'I want to add value to society in everything I do'

Praveen Sridharan -
Trainee and Entrepreneur 

A personal and engaged recruitment process

'After completing my master’s in Sustainable Energy Technology at TU Delft, I applied to lots of companies, but NN appealed to me the most. Unlike at other companies, the recruitment process felt personal and engaged. As a Global Risk Trainee, I’m on a three-year programme, which involves completing a different assignment each year in a different department or business unit. The variety suits me. I enjoy being challenged and learning new things. I ask a lot of myself and want to do a better job every day. The traineeship is not just about your education, it’s also about your personality and people skills. Because you work in a different team every year, it’s important that you quickly develop a connection with the people you work with. You need to be open-minded and a good communicator. The fact that I don’t have a financial background makes this traineeship even more challenging. I’m eager to learn and NN gives me the opportunity to take part in training and courses to learn on the job more about how the economy works.’

Using money to make the world a slightly better place

‘I’m now in the second year of my traineeship and I’m working on the Responsible Investing and Innovation Platform at NNIP (Investment Partners). This role revolves around responsible investment, with sustainability and social responsibility as important criteria. It’s not just about earning money, but also how you can use money to contribute to people and the environment. It’s a perfect job for me. I want to add value to society in everything I do. Doing something that nobody has done before by looking at issues critically. For example, I’m currently working on a scenario analysis that involves identifying how our investments are influenced by climate change and vice versa. My sense of responsibility for people and the environment not only plays a role in my traineeship at NN, but it’s also the reason why I began my own start-up.’

My own start-up in solar energy 

'A couple of years ago, I was drinking tea with my best friend in my home country of India. We were philosophising about how we could give something back to the world. This ultimately led to a solar energy start-up. I deliberately chose to set up a company in India because I can really make a difference there. The Netherlands is way ahead when it comes to solar energy. In India, there’s still not much awareness of climate change and how we can combat it. We developed a business model to make solar energy financially more accessible. Our mission is to instal solar panels on as many roofs as possible. We do this by making solar panels cheaper, but also by writing blogs about climate change and the added value of solar energy. This allows us to create more awareness in a society where there is still a lot of profit to be made in this area.’

Start-up and corporate: a positive interaction

'I’m pleased that NN has given me the opportunity to work on my own start-up alongside my traineeship. Although working for a start-up is very different from working for a corporate, both roles have a positive influence on each other. I use what I’m learning in my traineeship in my start-up. And conversely, I use the knowledge I gain in my start-up in my work at NN. The benefits of a large, mature organisation such as NN are the well thought-out rules, systems and procedures. I use these to give more structure to my start-up. On the other hand, I take an innovative approach to my start-up because there’s little awareness of climate change in India. I use the knowledge I gain here in my work at NN.’
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Meet more colleagues ​​​​​​​

Stephanie Braun | Performance Specialist and mother of two
'I live in Amstelveen with my two teenagers, Freek and Guusje, and our dog, Bo. At first sight, it’s an average family scene, but Freek is a child with care needs. So, as a single mother with a busy job and a child with care needs, I’ve got a lot on my plate. That’s why creativity is important to me. To be able to organise everything and to be a good carer to Freek, I need to think in terms of possibilities. That’s what creativity is to me. I firmly believe that there’s a solution for everything. Sometimes I have the solution - because I’m a real go-getter - and sometimes the solution comes from surrounding yourself with the right people. I also see that reflected in my work.’
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Prashant Jarbandhan | Financial Accountant, uncle and a father to his younger brother
'I was a father figure to my brother, but also his best friend. I’ve always encouraged him to develop. He’s just become a father himself and I’m incredibly proud of him. My role as uncle gives me an extra incentive to get the best out of myself, to be the kind of uncle I want to be. Life is about trial and error and that’s something we know more than most. That’s why I’ve created a good safety net for myself and my family and friends play a very important part in it. But so do my colleagues at NN, who have now also become my friends.’ 
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Aafke Croockewit | UX Designer, DJ and Kitesurfer
‘I started at NN as a freelance UX designer. I really value freedom, creativity and responsibility and they aren’t things you immediately associate with a large corporate. That prejudice was quickly dispelled. I work in a team with other designers and developers. We’re like an independent unit in the organisation. We set our own work and are given lots of room to innovate. The projects are very varied and you can decide whether you spend more time on concept development or on implementation. And because we all get on so well together as a team there’s a great atmosphere. All in all, reason enough for me to give up the freelance life. And I’ve got a lot of benefits in return.’​​​​
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Samy Saleh | Compliance Officer, son and soccer player
‘Football has been my big passion since I was a child. It’s taught me to collaborate, communicate, win, but also lose and handle setbacks. I’m the connector in a team. As a mid-fielder, I maintain an overview and am able to persuade. My football skills also come in handy at work. As a Compliance Officer, I bring different parties and interests together, give advice and help people get on the right track. It starts with observing from the side-lines and ends with a good outcome for all stakeholders. Playing sports with a varied group of people has taught me to get on with lots of different characters. By communicating and listening carefully, I try and ensure that we are aiming for the same goal.’
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Celine Chua | | Finance Program Manager and an explorer
‘The drive to keep on discovering is a common thread in my life. I’ve always travelled a lot and I absolutely love learning about other cultures. I come from Singapore, but one of my favourite cities is Hong Kong: chaotic, mysterious and full of energy. It’s perfect for explorers like me. I moved to the Netherlands for love. It was a difficult step, but I saw it as an adventure. A new and inspiring world opened up to me. Fortunately, I still have a lot of contact with my family and we see each other about three times a year. And, besides, discovery can also be found in smaller things. I’m curious and like to try new things, whether it’s a recently opened restaurant or a new sport.’
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Erik Ammerlaan | Full Stack Engineer and organist
‘From a young age, I’ve had a fascination with programming. I wrote my first code when I was eight years old. So, I knew early on that I wanted to do something with computers when I was older. I found and still find it interesting how technology can help make people’s lives easier and better. For example, at secondary school, I developed an electronic learning environment where teachers could put their teaching material for the students. It was an asset for the school because it saved a lot of time.’
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Jolanda Roos | Manager Risk Management, Kilimanjaro Climber and private island owner
‘When I was little, I wanted to join the police. Over the years, I became fascinated by detective series and documentaries on the Discovery Channel. I really wanted to be a forensic investigator. I get satisfaction from solving difficult puzzles and the more complex the better. When everyone gives up, that’s when the challenge starts for me. I didn’t become a detective, but in my work at NN there are enough puzzles for me and my team to try and solve.’
 
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Manuel Mazarredo | Auditor, Ethical Hacker, father, Black Belt and Ironman
'I’ve always wanted to help people in whatever way I can. I used to be a project manager and in that role I ensured that people could get the best out of themselves so that we could make the project a success. Helping people is what I did in my volunteer work in Central America. It was about education, people and not just money, but teaching the right knowledge and skills for them to constructively and continuously improve.’
 
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Alex Verdoorn | Business Process Manager and a people person
‘For me, the glass is always half full: I look for opportunities, not obstacles. I get a huge kick out of getting people on board and making improvements in a difficult process. NN focuses on people, exactly as I do. I realised this when shortly after starting at NN my mother died. NN gave me all the time I needed to organise everything and to process my grief. It was genuinely heart-warning how this was handled. It immediately have me a sense of engagement with and loyalty to NN and my colleagues.’
 
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Paul and Sandor | IT colleagues, friends and running blind team mates
‘Sport means a lot to Paul and Sandor, both individually and together. Sandor: ‘Running helps me to structure my thoughts. After a quarter of an hour, I get into my stride and can think about things at the same time. Paul: ‘During a trip to Romania, I decided to go running with Sandor. At seven in the morning, we were ready to set off on a three-kilometre run.’ Their open communication style comes in handy when they are running. Sandor: ‘Running with somebody with a visual impairment is pretty intensive. You suddenly become aware of other things: loose paving stones, kerbs, tree roots. I’m constantly telling Paul what’s ahead of him.’
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