Meltwater Ireland managing director Ralph Natter Berg takes the Business & Finance 60 second challenge.
Q. What was your first job?
I worked in a warehouse for a fruit and vegetable distribution company in Oslo, preparing the fruit and vegetables before they were distributed to local hotels and restaurants.
It taught me the value of hard work from early on.
Q. What would you regard as your greatest achievement to date?
Growing the Dublin office, without a doubt. In the last seven months alone we’ve seen huge growth in terms of headcount, office space and revenue.
Q. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
One of my first managers taught me how important it is to learn about the people you work with on a personal level.
Without knowing them, how can you motivate them?
Q. If you could step into the shoes of one business person for the day, who would it be and why?
It’s got to be Sir Alex Ferguson.
The way that he’s built Manchester United into a successful business organisation as well as a football team is very admirable.
Q. In three words or less, how do you define success?
Believe in potential.
Q. How do you motivate yourself and your staff?
As a cutting edge marketing technology business, we are able to provide our employees with the ability to work with the most interesting clients and those that they are really passionate about – from charities to global fashion brands.
To deliver true value we need to understand our clients’ requirements and since we can work with companies from basically any industry, we are motivated by our learning and development experiences.
Q. How do you relax?
I make an effort to go to the gym every morning before work. It sets me up for the rest of the day. I also like to relax with a glass of wine in the evening, every now and then.
Q. What’s your motto?
Never lose control or focus on what you’re doing.
Q. What are your aspirations for the future of your business?
It is so interesting to be at the forefront of media intelligence, where we are able to provide any organisation with key business insights. We listen to what is being said online, on social media, in the news – and we analyse that information for our clients. My aim is to grow Meltwater in Ireland, to learn about key insights for Irish organisations (from small charities to the largest technology companies) and to apply our service to deliver real value for our clients.
To deliver true value we need to understand our clients’ requirements and since we can work with companies from basically any industry, we are motivated by our learning and development experiences
THE MELTWATER STORY
Ralph Natter Berg is a positive and energetic consulatitive sales leader with constant focus on people development for Meltwater, a global leader in online media intelligence. The company exists to help companies make better, more informed decisions based on insights from the outside
This story began in Oslo in 2001, just after the dotcom bubble burst. Jorn Lyseggen deposited $15,000 into a brand new business bank account, courtesy of the Norwegian Science Foundation.
The idea was simple: to make business decisions across the globe both easier and more powerful by harnessing public information living on the internet, and use it to deliver valuable insights that weren’t accessible without technology.
