{"id":23499,"date":"2022-03-08T15:54:26","date_gmt":"2022-03-08T14:54:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/de\/?p=22504"},"modified":"2024-09-05T10:44:59","modified_gmt":"2024-09-05T08:44:59","slug":"a-woman-among-men-im-not-your-typical-boss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/press-and-media\/newsroom\/stories\/a-woman-among-men-im-not-your-typical-boss\/","title":{"rendered":"A woman among men: \u201cI\u2019m not your typical boss.\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Logistics remains a very male-dominated field. Nevertheless, Verena Hammer has quickly risen through the ranks. Having trained in retail sales management, she began assuming leadership roles within PENNY\u2019s Norderstedt warehouse in 2013; first as a head of department in logistics and, since 2019, as operations manager. To date, she is the only female operations manager in the REWE GROUP.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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When you started as head of the goods staging department in Norderstedt in 2013, you were the only woman on the warehouse leadership team. How did you find that?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Verena Hammer:<\/strong> At first it was a bit difficult to gain the trust and acceptance of the ten male team leads. But with conviction, honesty, loyalty and transparency, I was able to win them over fairly quickly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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How did you react when you were offered the position of operations manager?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Verena Hammer:<\/strong> I was surprised, happy, incredulous and a little bemused all at the same time. But with the encouragement of the regional and logistics heads and the support of my husband, I decided to give it a go. And I haven\u2018t looked back.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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About:<\/h2>

\n Verena Hammer <\/p>\n\n \n

\n is operations manager at the PENNY store in Norderstedt – the first female operations manager at REWE GROUP. <\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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And how did your colleagues react?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Verena Hammer:<\/strong> Their reaction made me so happy. I received so many kind emails and calls, which made it so much easier to jump into the new challenge.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Did anyone seem resentful or express misgivings? And if so, how did you respond?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Verena Hammer:<\/strong> When I started out as the head of goods staging, there were 130 men and two women working there. There were some prejudices stemming from experiences with my predecessors, but I didn\u2019t let them put me off. When I took over as operations manager, there were no more prejudices to overcome.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Verena Hammer<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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There were some prejudices stemming from experiences with my predecessors, but I didn\u2019t let them put me off.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/div>\n

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Verena Hammer<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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What challenges come with the territory of being a woman in a male-dominated area such as logistics?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Verena Hammer:<\/strong> For me, it\u2019s completely normal to be pretty much the only woman among men. At the start, I\u2019m sure I had to fight harder and make a solid case in any arguments to gain the trust and acceptance of my colleagues.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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What sort of arguments were those?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Verena Hammer:<\/strong> I\u2019d make my rounds of the warehouse several times a day and whenever I found something amiss, I would point it out immediately. If I got pushback, I was usually able to provide the proof I needed to get my point across. And that gained me the necessary respect. I don\u2019t think a man would have had to do that. But it worked out well.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Verena Hammer<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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It\u2019s also important to me to communicate fairly and treat everyone as equals.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/div>\n

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Verena Hammer<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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What is your key to success when working with your team members?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Verena Hammer:<\/strong> When working with my team, the most important thing is to know my stuff. It\u2019s also important to me to communicate fairly and treat everyone as equals. I want my colleagues to know that I take their concerns seriously. It is absolutely essential to be a good listener when working with others. And I am a good listener. I\u2019m probably not your typical boss.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Read more<\/h2>\n \n <\/div>\n
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    Press release<\/p>\n

    24 September 2026<\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n

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    Press release<\/p>\n

    14 September 2026<\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n

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    Funding model helps the independent arts scene attract federal and EU funding to Cologne<\/p>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n<\/div>\n <\/li>\n

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    Press release<\/p>\n

    17 August 2026<\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n

    S&P Reaffirms REWE GROUP’s \u201cBBB\u201d Rating (Outlook Stable)\u00a0<\/h3>\n

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    10 August 2026<\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n

    Winter Vacation: The Waiting Game Is Over<\/h3>\n

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    Press release<\/p>\n

    24 July 2026<\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n

    Strategic Expansion of Hotel Operations: DERTOUR Group Becomes Sole Owner of DSR Hotel Holding<\/h3>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n<\/div>\n <\/li>\n
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    Story<\/p>\n

    23 July 2026<\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n

    “I’m an optimistic person. I’ve always been that way.”<\/h3>\n

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    Story<\/p>\n

    22 July 2026<\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n

    Sports Bring People Together: Inclusion Right in the Heart of the Neighborhood<\/h3>\n

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    Story<\/p>\n

    15 July 2026<\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n

    CSD 2026: Take a Stand. Embrace Diversity.<\/h3>\n

    Together with our LGBTIQ employee network, DITO, we are once again participating in numerous Christopher Street Days and Pride events this year. For the first time, we\u2019ll have trucks in six German cities, and we\u2019re also supporting numerous regional Pride events as well as initiatives organized by our regional offices and retailers. We are also sending a clear message of diversity at our locations in Austria, Italy, and Slovakia. <\/p>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n<\/div>\n <\/li>\n <\/ul>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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    \n Join the discussion on LinkedIn <\/h2>\n
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    Our LinkedIn feed has all the latest information from the REWE GROUP and the sector, with the most important developments from the worlds of retail, e-commerce, food, CSR and policy.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

    \n \n To LinkedIn feed <\/a>\n <\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n

    \n <\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Verena Hammer has found success in the otherwise male-dominated field of logistics. She tells us how honesty, tenacity and professional expertise helped her become an operations manager.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":16836,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","nl_adhoc_sent":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"sales_line":[19],"focus_theme":[142],"class_list":["post-23499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-company","sales_line-rewe-group","focus_theme-undefined"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23499","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23499"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23499\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23504,"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23499\/revisions\/23504"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23499"},{"taxonomy":"sales_line","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sales_line?post=23499"},{"taxonomy":"focus_theme","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/focus_theme?post=23499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}