volved in her ideas, wishes, knowledge, and
skills as they tackle tasks. Mutual appre-
ciation is important to her. Openness and
tolerance are helpful.
For her, challenges are not “insuperable
mountains.” Her credo: “Challenges
are there to be met.” This also applies to
work at sites around the globe. “It has
always been my dream to work abroad,”
she says. And she began working at an
early stage to make her dream come true.
Right after she finished her studies
she worked for a U.S. company, ending up
as head of research and development.
She had previously studied chemistry at the
University of Duisburg-Essen and economics
at the distance learning university
in Hagen. During her studies, she real-
ized that she prefers to work in an application
oriented way. “Research on mol-
ecules is certainly appealing, but I prefer to
use the knowledge I gain to develop applicable
solutions.”
Support Through Management
Programs
She started her career in the ALTANA
Corporate Development department and
M&A. Then she returned to operations,
switching to BYK’s Industrial Applications
department, before moving to the U.S.
as Head of Global End Use Metalworking
Fluids for BYK. Back in Wesel, she was
Project Manager for Waxes, and since Au-
gust 2019 she has been Global Busi-
ness Line Manager Electronic at ELANTAS.
In 2018-2019, she completed the
ALTANA Group’s Management Development
Program (MDP). The globally oriented
program was developed for employees
who are willing to change, have a
high degree of international mobility, and
the potential to take on strategic positions.
Looking to the Future 41
Dr. Hufen especially appreciates the
personal coaching. The program is very
intensive, she says, and perfectly adapted
to future tasks.
Above all, she revels in having the
opportunity to establish global networks.
She will be able to make good use of
her network when she successfully manages
ELANTAS’ next challenge in Asia –
including the joy of discovery.
Dr. Julia Hufen has been Global Business Line Manager Electronic at ELANTAS since
August 2019.
Openness to new ideas and tolerance are essential for Dr. Hufen, who has a PhD in
chemistry.