What makes the group finance graduate program special? A Graduate’s perspective

My name is Daniel Lippold and I am currently a manager in the Group M&A department located at the headquarters of Continental AG in Hanover.
I was born and raised in Northern Germany. Before I started the Group Finance Graduate Program in 2017, I studied Banking and Finance and did multiple internships in the area of Banking and Strategy Consulting.

1. Why did you apply for the Group Finance Graduate Program?
Looking for a job after graduation, my wish list comprised of three main criteria, based on which the Continental Group Finance Graduate Program was the perfect fit:

• Enter the working world through a graduate program with the goal to get hands-on experience throughout different finance departments of a large corporation;
• Get the chance to work internationally and go abroad for some time;
• Work at a large, ideally listed corporation to get exposure towards most facets of the finance world.

2. What are your current tasks / position?
After the Graduate Program, I joined Corporate Finance & Treasury as project manager for the IPO/spin-off of Vitesco Technologies. Main tasks included coordination of internal and external parties, preparation and tracking of budget as well as preparation of decision papers for senior management on topics such as transaction and capital structure. After the successful listing of Vitesco Technologies end of 2021, I became part of the Corporate Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) team based in our headquarters in Hannover. The main responsibility is to lead and coordinate M&A projects: acquisitions, divestments, and joint ventures.

3. What was your highlight of the program?
My 6-month stay in Continental’s tire plant in Camaçari, Brasil certainly was one of the highlights of the program. What made this assignment special is twofold: First of all, it was great to spend time in a production plant, gain experience in finance & controlling on a much more operational level, be in regular exchange with operations colleagues and get a feel for the challenges and needs on the shopfloor. Second of all, I had the pleasure to travel through Brazil, especially, the beautiful state of Bahia on the weekends and enjoy the incredible Brazilian culture, which is so very welcoming, hospitable and joyful. I certainly tried to bring a little bit of that back to Germany.

4. What can a future graduate expect?
Be prepared to take over responsibility early on, get involved in challenges across various different finance functions and interact with colleagues throughout all levels of the hierarchy. Don’t expect a final, prepared path for you to follow but instead make use of the immense ‘freedom to act’ to pave your own path and get the most out of the Graduate Program and beyond.