I often ask my team, “What can I do for you?”

As the Lead Young Talents, Vanessa prepares the next generation of Viessmann employees for the transition to 100% renewables.

In Vanessa Ante’s line of work, the future is in sight. Being responsible for the Young Talents program, she leads a team who ensure that the next generation of Viessmann is fully equipped with the experience and know-how they need to succeed.  

Her work is a combination of operative tasks and strategic supervision: From her home base at Viessmann headquarters in Allendorf (Eder), Vanessa anticipates Viessmann’s needs before they arise, and she makes sure her team can deliver the best possible training and career planning to meet these needs as well. “Our goal is providing the business with the best talents,” Vanessa explains. “We’re not looking for the best candidate. We’re looking for the candidate with the highest potential”.

It’s no easy task: The Young Talents program nurtures apprentices and students over three and a half years, some of which takes place at an apprentice-only facility in Allendorf (Eder) where young talents feel free and safe to make mistakes as they learn key technical skills. Vanessa together with her 13 member team works hard to guide them through the program, and toward their shared goal of co-creating a global climate champion. “My team helps talents to find connections, and provides the context for what we do,” Vanessa explains. “It’s living as a role model: We train by asking questions, taking two steps back and reflecting on what we do”.

At Viessmann, people are given the chance to learn on the job. Vanessa knows this well: The Schleswig-native joined Viessmann at the end of her high school studies for a logistics internships in 2009. Vanessa then took part in Viessmann’s cooperative education program where she earned her Bachelor’s Degree of Business Administration with a specialization in Logistics Management. In 2012, Vanessa applied to be a Change Manager for process optimization at the Viessmann headquarters, and she became the team lead after two years. Since then, she’s worked in a number of leadership roles that eventually led her to the Young Talents program. She attributes her success to the guidance she received throughout her time at Viessmann. 

“Finding the right team is of the upmost importance: Most skills can be taught, she reasons, and she needs to trust her team just as her former leaders trusted her. As a leader, she empowers her team, ensuring they’re well equipped to do their best work at every chance. Vanessa says, “I often ask my team, ‘What can I do for you?’”

When a colleague approached Vanessa about the Lead Young Talents role, it appealed to her long-standing professional interests: “I’m passionate about how you can have an impact on people’s careers through training—the first career I wanted to try was being a teacher.”

As her team prepares Viessmann’s next generation of climate heroes and helps shape their career paths, Vanessa adapts the management and marketing of the program to suit the business’ current and future needs. Her job is well-connected to Viessmann’s many teams, and she can see the impact of her work downstream across the entire company: When her team is successful, so is the company. “It extends past the scope of our team,” Vanessa explains.

The Young Talents team invests in their students far past their graduation as well: “We always tell them they can reach out to us whenever it comes to mentoring, coaching or whatever it is that they need. It’s what they like about the company: Being close to one another, and having the opportunity to talk it out.”

When Vanessa’s not at the office, you can find her on stage either as an actor at open-air theater productions, or on the podium as an orchestral conductor. As a trained musician, Vanessa was invited to conduct her local orchestra when she was younger, and discovered her passion for guiding musicians as they interpreted the sheet music.  

To her, it’s the perfect fit for her skills and interests. “There’s a parallel between leadership and conducting, and with acting as well,” Vanessa points out. “Performing is about making people feel a certain way. With sheet music, a song is always written the same way. How you interpret it—that’s what makes it special.”