Consultant (IT) / Founder

Name: Daniel Naoki Hegetschweiler
Age: 48
Degree: lic. oec. publ. 
Profession: Founder and partner
Employer: ValueLink Group AG

Describe your job in one sentence.

As a ‘bridge builder’ between the IT and specialist worlds, I support our customers from the requirements gathering stage, through conceptualisation to implementation in the system and right up to commissioning.

What are the three main tasks in your job?

As a founding partner, I run our ‘consulting boutique’ together with my partner colleagues, manage exciting projects and also enjoy working ‘hands-on’ on the system (SAP) from time to time.

What do you think is the best / most exciting thing about this job?

Practically no two days are the same for me and I'm always learning something new.

What is the biggest challenge in this job?

The statement ‘You work for yourself all the time’ is not entirely wrong at times. But it's also great fun.

What do you need to enter this profession or to be successful in it?

Professional or general life experience and specialised knowledge are important factors, but self-motivation, openness to new ideas, structured work and pleasure in social interaction are at least as important. You also need a certain level of stress resistance to succeed in this profession.

What promotion/further development opportunities are there?

Compared to other sectors, the opportunities are certainly varied but also depend on personal motivation and the will to persevere.

What would you have liked to have known about this profession as a graduate?

How to behave in certain ‘everyday situations’, e.g. in a project, in acquisition or generally in contact with customers.

What advice do you have for students who are interested in this job?

You have to be willing to jump in at the deep end from time to time, discover new things and have a certain willingness to travel.

In terms of your career, is there anything you would do differently looking back? Why?

I would perhaps ‘try out’ even more, e.g. more other sectors or processes.

Is there anything else you would like to pass on to current students?

It is important to remain critical and to constantly question the world, but also yourself.

As of March 2025