Employee Spotlights

Griffin Spotlight: Elena Hansen builds trust and successful partnerships with positivity and commitment 

Elena Hansen

It’s time for the Griffin Spotlight of the month! In our Meet the Griffin Series, Axway presents an outstanding employee we feel embodies Axway’s culture and is an excellent example of commitment, achievement, journey, motivation, and work ethic.

Last time, we traveled to Italy to meet with Andrea Talarico, a Senior Sales Manager. This time, we fly to Germany to meet Elena Hansen, Alliances and Partnership Director.

Elena’s job

Elena joined Axway in September 2019 and is responsible for Alliances and Partnerships for Germany, Austria, and Switzerland (aka the DACH region for Axway).

Based in our Frankfurt office, Elena develops and grows partner activities in the DACH region at Axway and aims to leverage partnerships around our Amplify and Core solutions.

She works with different types of partners in the region to achieve the above: advisory companies, global and regional system integrators, specialized boutique partners, resellers, or technology partners.

Elena’s approach to the job

Since graduating, Elena has been working in the software industry for several years. She has gained significant knowledge of how to collaborate successfully with partners with different expertise or specialties. For her, it’s vital to have a good understanding of the markets in which partners operate and their respective competitive strategies.

“I really like my job: working in the high pressured, fast-moving, and challenging world of IT and digital transformation. My role allows me to work very closely with the direct sales team and support them to find the right strategic partners to accompany the growth and the success of their accounts.”

Inspiration

“It is all about building trusting relationships and partnerships and connecting the right partners with Axway.”

One of the perks in Elena’s job is to travel, meet new people, and discover new cultures. She thrives working with other counterparts: partners, direct sales, marketing, presales, PSO, and all other Axway team members. She is committed to develop successful long-term partnerships and build joint go-to-market plans.

The best part of the job

People! For Elena, working with different people and establishing loyal, trustful, and long-standing partnerships is the best part. But not only understanding the partners’ concerns and providing a solution while balancing it with Axway’s expectations to create mutual success is something that Elena values a lot. Interacting with different people allows her to consider other points of view and moderate expectations.

What do you like most about working at Axway?

“It is obvious that Axway cares for their people! I really appreciate this. You are encouraged to bring your own creativeness into decisions. You have a voice!”

Continuous support and empowerment are what Elena likes the most at Axway. Working with the DACH sales and presales team is inspiring for Elena, developing and sharing best practices with fellow Griffins from EMEA alliances and channels to the marketing team.

Elena’s advice

Everyone is different, and everyone has a different way of doing their job. For Elena, everyone who wants to work in partner management must thrive working in a team. This way, you can build, grow, and maintain trustful relationships.

Philosophy for life

Elena’s philosophy for life is “live and let live.”

For Elena, everyone should be free to live depending on what is good for them, and everybody should accept it from others.

“Stay positive, treat others respectfully as you would like to be treated, never lose sight of your own goals and passion.”

Downtime

Elena lives with her husband close to Darmstadt in Germany. She loves spending a lot of time with her family and best friends.

Elena is fond of sports, especially hiking with her husband in the mountains in South Tyrol. With the pandemic, she walked a lot and is waiting to travel again around the world.

Thank you, Elena, for your dedication and commitment to building trust within Axway and with our partners.

Discover more Life at Axway stories.