Welcoming Three GROW Participants From Sweden
Period two of the Bonnier GROW program is here, and we have some new faces in our offices. In Winter Park, Frida Jonasson, production coordinator and photo editor for Amelia magazine in Stockholm, joins the production department, and Lisa Widell, assistant art director also for Amelia, joins the design services group. In New York’s 2 Park Ave. office, David Andersson, developer for AdLibris in Stockholm ― the largest online bookstore with sales in Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway — joins us as a developer.
Meet the Participants
Frida Jonasson
Current Title: Production Coordinator/Photo Editor, Amelia, Bonnier Tidskrifter, Sweden
GROW Position: Production Department, Winter Park, Florida
What will your duties in the Winter Park production department entail, and how will they differ from your duties at Amelia?
I will work with production managers on various titles to learn production procedures and exchange experiences. The big difference is that here at Bonnier Corp., you deal with ads when you are a production manager; I don’t do that at home. In Sweden, I also work as a photo editor, so I’m more involved in the editorial process back there.
What goals would you like to accomplish while you are here?
My goals are to see how you deal with the same challenges as we have, to meet new colleagues and friends, and to push myself out of my comfort zone to advance professionally and personally. Hopefully, I will improve my English skills too.
How will you use what you learn here and apply it back in Stockholm?
I will definitely bring back the positive attitude you all have here in the Sunshine State. It makes life so much easier when we are nice and helpful to each other, and to clients and associates. I will also gain better knowledge of Bonnier as a whole company and the people working here, and that puts me and my daily work in a bigger context.
Lisa Widell
Current Title: Assistant Art Director, Amelia, Bonnier Tidskrifter, Sweden
GROW Position: Design Services Group, Winter Park, Florida
What will your duties in the Winter Park design services group entail, and how will they differ from your duties at Amelia?
I work with the design services group as an advertising artist. I create different kinds of ads, advertorials and other graphic material for about 30 titles. Being an assistant art director in a women’s magazine back in Sweden, I’m not really used to doing ads, but I have done a lot of advertorials. So for me, it is a new and exciting experience to be creative with these kinds of different formats.
What goals would you like to accomplish while you are here?
My goal is to learn as much as I can during these three months, both workwise and personally. It is a great experience on all levels, and I think the first three weeks have been very interesting and fun.
How will you use what you learn here and apply it back in Stockholm?
It is a little bit early to say, but I am sure I will bring new and interesting ways of making ads and advertorials with me back home. Since we don’t have as many advertorials in Sweden as you do, we’re glad to learn and benefit from your experience.
David Andersson
Current Title: Developer, AdLibris, Sweden
GROW Position: Developer, NYC, 2 Park Ave.
What will your duties as a developer entail, and how will they differ from your duties at AdLibris?
I am a developer here and my tasks are pretty similar to what I do back home. What differs is more the company culture and the structure of what is to be accomplished. I’d say that the American environment is more strict and people know their exact responsibilities, whereas work in Sweden is less defined. The pro is that I find planning better and easier here, the con is that it is a bit more rigid and not as flexible when it comes to last-minute fixes and those ideas that really should have been thought of from the start (which is impossible).
What goals would you like to accomplish while you are here?
Turns out, programmers and developers around the world are pretty similar and do similar things. However, working with new people always gives you new ideas and we learn from each other, I find. My main goal is to help out here, experience this work environment and become better at what I do — and, of course, enjoy myself in the city.
How will you use what you learn here and apply it back in Stockholm?
Having been here for a month, I think there are some parts of project management that could be applied to work back home. We could, perhaps, use one person as project manager full time, who would coordinate the projects. We’ll see; I still have a few months to look at things around here.