Jumping into the unknown is part of the plan for Welt.de’s Carolina Munoz

Editor's Inbox | 28 September 2022

By Paula Felps

Ideas Blog Editor

INMA

Nashville, Tennessee, United States

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Editor’s note: In an ongoing series, INMA is profiling our most engaged members — our super fans. At a time when we have less face-to-face time, we hope this gives members a chance to learn more about each other. Today we profile Carolina Munoz, Welt.de’s senior product owner.

Carolina Munoz, senior product owner at Welt.de in Germany, is excited about the future: “Welt.de is going to go live with many cool features and projects,” she said. “This makes me super proud to work on a team with high-level experts in their various areas of expertise.”

Bringing new features to the market makes sense for Munoz, as she has learned the importance of taking chances. And one of the things she loves most about her career is its unpredictability: “Every day is a surprise and has a lot to offer,” she said.

INMA recently caught up with Munoz to learn more about her.

Carolina Munoz believes one of the best lessons of the past couple of years was learning to be brave and keep forging ahead.

INMA: What big lesson have you learned over the past couple of years that helped shape 2022?

Munoz: One of the biggest lessons is that you need to take chances and be brave. When I was asked to join the Welt team and be the product owner, I thought this was something way too big for me. Sometimes you just have to say “yes” and see what happens. I guess good things will come. You just need to walk through the world with your eyes wide open.

INMA: What makes you excited to get out of bed in the morning?

Munoz: I admit I’m a huge fan of to-do lists and checkboxes. I’m excited to do things that I can tick off my list — whether it’s a task at work, an e-mail I was procrastinating to answer, or planning a sprint for the Welt.de developer team that just makes sense for everyone in the bigger picture.

What really pulls me out of bed is the English Breakfast Tea I have every morning. I import it as often as I can from my trusted shops in London just to stick to my beloved habit built over years.

INMA: What success within your company are you most proud of right now?

Munoz: I’m super proud of how Axel Springer has handled the COVID-19 pandemic. As an employee, I never had the feeling that Axel Springer didn’t care about home office working situations. Everything was made possible to facilitate the working situations for every individuum. On top of that, we had very transparent communications, great “back to the office” campaigns, and we even got a three-course-menu delivered by our colleagues from PACE — which was just delicious and thoughtful — so that the employees could have a delicious meal with a +1 in a nice atmosphere.

INMA: What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned in your career?

Munoz: Be brave to make decisions. Otherwise you’ll talk about it forever and others will decide for you.

INMA: What do you do to relax?

Munoz: I love to meet up with my family and friends, read a good book, or grab an oat milk cappuccino by myself, listen to good music, and stroll through my city, Berlin.

INMA: If you hadn’t gone into news media, what was your back-up plan?

Munoz: I’m super happy in news media but this question is easy to answer — I’d be a confectioner. Some years ago, I watched TV and saw this baking show and thought, “This looks nice, let’s give it a try.” Since that moment, I’m totally in the baking game and love experimenting with flavours and ingredients. Having my own café would be the cherry on top!