London has held a huge attraction for Tio alumna Yvette van Yperen since the age of sixteen. She has meanwhile fulfilled her dream and secured a job with Wolverine Worldwide in this vibrant metropolis. Yvette: “It’s fantastic to work with so many different nationalities at this company.”
Wolverine Worldwide
Yvette is the Customer Services Team Leader for Merrell UK/Ireland & Amazon EMEA at Wolverine Worldwide in London. Yvette: “Wolverine Worldwide is an American shoe manufacturer with brands such as Merrell, Harley-Davidson, Hush Puppies and Saucony in its portfolio. As the team leader, I am responsible, along with my team, for clients like John Lewis, Go Outdoors, Sports Direct and naturally, Amazon.”
“I support my team with orders, returns, queries, any problems, etc.”, Yvette explains. “I am responsible for all activities relating to Amazon in the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Spain. They are our biggest Merrell client, responsible for generating orders worth millions every year.”
International working environment
“The work is very challenging”, Yvette explains enthusiastically, “Amazon in particular. It is such a huge player with its own way of working. As the supplier, we have to adapt our way of working to theirs, obviously without losing sight of our other clients. Given the many different nationalities, working for such a large, international company is fantastic. All those opinions and cultures often produce wonderful and creative solutions!”
Tio: an investment in your future
Yvette studied Travel Agent Management (nowadays called: International Tourism Management) at Tio. “Tio offered me the option of a shortened higher education study programme and I have always excelled in languages, so that seemed like the perfect solution. I still benefit from it greatly; not just the languages and marketing modules, but customer services and how to speak to people, for example, is also incredibly important.”
“I enjoyed myself very much at Tio”, Yvette continues. “It was a small, cosy uni with friendly students and teachers. Everyone studying at Tio wanted to get something out of it for themselves; studying at Tio is a big investment in your future. I found the study material heavy, but it showed me I am capable of doing far more than I think I can. And some tourism knowledge still comes in very handy when you play trivial pursuit!”
A dream come true
“I have always wanted to live and work in London”, Yvette says in closing. “And despite the fact I do not live there, I have a place north of London here in Bedford, all my friends (here in England) around me, as well as affordable rent. Plus a job in one of the most fantastic cities in the world. As they say here: the best of both worlds!”
Follow Yvette on LinkedIn.