There is a small earthquake in the industrial world in Germany: the young heiress to the biscuit giant Bahlsen has decided to leave the company under pressure.
Article written by
Sébastien Baer, edited by Ariane Schwab – franceinfo
French radio
Posted at 2022-11-02 13:31 Updated at 2022-11-02 15:32
Reading time: 1 min
At 29, Verena Bahlsen, who dropped out of college to join her great-grandfather’s business, was tasked with overseeing the transformation of the century-old cookie giant. But faced with the pressure, the young woman admits to breaking down many times in a lengthy post published on professional messaging system LinkedIn.
She scrambled to recall her fits of tears at meetings, her uncontrolled reactions, her harsh remarks towards co-workers, and the panic attack she felt one day as she found herself in the middle of a wheat field next to the company’s CEO. “These moments of fear, emotional overload or insecurity were often embarrassing for me,” writes Verena Bahlsen.
With her thick red hair and shocking formula, the young heiress did not go unnoticed, often sparking controversy when she said she was proud to be a capitalist. “I own a quarter of the Bahlsen company and that makes me happy. I want to make money and buy yachts with my dividends and stuff like that,” she announced loudly and clearly. I think in the long run I can make more money by making the world a better place.”
>> In 2019, Verena Bahlsen clumsily attempted to absolve her band of their role in World War II
After Verena Bahlsen left, her three siblings shared her shares. Meanwhile, the young woman dreams of learning to write and would like to do an internship in the cinema. But not right away, she said in her press release. Only after a few weeks of surfing and lounging on the beach while being “wobblingly unproductive”.
The young heiress to the Bahlsen empire throws in the towel – the report by Sébastien Baer
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