Kateřina Šugarová was a Femme Palette mentee, who has finished her Mentoring program. She is an HR & Finance Manager at ACT LAB Czech. In this spotlight interview, we asked Kateřina about her career in a male-dominated field, the biggest challenges she faced and lessons she learned along the way, and so much more!
Hi, my name is Kateřina. I have been HR & Finance Manager at ACT LAB Czech for two years. It is a branch of American company that operates as an independent third-party testing company, mainly focused on bicycles. I was the first employee within the Czech branch and had the opportunity to build the entire team and set up the financial and legal environment for newly founded company.
The building of new laboratory within the ACT Group was challenging. The new environment and international management created an interesting mixture that brought both excitement and
complications. My role constantly required wearing more than one hat. As an HR Manager and
Finance Manager, I also became the Project Manager for the construction project. With extremely limited experience in this field, it did not lead to any relief. The completion of the construction project was managed with the help of the whole team. Over five months, we could see the progress in real-time which always gave me the strength for further effort. I really appreciate this given opportunity to be able to learn about the correct outlets and type of materials for additional walls, and much more. My project management skills have been reinforced. I would just recommend take the advantage of given opportunity. If you do not have the answer, just ask for the guidance from the experts. How would you approach the situation? Why would you recommend this solution? Build the partnership and take the advantage of it.
My background is in finance. I started as a Trainee in Accounting and Tax in CA Immo Deutschland, moved to Accountant role at Avast Software and later became a Financial Manager at Publicis Groupe. Throughout my career, I have demonstrated a commitment to continuous improvement and professional development. As growth was not possible within the company, I strategically navigated multiple job transitions. Due to this approach, I was able to gain valuable insights to the start-up environment, public-listed companies, external and internal audit requirements and corporate finance. This was not my recommendation; it is just the way I chose.
Imagine yourself as a dog that bites and does not let go. If you want to enforce any change, be ready and have compelling arguments. Changes do not happen overnight. Patience and strong willpower are what will bring you towards your goals. So, bite and hold on.
I think that I am learning continuously. I am learning to be patient. As a manager I know how the
processes are complicated and how many approvals you need. Good things take time, great things even much more. Important is still to be seen and heard. It is not enough if you would say it once. Don’t forget the biting dog.
My experience as a mentee was great. Do not hesitate to invest in yourself. Yes, I mean it. I took it as an investment in myself as well. It brought me a lot, but I want to mention the most important thing. No matter what your goal is, but to be a mentee will give you a power. After every session, I felt very powerful and highly motivated towards my goals. No doubts or any postponing of unpopular topics are possible as next session is planned within 14 days. Being mentee helped me with the fresh perspective which I was given. Our feelings sometimes cover our mind and limit our ability to see the situations clearly. Take the opportunity for yourself and make most of it.
We have mentors all over the world to help you explore your options, set development goals, build your network and identify resources you need to level up your skills. You can apply to get 1:1 mentoring from an industry expert with us.
