After having successfully completed my studies in Applied Economics and an enriching Erasmus experience in Spain, I completed my MBA at the renowned Solvay Business School. At that time, I had not yet fully mapped out my career path. However, I decided to seize the opportunity when the FOD Binnenlandse Zaken offered me the opportunity to join the Immigration Department as accounting manager. 

After working here for a year, I started looking for a new professional challenge within finance. It was then that I first got in contact with an international recruitment agency. To my surprise, I was invited to join their internal team, in the role of financial recruitment consultant. Very soon, this position turned out to be a perfect match. My academic background, my first experience in accounting and my hunger for success proved to be the ideal combination for a more commercial position within the financial sector. 

My success did not go unnoticed, and two years later I received an offer from Robert Walters to lead the launch of their subsidiary, Walters People. Given the limited growth opportunities at my employer at that time, I was excited about this new challenge and accepted the offer. This marked the beginning of my journey within the Robert Walters Group, where I initially led a small team from a modest office in the vibrant heart of Brussels. 

As a newcomer to the interim employment market, Walters People got off to a flying start and soon managed to attract organizations in Brussels looking for temporary staff within their finance departments. What started with one office soon grew to two, three and eventually five offices. To meet market demand, we expanded our specialization to positions within business support. This expansion also proved to be a remarkable success. My own career followed a similar path. I was given the opportunity to gradually develop my management skills, and in 2014 I was appointed director to lead the five Walters People offices in Belgium. Since 2018, I also supervise the Robert Walters teams in Belgium.

Within our organization, it is recognized that striving for success is boundless. In 2022, at the initiative of the Board of Directors, I was given the opportunity to participate in the renowned 'Leading professional service firms' course at Harvard Business School in Boston, USA. This intensive, short-term training provided me with valuable insights and confirmed that Robert Walters is performing well as an organization. The contact with numerous leaders from diverse organizations worldwide enabled me to discover that we all face similar challenges to some extent and how they deal with them in their own way.

With this new knowledge, I was ready to take on a new challenge within the Robert Walters Group, and this time even on an international level. In January 2023, I was appointed managing director of our branches in Switzerland. For me, this promotion confirms the Group's confidence in the success story of Belgium. My goal today is to further strengthen Robert Walters also in Switzerland, expand our team and guide my teams in writing their individual success stories. 

Özlem Simsek, Managing Director 
Robert Walters Belgium & Switzerland