After leaving school, Selina initially trained in hotel management and spent two years working in the catering industry. Yet she quickly realized that she was quite literally selling herself short, and that she’d much rather be cooking with gas somewhere else. So she began studying industrial engineering and found her way to E.ON Ruhrgas through an internship. She stayed in contact with the company as a working student and took on a permanent role in 2008 as a Key Account Manager.

When the first hydrogen projects launched, Selina initially helped to drive them forward as a project manager. She has now been a team leader in customer support for two years and is thriving in her role.

“I’ve realised what a difference you can make as a manager. With my team behind me, I can multiply the power I have.”

The mother of two believes she was able to develop in this way thanks to a whole lot of trust and finding the right “sponsors”. Now, Selina wants to give that back.

“I was also encouraged by other women, and I hope that I can be a role model for women myself.”

Luisa came to OGE through a friend of her father to start her combined work and study programme as an industrial clerk. Alongside her commercial training, she studied business administration and business psychology but maintained the connection with OGE – always at the interface between theory and practice. So it’s hardly surprising that when she finished her studies, Luisa was able to slot seamlessly into the company: working in personnel development, she has been shaping the training of commercial apprentices and students on combined work and degree programmes at OGE since 2023.

“It is important to me that our junior staff have the best conditions to get off to a flying start.”

And Luisa practises what she preaches in her own professional growth: she has now taken on responsibility for personnel development on the technical side, too.

And it’s not only in her professional life that Luisa is firmly holding the reins, as she dedicates much of her free time to equestrian sport. With such a time-consuming hobby, she really values the flexible working hours at OGE.

“I never had to compromise and cut back on my hobby when I went into the profession.”

In 2012, Mahsa attended the VDI Recruiting Day as a mechanical engineering student. She wasn’t familiar with OGE back then – but the trainee programme sounded good.

After two technical stints and one administrative one as part of the trainee program, Mahsa worked as a project engineer in mechanical engineering for five years until she fell pregnant. Time for a step back from her career? Far from it! After parental leave, which Mahsa shared equally with her husband, she returned and shortly afterwards found her next challenge as a project manager for hydrogen projects, which were new territory for OGE at the time. After having her second child, she moved into a team leader role and now heads up the department for technical process and project management.

At OGE, she really values working in areas that are exciting and varied. Mahsa is always up for a new challenge.

“It drives me to craft solutions and help shape the areas I’m working in.”

We can’t wait to see what challenge Mahsa tackles next.

Sometimes things move faster than expected: a one-click application brought Lisa to OGE almost unexpectedly in 2024. The application process moved very quickly, and the company really went all out, so she was ultimately convinced that OGE would be her next employer. Alongside her master’s degree in literature, Lisa spent several years working as a journalist for a radio station, and then on the other side of the desk as a press officer for a regional public utility company, among others. At OGE, she now takes care of project communication and informs citizens about our construction projects.

“We want to establish a dialogue with people and meet them where they are. That takes mutual understanding and open communication.”

Not for a second has Lisa ever regretted her “quick-fire” move to OGE, and she is inspired by the dedication of the colleagues she works with: “Everyone has such drive and is willing to go above and beyond. Here, the proverbial extra mile works both ways.” Lisa likes to give 120% in her personal life, too, most notably in her dedication to her Crossfit community. Her appeal to all women:

“Trust in what you can do and be brave. Just go for it; it could turn out well.”

Tanja began her training as an industrial clerk at what was then Ruhrgas AG back in 1989 and later went on to study for a degree in business administration. She found her first job in materials management, a field to which she has remained loyal to this day. In her role, she supplies 42 field sites with materials, from safety boots to pipes.

“It’s a good feeling to experience the gratitude of my colleagues.”

But outside of her day-to-day work, too, Tanja shows wholehearted dedication. As a training officer in Procurement, she looked after a deaf trainee and realized how important individual support is for people with disabilities, so she stood for election as a disabled employees’ representative (SBV) at OGE. She has now been in this role since 2017. Her first official act? Installation of a wheelchair ramp at the Altenessen site. She has also been an active member of the works council for over 10 years.

And Tanja’s personal commitments don’t stop there either: in her free time, she runs seminars on autogenic training and is involved in craniosacral therapy.

“It’s a way to find balance so I can really unwind.”

Sonja actually came to what was then Ruhrgas AG to land a contract for her employer at the time – but instead she impressed her contacts there so much that she promptly switched sides. That was back in 2006, and since then the landscape ecology graduate has supported the company with her knowledge of nature conservation. In doing so, she still sees herself as a mediator between ecological and economic interests.

“Our construction work sometimes takes place in sensitive habitats. Here, we are guided by nature and focus on environmentally friendly solutions.”

After Sonja gave birth to her first child, she was one of the first in the company to work from home — long before this became normal during the coronavirus pandemic.

“I’ve never heard a categorical ‘no’ at OGE when it comes to balancing family and career.”

After ten years working part-time, urgent projects prompted her to go back to full-time work again when the war in Ukraine broke out.

“It’s really great that at OGE I can make an active contribution to the energy transition.”

After studying business mathematics, Silke started her trainee programme at OGE in 2010. She was so enthusiastic about her initial stint in Investment Controlling that she ended the trainee programme early when a permanent position became available there, and she is now in charge of Group planning.

“There’s never a dull moment in this business: the energy industry is changing constantly, which means I can also keep growing and developing.”

“Especially in times of major changes such as the energy transition, strategic investment decisions are hugely important to OGE.” That was Silke’s motivation to run for the Supervisory Board of VGSM, OGE’s parent company, in 2024. With her commercial background and many years of experience in regulatory and financing issues, she was ideally placed to do so, and now she’s bringing a “breath of fresh air” to the Supervisory Board, advising on the company’s development as OGE’s first female employee representative.

“Yes, we are a very male-dominated industry, but it’s much more varied than you might think.”

Kirsten is living proof that changing jobs is not a question of age. When she joined OGE in 2019 in her mid-50s, she already had an eventful (professional) life behind her as a qualified communications pro: press, events, multimedia, a year and a half spent travelling the world, and self-employment as a single mother. Kirsten was a communications consultant for 20 years, and in the last ten of those she also worked on behalf of OGE. When OGE made the decision to switch to hydrogen with a new corporate strategy, she was ready to make the change, and she's also been managing OGE's external online presence ever since.

Kirsten really values the fact that OGE is open to different personalities:

“OGE is a playing field where many people can score goals. And even though we are now over 2,000 people, we’re still a team.”

Kirsten hasn’t had to give up her love of travel either; after a workation in Fuerteventura last year, she’s already planned the next one. And what’s next for her career?

“I love change. OGE is changing the future of energy – that’s why it’s still exciting to be here.”