We are thrilled to announce the latest additions to the Meister team. Each one of them brings their own unique strengths, and we can’t wait to turn their strengths into our strength.
Coming to us from all around the world, help us welcome Michelle, Denise, Alessandra, Line, Laszlo, and Nikola.
Michelle Matus: Marketing Manager for MindMeister
My background:
After finishing my Bachelor of Arts degrees in French and International Relations, I worked as a chef in Seattle, Washington and Portland, Oregon, an English-Language teacher in Seoul, South Korea, a tour leader in the south of France, and a freelance writer and photographer. In 2014, I headed back to school for a master’s degree in journalism and communications. Most recently, I worked in multimedia management at an NPR member public radio station in Reno, Nevada. I am originally from the west coast of the United States and recently relocated to Vienna with my partner in November 2019. My career path has been winding, though the common thread has always been creative communications. Whether it is developing a menu, researching and hosting a podcast, or managing a company rebrand, I love finding unique and interesting ways to communicate and connect people to products and community.
My role at Meister:
I’m joining the team as the product marketing manager for MindMeister. I’ll be focusing on working with the marketing, sales, and development teams to continue to build on the success of the platform in Europe, North America, and beyond.
About me:
I was born in Southern California and raised in a small town in Northern Nevada, nestled in the Sierra Nevada. I’ve got both the ocean and mountains in my blood. So, when I’m not at work, I love being outside and taking on new physical challenges usually involving hiking, climbing, skiing, running, swimming or biking. In my down time, I love to relax with a good book or get creative in the kitchen while listening to a podcast.
Denise Bleich: Office Manager
My background:
I grew up in Pamhagen, Burgenland, close to one of Austria’s beautiful national parks — Seewinkel. After graduation, I spent a year in California where I worked as an Au Pair. Then, I moved to Vienna and started working for a big company in tax and legal services, and did so for the last five years. Simultaneously, I spent three of those years studying to become a Kindergarten teacher. But, I decided that it was time for another adventure and thus, joined Meister.
My role at Meister:
I’ve joined the team as an office manager. My main responsibilities would be to make sure that the office runs smoothly. That means I’ll organize company travel, Hackfest, Team Events, office supplies and most importantly, make sure the snack bar is always full.
About me:
I love doing yoga! I am also a yoga teacher, I teach two classes a week where I also get to focus on my own practice. Aside from yoga, I really enjoy going for walks through the city, I do that almost every day. I love spending quality time with friends and family. I love to travel and try, at least once a year, to go somewhere I’ve never been before.
Alessandra Tirnavan: Backend Developer
My background:
I grew up in Oradea, Romania, where I enrolled in the only German-speaking school in the city. In Romania, if you want to learn German, you have to start at a German-language school from kindergarten right up until high-school graduation. So, I’ve known most of my friends from when I was four years old, eating sand. I realized that I wanted to study computer science back in 7th grade, after playing Counter Strike. Someone had told me that there was a script that you could use to make your character bunny-hop (i.e jump like a bunny — in a shooter game! How cool is that?). So, obviously I checked it out and opened the script file and saw… plain text. That’s when I had this whoa moment of “are you telling me that this block of text makes my character bunny-hop in-game?” and the rest is history. From then on, my life has been on a pretty clear path: move to Vienna after high-school to study Computer Science, start your career in IT, and don’t forget to have fun!
My role at MeisterLabs:
I’ve joined the MeisterTask team as a backend developer. My main job would be to help with restructuring the code for easier maintainability and usability, but I’ll also help out with other smaller tasks (for starters, at least).
About me:
I couldn’t care less about the current state of Hollywood, but I love reading about its history and watching classic movies, and then, reading about those classic movies and their actors, directors, composers, writers, critics, etc.
Other than that, I’m generally an all-over-the-place person, meaning, I could find interest in almost any topic. I love learning new things as long as they’re presented in an enjoyable format, and since conversations are the best format for me, I really like talking to people.
Line Møller Jensen: Customer Success Agent
My background:
Born and raised in Denmark, I first came to Austria during my exchange semester whilst studying toward my bachelor’s degree. That was when I fell in love with Vienna and decided I had to go back. I found a cool master’s program at the Vienna University of Economics and Business titled Socio-Ecological Economics and Policy, where I was lucky enough to get accepted in to. My main area of focus was on demography and social policy. Most of my professional experience ended up being centered around service (as I am a very service-oriented person) who wants to leave everyone happy after interacting with me. Plus, I have always had a deep interest in start-ups and innovation, which led me to work in support and sales positions at three different start-ups already.
My role at MeisterLabs:
At Meister, I’ve joined the support team as a customer success agent. I’ll be answering any incoming customer queries along with the rest of the team and I’ll also spend the next few weeks figuring out how I can help Meister grow through my own project.
About me:
I’m a super positive and happy individual, although I definitely also know how to complain like a proper Viennese person. In my spare time, I like writing stories in English with a group of international friends on an online forum, which I also organize, administrate, design and code. I like teaching myself new things, which piqued my interest in CSS, HTML, photoshop, agile and the list goes on. To wind down, I write, play a good computer game or read a romantic novel (yes, I am one of those people).
Laszlo Bokor: Digital Marketing Intern
My background
I grew up in a small town called Kapuvár close to the border of Austria and Hungary. After finishing high school, I decided to challenge myself and move to Wiener Neustadt to study at the advanced technical college. My interest in the English language started at an early age, so it was a natural decision for me to choose to study a course in international business consultancy taught entirely in English. This allowed me to meet and work with people from all around the world, learn about various cultures while also practicing the language in the meantime. I have always been interested in marketing and sales, so I decided to specialize in this area, and I think I made the right choice.
My role at Meister
I will be working as a digital marketing intern, so I will be mainly supporting the marketing team in their everyday activities and hopefully take part in fun and challenging projects. My tasks will include learning about global SaaS digital marketing and working with WordPress using various templates as well as taking part in SEO-related projects.
About me
I consider myself a very outgoing and social person, so meeting new people and learning about different cultures is one of my main hobbies (if that can be considered a hobby). On the weekends, when I can come home to Hungary, I love spending quality time with my family, my dog, and meeting up with my childhood friends. I love food and trying out different meals. Me-time is also necessary for me. When I’m alone, I love watching TV-series or a good movie and playing games.
Nikola Oberländerová: Customer Success Agent
My background
I grew up in Bratislava, Slovakia and then moved to Brno, Czech Republic right after graduating from high school. I quickly realized university was not my thing, but gaining practical experience was — I worked in several cafés and bars, as a receptionist, and also spent two lovely years being a jack-of-all-trades in a theater-turned-tea house.
This experience made me passionate about people-oriented roles and communication. I started at Kiwi.com in 2016 as a customer support representative, where I specialized in claims, reservations and also airline ticketing. In 2018, I then changed my focus from leisure travel to business travel and supported corporate clients at HRG Worldwide.
My role at Meister
I recently joined the Meister customer success team and I’m honestly very excited about the strong focus on constant improvement and working on the general YES-attitude within the company. My responsibilities include: resolving customer inquiries and monitoring reviews.
About me
My greatest passion is health optimization and seeking natural ways to boost dopamine and serotonin — so that means when not at work, you can find me in the gym or outside in my running shoes. In the summer, I enjoy hiking and open water swimming. In the winter, it’s cold exposure and saunas.
I also like traveling to countries with weaker economies, that aren’t typical tourist destinations — I’m into brutalism and urban decay. When it comes to literature and film, I appreciate all things authentic and non-fiction.