The Two of Us

Dream team by merger – two people, two jobs, one mission.

When companies merge, colleagues from different organisations but with similar goals are suddenly working together, comparing their processes, tools, and priorities to reach the best outcome.   

With “The Two of Us”, we are introducing the new “dream-team by merger” – colleagues from formerly different companies, who are now working together in their respective fields.   

Meet Marzia (Italy location, formerly RTL AdConnect) and Ann-Christin (Hamburg location, formerly from G+J iMS). Both working in “Global Sales Operations”. 

Marzia Solinas

1. How do you explain your job to your family? 

Marzia: I stick to the basics: we sell advertising on international media. But I do speak a lot about the best part of the job, which is the people I work with. 😉

Ann-Christin: With our activities, we help our sales colleagues, for example, our recent turnover analysis. We drive the developments of helpful tools working closely with IT, we organise trainings, create sales material and much more.  

2. Have the two of you met in person? What was your first impression? 

Marzia: Yes, we have now met twice. Ann-Christin is very precise, punctual, and ready to help anytime. When I first met her in person, I liked her smile and her kindness and knew that working with her would be positive and constructive.  

Ann-Christin: Simon (our team leader) and Marzia came to visit recently for a workshop on the unified RTL AdAlliance sales reporting. Marzia is an absolute delight to work with. She is super open, friendly, and made me feel welcome from the very beginning – she even brought Italian chocolate with her, what more can you ask for!  

3. We want to know more. What are you working on together at the moment? What has worked well, what are the challenges? 

Ann-Christin: We are working on expanding our Unified RTL AdAlliance turnover reports, so that our management, our sales colleagues, or anyone interested in the reports knows our numbers.  

Marzia: It is not easy as every company has its own tools, processes, and potentially different names for clients, so reconciling everything is challenging. Nevertheless, we have managed to produce the current unified report based on global figures which is already a good result. 

Ann-Christin: There are plenty of jobs that still need to be done. For example, we would like to aquire a deeper level of detail (like having the client information of all 3 entities), we must onboard everyone onto PowerBI. 

4. If you could grant one work-related wish, what would it be? 

Marzia + Ann-Christin: Our wish would be to have a single, unified tool, where all sales activities, bookings and forecast are recorded by all entities, including reconciled historical data, and that this all can be easily analysed and evaluated through automated reports. 

5. Your favourite RTL brand?  

Marzia: I love all VOD platforms to watch premium content; whenever I want, wherever I am. 

Ann-Christin: We have so many entertaining brands! As we are renovating our house, I love being inspired by Schöner Wohnen! I keep myself up to date with the NTV mobile app. 

6. And what do you recommend watching or listening to at the moment?  

Marzia: I would strongly reccomend a movie called The Swimmers. 

Ann-Christin: In addition to my daily dose of VOD in the evening, my goal is to read more. If I can find the time, I get inspired by “Venenas Book Club” on Instagram. I also like podcasts like our STERN crime podcast “Spurensuche”, or the political podcast “Lage der Nation”.   

7. As we all work internationally – what’s the most interesting place you’ve ever visited, and why was it so memorable? 

Ann-Christin: I can’t name just one place. I love to travel, and I like to go to different places every time, as there is so much to see out there in the world. What I will always remember: the relaxed vibes on the Greek islands in the Aegean Sea (I love Naxos!), Bali and the Gili Islands or a visit to the Nicoya Peninsula, while we were traveling to Costa Rica.  

Marzia: One of the most beautiful places I visited is the Plitvice Lakes National Park, in Croatia. An explosion of pure nature, waterfalls, super green flora, and sun. But I must admit that my favourite place in the world is Sardinia and its wonderful beaches, food, and people. That’s where I feel at home. 

8. A perfect Sunday for you… 

Ann-Christin: Hanging out with my family in the garden, eating cake, taking a nap and barbecue in the evening 😊 

Marzia: I also like to chill with family and friends. Sometimes, I visit an exhibition or leave Milan behind for a quick trip – lakes, mountains and seaside are all in reach.  

👋Which duo should we interview next? Happy to hear from you via rtladalliance_internalcomms@rtl.com