My name is Shivani Kondaskar and I am a naturalised German with Indian roots. I hold a Master’s Degree in International Business from the UK. I am currently based out of Copenhagen and work for Ørsted (Green Energy Company) as a Lead Commercial Manager on the world’s largest offshore wind farm located in the UK. Additionally, I hold Board Director roles in a few Danish and British companies representing Ørsted. I am passionate about advocating inclusion, empowering women & children, social work, organising events to bring people together and learning about cultures. I love exposing myself to new experiences and constantly learning. My interests include cooking, travelling, photography and hiking, being in nature – all of this helps me relax and think creatively.

I moved to DK from Germany at the onset of Covid in March 2020. I clearly recall it was the day the borders between the two countries shut and I am so thankful I was on this side of the world united with my family. A loving, highly convincing husband and a promise for better career progression as a woman, good work-life balance brought me to Denmark after two years of long-distance marriage and debates on Germany versus Denmark!

Denmark has been a refreshing move on the front of digitalisation – how seamlessly everything connects to your social ID, e.g. finances and paperwork, makes life smooth. It has been difficult with all the apps I have had to download to stay on top of being well connected and integrated.

At work, I was taken aback at how casual and flat the hierarchies are. I bumped into our CEO and COO on Day 1 and they both personally welcomed me and engaged in small talk. A shift to business casual wear, working very close to contracted hours and using evening time for self, family and wellbeing in general has all been new compared to my previous lifestyle. The trust-based society and how conforming the people here are to the guidelines provided was interesting in comparison to my worldly sense which has taught me to trust with caution and not follow blindly without fully understanding the rationale for doing so. I have been on a learning curve when it comes to maneuvering in work or social situations while challenging the status quo very directly and presenting different perspectives.

I have pivoted often to find new opportunities and experiences for myself. I find that this feature in my life’s journey so far has been instrumental in shaping me as a person. I have packed up to move to and live in four different countries other than my home base – India. Every country has opened my mind to possibilities and learnings that I wouldn’t have had I not decided to move. Careerwise, I have pivoted into a new direction with every new company. As a person who has several interests, it has been important to me to be able to taste a variety of functions and industries, which do end up having a red thread between them all. I can thus use diversity of thoughts from all my experiences in solving business problems.