Vanessa Chavez is the Country Director of Kvadrat Maharam, the joint venture subsidiary of Kvadrat and Maharam in Australia.

"The evolution of learning and development is about bringing peoples strengths to the foreground. That is inspiring to me, so, I bring that to the subsidiary here and to the people in my team."


Q: What defines Kvadrat as a workplace in your opinion?

I see Kvadrat as a very professional family. It is an environment that encourages you to be who you are within the professional guidelines, but at the same time feeling as though you are part of something much bigger than your own subsidiary.

My staff and I absolutely feel as though we are part of the bigger picture, and we don’t feel left out, even though we are so far away, and in completely different time zones. That is the skill of Kvadrat. It is the global approach but still feeling like you are part of the family.

Q: How are you able to fulfil your potential at Kvadrat?

I have been here for more than 18 years, and I have stayed for so long because I’m constantly learning. Nothing is static, everything is always changing and evolving. At Kvadrat you are given the platform to continue to learn. They are open to opinion, and they want to do better. It is all about the ongoing improvement of the company that feeds down and makes room for everyone to learn and improve.

The evolution of learning and development is about bringing peoples strengths to the foreground. That is inspiring to me, so, I bring that to the subsidiary here and to the people in my team.

Q: What sparks joy for you in your work?

I’m always looking forward to my day. It is a great feeling of being thankful for the opportunities I have.

It is incredibly challenging managing people, but I have always been interested in people, what drives them, and in the human condition in general. So, managing people gives me the opportunity to evolve myself, and in turn evolve the people in my team. When you see the positive transformation of people, it is incredible. I am most proud of delivering amazing results through my team. And seeing the team be happy about our success.