Frederique Grift

With 3.5 years of work experience, Frederique Grift is relatively early in her career. Yet she has already achieved a lot; on a personal level and for NN. Frederique holds a bachelor’s degree Industrial Design Engineering at the TU Delft and a master’s degree in Management of Innovation at RSM. NN has already offered her the opportunity to work from Madrid and Prague, where she lives now. “When I finished a management traineeship at NN in 2023, I got the opportunity to start as an AI lead for NN CZ in Prague.” Now, Frederique and her team are making a difference for both consumers and colleagues. 

 
Supporters of change 

"The world is changing, so it is important that we keep up. Actually, it is even more important that we change faster than the others," says Frederique. While some may find changes like AI daunting, she is fully prepared. Her goal? To bring others along in these steps, as it is in this way that she can help them. "Of course, there are always people who do not see why change is necessary," she begins. "But I see it as a challenge to team up and get things done that others didn’t think were possible!" 

Getting colleagues on board with new AI tools is not always easy. That's why NN trains certain colleagues to become AI business translators. Frederique works with these translators to determine which tools they can use best within their team or department. “Next, they encourage their colleagues to use the tools. And that is going really well,” Frederique says. 

Personal growth 

"We have evaluated how teams within NN would rate themselves on the use of AI tools and automation. Those scores were very low at the beginning, but after a year full of activities, we noticed that the scores had drastically improved. An even more exciting development: everyone became more and more enthusiastic about the use of AI." The transition went so well that Frederique was also asked to set up a programme for the other countries where NN is active. "This way, my scope keeps expanding." 

Frederique herself has also changed in recent years. NN invests in her development and that of her colleagues. As a result, she was able to quickly step into the role of change manager and programme manager. Now she supervises and mentors her colleagues. Additionally, she has seen from the beginning that NN aims to be at the forefront of AI; change is always encouraged here and can happen very quickly. "The tools and technology are advancing rapidly as well. Some things that were not possible a few weeks ago, are possible now. So we can try things again. I'm curious to see what it will look like in 10 years," Frederique says. 

Staying ahead in the field of AI 

“Being prominent in the world of AI is important within NN,” Frederique says. “I notice that, compared to other organisations, we are ahead when it comes to AI.” Frederique has seen AI develop over the years. Only a few years ago, she was allowed to try out the very first GPT model within the Data Science Team. Now it is up to her to introduce and implement a new AI strategy for NN CZ. By incorporating AI in the business processes, she makes life easier for both her colleagues as well as for NN customers. 

Joining forces internationally 

NN Group is active in 10 countries. This provides more challenges and variety in Frederique's work. She also works for the international branch of NN and works with every AI champion from each of the 10 countries. "It’s really valuable too, as it allows us to see which steps other countries are taking, and to scale up use cases by working together." The different cultures and ages also bring new insights to AI leads like Frederique. "We learn from each other."