In March, Artemed Stiftung will have a new employee in Elisabeth Kern. After training as an advertising manager and studying public relations at the Bavarian Academy of Advertising, the Munich native, who spent her school years in England, moved to Australia. She studied German and English there and then gained years of experience as an English teacher for immigrants and refugees, among others. During shorter stays in Germany, she took over the academy management of a Munich-based medical technology company. In March and April, Elisabeth Kern will become Co-Managing Director alongside Dr. Veronika Hofmann. From May, she will take over the sole management of Artemed Stiftung . In an interview, we spoke to Elisabeth Kern about her career to date and her future plans for Artemed Stiftung.
Ms. Kern, you spent a year in Israel after graduating from high school. What did you take away from this for your future life?
During my gap year in Israel, I was confronted for the first time with the devastating effects that political conflicts and religious disagreements can have on the economic conditions and thus the quality of life of entire peoples. With these circumstances in mind, I have always focused my life on drawing attention to the grievances of society. Which is why I studied public relations at the Bavarian Academy for Advertising. No matter in which country or for which company I worked, it was always important to me to think about those who have a hard time in life.
The rest of your life took you to Australia. What did you do there?
I initially worked mainly as Head of Marketing/PR for a sports company and at the same time completed my Bachelor's degree in German Studies, followed by a Master's degree in English Linguistics. I then started working as an English teacher and coach for immigrants and refugees.
To what extent did your work as a language teacher in Australia prepare you for your time at Artemed Stiftung ?
I was responsible for many people who had fled their homeland in various positions, including on a voluntary basis. I was deeply moved by the appalling suffering that many of these people have experienced. However, I was also deeply impressed by their courage, their resilience and their unadulterated zest for life. Whether it was the victims of the conflicts in Sudan and Nigeria seeking new hope in Australia, or the people who had managed to escape from the favelas of Brazil, the Villas Miseria of Argentina and other slums in South America to start a new life in Australia - the stories of these people shaped my personal outlook on life and prepared me to go through life with an open heart and a high degree of empathy and willingness to help, even though I knew nothing about my future work for Artemed Stiftung at the time.
What do you want for the future?
The prospect of giving my all to Artemed Stiftung , supporting the wonderful projects and leading them with a view to sustainable growth makes me proud and happy. I can hardly wait to meet the people who, together with Artemed Stiftung , are working tirelessly and with dedication to improve or even save the lives of patients in La Paz, Bolivia, Nyangao, Tanzania and Bogale, Myanmar or even save them. I look forward to the fulfilling task of learning from these people and being able to work with them.
