Hitting the Heights in Graubünden

Barbara Liebl loves the mountains. Hailing from Amberg in Bavaria, she finds that climbing gives her the best balance after a long day at work. “The cool thing about climbing is that it completely clears your mind – no matter how demanding your day was. You’re so focused on finding the right handholds and footholds that you blank out everything else. It’s like wellness for the mind.” Currently training to be a mountaineering tour guide, she states that, above all, she wants to feel safe in the mountains, and that it also enables her to meet new people with similar interests. She says that the people in Switzerland have made it easy for her to quickly settle into her new environment, and moving here with her husband was one of the best decisions she ever made. “We have absolutely no regrets. Quite the opposite – we want to stay here for a long time.”

Barbara talks about a longing for the mountains that has never left her and is repeatedly rekindled inside her. “There was this feeling that surfaced every time we drove back to Nuremberg after being in the mountains: ‘We really don’t want to go home at all; we actually want to stay in the mountains permanently and build something for ourselves there.’ We have always associated Switzerland with beautiful scenery, great quality of life and diverse culture.”

When her husband received a job offer, they jumped at the opportunity. “If you don’t try it, you don’t know what you’re missing and will always ask yourself what might have been” – that’s what Barbara said to motivate her husband and, indeed, herself. So they moved to the Rheintal district in the canton of St. Gallen. A little later – Bavarian-born Barbara was still working for her old employer at the time – she applied to Hamilton and landed a job as an HR Business Partner in the HR department. Just a few months after this, she got the opportunity to take on a team-leading role. “At Hamilton especially, we get many opportunities to further develop ourselves because we are growing quickly, we are so dynamic and, above all, because employee evolution is important to Hamilton.”

Barbara is full of verve for her hobby and her work. “Our maxim is ‘We drive innovation to improve people’s lives.’ It’s not just a phrase – it’s something I can identify with. It inspires me to know that the job I do is part of a bigger picture. Our work in HR involves supporting the people who develop, produce and optimize our products with such dedication, providing an important service for society.”

Barbara has created an environment for herself – at leisure and at work – within a very short time. She alludes to the Hamilton spirit that she says truly does exist. “Everyone is very warm and open. People help each other and take each other as they are. It’s an achievement in itself! Particularly when you move to another country, this openness is all the more invaluable and makes it very easy for someone to settle in.”

Barbara has achieved this and hopes to keep on scaling new heights – privately and professionally.