Careers.

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COO / Chief Integration Manager

Member of the Group Executive Management Board

LUKOWA Food AG, a LUKOWA Group company

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LUKOWA Group was founded in 1983 as a subsidiary of FUGA AG, a Lucerne based trading company established in 1928, as their food and beverages unit.  From 2012 firm has started shifting the company’s focus from pure trading to a service provider with its own production and processing facilities. Today, LUKOWA covers the entire supply chain in the food sector, from producers to large retail chains. With Switzerland as our base, we’ve become one of the most significant market players in the global food and beverage industry.

In addition to the food business, LUKOWA today is active in various other business areas with the aim of accelerating growth. LUKOWA has expanded to Real Estate and Sports, with initiatives in Business Services, Academy, Big Data and ventures in Biotech and Fintech.

From the very beginning, it’s been in our DNA to pioneer through bravery and excellence. Our ambitions are high – and our ability to execute has proven to be even higher. Together with our partners, we continue to move on towards greater things: Empowering everyone to live smarter, happier, and more sustainable lives.

The position of Integration Manager has a specific and concrete purpose, transitioning key business relations and practices, as well as established corporate culture, from the regional hub in Belgrade, Serbia, where most of our operational and sales team is situated, to the new expanding LUKOWA Group Headquarters in Lucerne, Switzerland. The Integration Manager should assure synergy of best practices from both, Serbian and Swiss labour and product market. The executive management will lean on this position in making sure that all elements of the move are taken care of as needed for future productive and efficient functioning. Not only will this position understand the ins and outs of LUKOWA’s business strategies, but it will also be the finest cultural representative of what LUKOWA strives to achieve. This position will work with the same goal in achieving unified internal customer-oriented culture in all future expansions of the Group.

Place of employment: Lucerne, Switzerland

WHAT will you be doing

LUKOWA Group is entering a phase of transition from a Swiss-Serbian SME to a large international company. The primary task of this position is leading the transformation of LUKOWA Group on our path from a Swiss company with operations in the Republic of Serbia to an international company based in Switzerland.

Role:

• Development of corporate governance
• Formulating strategy frameworks, business plans, budgets, and timelines at a Group level and in Food segment
• Formulating Group’s portfolio of services while maximizing synergies among member companies
• LUKOWA Group set-up and LUKOWA Group new member-companies set-up in Switzerland
• Integration of all new companies and teams into the Group, utilizing best practices of LUKOWA’s existing businesses
• Transfer of best practices and procedures from regional hub in Serbia to the growing team at the Headquarters in Switzerland
• Transferring and fostering existing corporate culture throughout LUKOWA Group companies with understanding of different cultural frames in which LUKOWA operates
• Entrepreneurial approach to bringing new business ideas and business cases to the Group
• Building of corporate image and organization of Group marketing activities
• Establishment of Business Excellence services in Switzerland based on experience of Serbian regional hub
• Designing educational career development programs for the Group employees
• Talent scouting
• Expanding LUKOWA Academy, our extracurricular program for top students of final years of study in Serbia, on an international level
• Development of Big Data Department, integration into LUKOWA Group, and positioning of their services
• Involvement in M&A assessments
• Liaisons with LUKOWA network of contacts

WHAT we expect from you

• Experience on top management positions of 10+ years
• BSc or MSc or equivalent degree
• Experience in working in an international and multicultural environment
• Experience in both, SME and international corporate environment
• Relevant experience in selecting, interviewing, and onboarding new employees in the teams
• Experience in forming, building, and leading operational and sales teams, as well as leading other C-level positions
• Readiness to give honest feedback to team members
• Assertive communicator
• Excellent knowledge of Serbian Food market, suppliers’, and service partners’ network
• Developed network of contacts within Serbian economic circles
• Understanding of food segment customer network, primarily in Europe
• Ability to solve unstructured situations
• Structured and process-oriented person
• Entrepreneurial mindset which brings new ideas to life
• Native in Serbian language as well as excellent command of English language (written and spoken)
• Readiness to travel 2-3 days a week, the Balkans, Western and Eastern Europe

LUKOWA people are

• Professionally challenged
• Shifting the boundaries everyday
• Dedicated to LUKOWA’s vision, since we are all part of it

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