Mr. Müd looked at the painting I had hung on the wall of my very first office—with a door! (Okay fine, it was technically a glorified storage room, but hey, it had a door!) He squinted, tilted his head, and asked, “Did you paint that?” Oh no. He thinks I am that good of an artist…
What he didn’t know was the story behind that painting—one that began long before I had a team to manage as his head of the cosmetics business. Back when I was a PM, the proud Manager of Problems (yes, let’s go with that title—that is equivalent to product manager), juggling anti-rheumatics, anti-mycotics, and anti-allergics—along with a baby who wasn’t even a year old.
I was thrilled. I had been selected as one of Bayer’s booth representatives for the first-ever EAACI meeting that was going to take place in Athens. It was my moment—a chance to promote our antifungal-antiallergy portfolio in front of top dermatologists and allergologists from around the world. But there was also mom guilt. My baby was so tiny… and my dreams so big.
Landing in Athens, I stole a glimpse of the Acropolis from the minibus window and wished I could wander among the ruins, soaking up the dust of ancient gods whose stories I had devoured only in books.
No time for that, though. Upon arrival, we were briefed by the congress organizers. Duties? Be at the booth by 7:30 a.m., help set up, and represent your country.
The first day, we were all there—sharp, enthusiastic, smiling. But slowly… people started disappearing. By Day 3, most responsibles were ghosts. Only two brave souls remained: me and the Portuguese guy. Every morning we said, “Today we sneak out too!” But somehow, our feet betrayed us and marched us straight back to the booth. Again and again.
Directly across from us—the Bayer booth—there was a truly magical booth: UCB—not United Colors of Benetton, but Union Chimique Belge. There sat an artist, quietly sketching caricatures of doctors based on a single sentence they would whisper to him. I was fascinated.
Meanwhile, I stayed busy—answering doctor questions, finding lost glasses, and even helping organize a Turkish fish dinner for a group of 20 dermatologists who were inexplicably craving levrek. No Google Maps. No smartphones. Just old-school resourcefulness. And to my surprise, they invited me to join them. That dinner became a cherished memory—for all of us over all those years.
On the last day, the Greek area manager (twice my age and twice as kind) pulled me aside and whispered, “Di, I have a surprise for you.” He walked me over to the UCB booth. The artist looked at me and said: “Say something that defines you.”
Without thinking, I blurted: “I want to have a perfect career, to be the best product manager in my field, and the best mother a little baby could have.”
He nodded, smiled, and began to paint.
That painting—of me, holding the invisible tension of two loves: career and motherhood—was titled “My Top Leading Product”—and my baby’s name. It was a thank-you from the Greek manager for staying, for helping, for bringing German discipline and Turkish warmth. For not vanishing like everyone else.
At the airport, the dermatologists came one by one to thank me—while the representatives from the company that actually sponsored them looked on, confused.
I still have that painting. It is sketched on cardboard with the UCB logo… and, surprisingly, years later—after having that painting on the walls behind every desk I worked at—I became the Managing Director of UCB.
Coincidence?
Let’s just say… the universe works in mysterious, magical, and sometimes poetic ways.
Of course, there were some takeaways:
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Consistency speaks louder than charisma. Showing up—day after day—builds a reputation stronger than any elevator pitch.
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Authenticity leaves a mark. Whether it is helping doctors find a dinner spot or whispering a dream to an artist, authenticity always resonates.
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Your top product might not be what is in your portfolio. Sometimes, it is the person you are becoming—one day at a time.
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Keep your souvenirs. You never know when a canvas from the past will point to your future.
If you enjoyed this article, you can dive deeper into real-world leadership lessons and behind-the-scenes stories in my book Labyrinth of Management—available now on Amazon.
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