Celine De Maesschalck, Group Leader Nutrition for Benchmark Advanced Nutrition (INVE) discusses her new role, her slightly accidental route in to the world of aquaculture, and how innovation roles are great for anyone who likes a challenge.
How did you come to work in the aquaculture industry?
Actually, a bit by accident. When I applied for my first role, the Research and Development team in Advanced Nutrition were looking for someone who had knowledge of protein digestibility to support the Senior Scientist, who is an expert in shrimp nutrition, on the main project at that time. My background is biochemistry and my Phd was on chickens, so I had a lot of knowledge on nutritional compounds. I thought I was the person to apply for the job, and luckily for me I got it! So, even though it wasn’t my intention to go into aquaculture, I’m really happy with the way things worked out.
Tell us about your current role.
I’m fairly new to my current role, I got a new job within the Innovation team last year. My new role is group leader for Nutrition. I support my team and take responsibility for nutritional and technology projects in the innovation department. I have five people in my team, one shrimp expert, one fish expert, two technology experts and one artemia expert, so a team of five working on innovation projects. Beside supporting my team, I can also work on research project together with my colleagues.
Why is aquaculture a good industry for women to work in?
I think it’s a good industry, like a lot of industries women are taking on more and more roles and responsibilities. Compared to other industries there are quite a lot of women in leadership positions. I don’t know why, but it’s a business for everybody and women feel comfortable to take on responsibility. Perhaps it’s because it’s a sector that selects people very well.
What has been the most challenging thing in your career to date?
I think one of my biggest challenges was delivering my Phd at the time I needed to deliver it, because working on a full project like that of your own can be very demanding. Also, the project we work on in shrimp nutrition is challenging. You want to come up with something new and innovative, so every project we have in our group is a challenge. Every new project you work on you want to succeed, so we always hope they will come in to market in the coming years. Maybe that’s why people go for innovation roles, because they like the challenge. It’s a creative process, but there’s always the stress of not knowing if it will work out.
What are you the most proud of in your career?
I would have to say that I’m most proud of the role that I got last year. It’s a confirmation of doing a job well and that people believe in you. I hope that I can fulfil what is expected of me and that my team and I can deliver together nice new products in the market in the coming years.
How do you see your career progressing?
As I said it’s a relatively new role that I still have a lot of room to grow in. I can’t say I’m not ambitious, so I won’t say I will stop at this role. I also like challenges, so a new challenge when the time is right might be a possibility. Firstly, I need to grow and feel comfortable in my current role.
What personality trait do you think has caused you the most problems at work, and what personality trait has been an asset?
I am very perfectionistic. I want to do things perfectly and this can be a problem. Sometimes 80% instead of 100% is good enough. Regarding something that has been an asset, I guess it could also be a problem, but I try to always think about others more than I think about myself. I always think of everyone around me and try to get my team to where they need to go.
If you could give a piece of advice to your younger self, what would it be?
Don’t be afraid of new challenges, just go ahead and see where you end up. Sometimes it may work out, sometimes not, but if you don’t try you will never know.
What would an ideal day look like to you?
At the moment an ideal day would be coming to the office , where I’m surrounded by people from different departments, and working there all day, meeting people in real life, not just in front of a computer. If you asked me this 2 years ago I would maybe answer differently.
What is your favourite aquatic animal, and why?
My favourite aquatic animal is shrimp. Before I started working at Benchmark I didn’t come from the aquaculture industry so they were the first animal I learnt about from the aquaculture side. When I first started I used to visit the test centre in Thailand regularly and I learnt a lot about their behaviour and how they develop, so I still have a fondness for them.
