Meet our experts: Nicole Ribeiro Pereira // Claims Management

Nicole, since August 1, you have been in charge of Delvag's claims division. Congratulations on your new position! It's only been a few weeks since you started. Can you already tell us what you have planned for your new role and the development of the division?
On the way to becoming a data-driven company, topics such as digital transformation and the use of artificial intelligence are very much in focus for us in the claims area. These aspects inspire us to come up with new ideas and contribute to an improved customer journey in the long term.

However, I am also driven by a completely different perspective: The claims area often takes on a purely downstream function, namely in the context of claims settlement. I am determined to go beyond this role: 
Instead, the claims area can play an active role in the development of products and loss prevention. The keyword here is “from payer to player” - in other words, a claims department that takes active control of its own role.

You started your first management role as Head of Cargo Claims at Delvag in 2020, in the middle of the corona pandemic. That was certainly a special challenge. How did you experience the situation and were you able to draw any positives from it for your development?
It was exciting in every respect. There could hardly have been a more dynamic and at the same time “slowing” environment. In particular, however, it prevented me from “getting to know” my team on site at the beginning. However, because Delvag quickly switched to digital solutions with the introduction of Microsoft Teams and the like, the necessary cooperation was quickly established.

The situation also resulted in a lot of positive things. In particular, the fact that teams can also work wonderfully together virtually in the long term. I didn't have to learn that the hard way. For me, there are no limits in my head and that is a real advantage in the current job market. I am therefore very grateful for this unusual start.

And what general challenges do you face as a manager? How do you deal with them?
Being present every day, motivating, improvising, being pragmatic and remaining authentic... And these are just the demands of daily internal teamwork. You also take on many other roles with an “external focus” and always have to keep an eye on the future and further development of the division. But in the best case scenario, the team bears all these challenges together to some extent. And then it doesn't feel so challenging at all.

Before I took on my first management position a few years ago, I also wrote down 25 aspects that make up the “perfect manager” for me personally and resolved to fulfill at least five of them every day. In the beginning, I also checked this every day. I no longer manage to do this, but it helps me to internalize my personal requirements and look at myself from different angles. I often look at this list after a situation and question myself. That helps me a lot.

Nicole, from 2022 to 2023 you took part in the cross-mentoring program of the Cologne network “MIT FRAUEN IN FÜHRUNG”. Your mentor was Dr. Borbála Dux-Wenzel from Luther Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft. We would like to know more about the mentoring program and your time there together. That's why we've also invited Borbála today - it's great that you're here!
Please introduce yourself briefly.

Borbála: I have been a lawyer for 12 years and am now a partner at Luther Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft in Cologne. I work in the area of complex disputes, i.e. litigation. We handle complex litigation with a high amount in dispute, a large volume of proceedings, proceedings with an international dimension (cross-border disputes) and also arbitration proceedings. 

I have two children and am married.

What brought you two together in particular?
Nicole: One special thing about cross-mentoring was that we were both pregnant at the time. That brought us very close together. And of course we are both lawyers and of a similar age.

Even though the cross-mentoring program has been over for a while now, we still meet up.

What motivated you to take part in the program?
Nicole: I was asked whether I would like to take part in MIT FRAUEN IN FÜHRUNG. At the same time, I also asked myself whether I should apply, because I already knew at the time that I was pregnant. I asked myself: “Will that fit? Is it feasible in terms of time?”. But then I gave myself a jolt, because that's what a program like this is all about - “female empowerment” and making a career with a family possible. I therefore decided that it would have been the wrong motivation not to take part in the program and finally applied.

Borbála: I was also approached by our Cologne Location Head. He was a mentor at MIT FRAUEN IN FÜHRUNG the year before me. Overall, we as Luther Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft took part in the cross-mentoring program for the third time in the 2022 / 2023 edition.

As I was one of the co-founders of the Luther Female Network in 2021, I was naturally interested in the topics of promoting women and mentoring. Internally, we were also considering whether we should set up a mentoring program. Against this background, I was very happy to be asked whether I would like to take part in MIT FRAUEN IN FÜHRUNG as a mentor. I wanted to gain experience in promoting women and mentoring - I find these topics very important, especially in the still male-dominated legal profession.

I also wanted to establish and use contacts in the Cologne corporate world, because as a law firm headquartered in Cologne, our local roots are very important to us, despite our international orientation.

Were your expectations of the program fulfilled?
Nicole: From my point of view, you can learn a lot from MIT FRAUEN IN FÜHRUNG. I expected to grow from the program, to take a lot away for myself and to get to know many different aspects of leadership. There is probably no other opportunity to learn so much from someone from outside the company - in our case even from the same specialist area. The numerous workshops during the mentoring program also taught us a lot about ourselves. And of course you were able to build up a very large network.

Borbála: My expectations were also exceeded. The fact that we were both pregnant at the time meant that we grew even closer together. I also already had a small child. My son was just three years old. And of course Nicole and I immediately had a common theme: “working mom” and balancing family and career. That wasn't foreseeable beforehand, but I was very happy about it.

Our age gap isn't very big either. That's why I was a little worried at first whether I would be able to give Nicole anything at all, but we were very much on an equal footing. I was able to share my experiences with her and also learned a lot from Nicole. 

Nicole: Further development in terms of cross-mentoring doesn't always just mean advancement to a higher career level either. It also includes salary negotiations or the personal realisation that you don't necessarily want to be in a management position after you have learned more about leadership and yourself. There are many ways to take the next step after the program.

Borbála, you have already mentioned that you have an internal women's network at Luther Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft. Can you tell us something about it?
Borbála: During the second corona lockdown at the end of 2020 / beginning of 2021, out of necessity, we got together with some women from the Complex Disputes department in Cologne to think about how we could network again. Because at that time there were no events, no conferences, no law firm parties. However, these opportunities are very important, especially for young professionals, because this is where you make important contacts that you need for your day-to-day work. A professional exchange is very important among lawyers. And it naturally supports a sense of belonging and motivation among colleagues.

When we founded the women's network, we focused on networking and exchanging ideas with our female colleagues. Initially, it was all online. At the events, we presented Luther and the industry groups that we support. The male partners from our firm also took part.

There were also virtual speed dating lunches where we connected and exchanged ideas with colleagues from all over Germany. This often involved the topic of “work-life balance”. After that, we opened up the network to more and more topics. For example, Nicole was a guest speaker at a session where we presented cross-mentoring and our tandem. There was also a talk with female experts on the topic of “Legal Tech” and “Legal Innovation”, because at first glance this may seem to be a very male-dominated field, but you could see how many women are active in this area and were able to report on their experiences.

Our internal women's network is now also linked internationally via a network of law firms to which Luther belongs.

What happened for both of you after MIT FRAUEN IN FÜHRUNG? What did you take away for yourselves personally?
Nicole: Two children and a long-term confidante.

Borbála: We are still in contact, arrange playdates for our children and meet regularly in person.
 

Thank you very much for the interview.