Experience

Entering the Professional Arena

During my last year of bachelor studies I applied for an intern position to EY Lithuania and was offered a Consultant position there.

EY was a great starting point in my career:

I was part of an audit department that was responsible for performing audit procedures for external clients.
I had opportunities to apply what I had learned in university accounting courses and also learn work skills such as computer literacy and client communication.
I had to learn to work effectively since I was working on multiple projects at the same time with very strict deadlines.

After graduating university I reflected on my career's next steps and realized that I do not see myself in finance. This led me to explore opportunities in commerce.

Internship report

Commerce & retail

My passion for business operations and commerce led me to Commerce Specialist roll in Maxima International Sourcing.

I was part of the private label sourcing department, responsible for purchasing products for Maxima Group operators across the Baltic countries, Poland, and Bulgaria. Through my contributions and ability to drive results, I advanced from a specialist position to Category Manager.

As a category manager, I was responsible for managing over 200 SKUs across seven grocery product categories, requiring strong analytical skills, negotiations with suppliers, contract management and market trend analysis.
I was part of strategic initiative to strengthen Maxima’s private label positioning with new Well Done brand. Being a part of a large-scale project provided me with invaluable experience in brand development, pricing strategy, and cross-market coordination.

One of the most rewarding aspects of my role was having full ownership of product selection, ensuring right assortment to meet customer needs. I thrived in daily collaboration with suppliers and internal stakeholders, balancing strategic decision-making with hands-on execution.

Glimpse into My Products

International experience

Beyond product management, I actively represented the company at international trade fairs:

PLMA - World of Private Label International Trade Show
SIAL - The world's largest food innovation exhibitions
ISM - Leading global trade fair specializing in confectionery and snack items

These experiences allowed me to scout new suppliers and gain deep insights into emerging market trends and innovations in the industry.

Project management

While my experience as a Category Manager provided me with deep expertise in retail sourcing, I wanted to broaden my skill set and transition into an innovation-driven environment. This led me to join Telia Company. As a Project Manager at Center of Excellence, leading sourcing and supply chain projects with a strong focus on process optimization and digital transformation.

To excel in this new role, I enrolled in internal trainings on DMAIC and Agile methodologies, earning recognition as a Process Champion in DMAIC. These methodologies allowed me to effectively drive projects.

Key projects

Market Insights – project aimed at fostering data-driven decision making within the sourcing function. I collaborated with analytics teams to identify sourcing managers’ challenges, explore external data solutions, and prepared change management plan to lead department to data-driven culture.
Contract Simplification Project – project goal was to simplify contract structures to align with new legislation, reduce errors in contract management, and enhance sourcing managers efficiency. This project not only improved contract quality, but also reduced administrative workload, increasing user satisfaction.
Process automation initiatives – I have supported various initiatives focused on automating daily procedures to streamline sourcing operations.

By leading these projects, I contributed to sourcing department's transformation efforts, enabling smarter decision-making, improved operational efficiency, and agile ways of working.