on the Controlling team now, where I will work on the 2009 budget through the end of December.

What’s next? What are the next steps in your programme?

A final assignment from January to May in Luxembourg or in another Profit Centre are on the agenda. I will soon learn more about this.