Meet the Meroes: Cecilia Jiborn

Cecilia resides in Viken, Sweden, near Helsingborg, with her husband Fredrik to whom she has been married for several years. The couple has two grown-up daughters, Olivia who works as a paramedic, and Kajsa who is currently pursuing her degree to become a teacher, specializing in religion and history.

After Cecilia completed high school, she moved to Valladolid in Spain to study culture and history and to learn the language. She made a conscious effort to speak as much Spanish as possible while living and traveling there, and she still finds that the language easily comes back to her after spending some time in the country or speaking with native speakers. She never thought that she would return to Viken after living in a bigger city in another country, but after having their first child Olivia she longed to move back to the village that had been her home for most parts of her life.

A long career in customer service

After moving home from Spain, Cecilia got her degree in International Transport and Logistics at the University of Helsingborg/Lund, and held various positions within sales and logistics. In 2006, she landed a job as a Customer Service Manager at Fiskars Sweden where she worked for eight years. In 2014, she was hired as the Head of Customer Service at Orkla Foods, with offices nearby Malmö in Sweden.

“While working at Orkla, I had a daily commute to Malmö by train. During these trips, I struck up a conversation with a woman who was a regular on the same route. She mentioned a job opportunity that she had come across, which she thought might be a good fit for me. The job was for the position of Head of Customer Service at Clever, a company specializing in charging solutions. Encouraged by her suggestion, I applied for the job and was fortunate enough to be offered the position. Looking back, it felt like it was meant to be,” she tells.

When she first joined Clever, the company was later acquired and rebranded as Bee Charging Solutions. However, the journey did not end there as in 2021, the company was once again acquired by Statkraft and became Mer.

“It was a completely new industry for me. I didn’t know anything about electric cars or charging stations at that time, but the job ad stated that the role was part of the management team and highlighted the importance of good customer service and focus. They recognized early on that without customers, there is no company. I thought I would stay in the job for a year or so, but suddenly six years have flown by, and I really enjoy my daily work at Mer,” she reflects.

Passion for Mer and the industry

Cecilia has been the Head of Customer Service since she first joined Mer, and since March 2023, she is also the Head of Operations. Her main priority is to ensure a seamless customer journey with short lead times and quick communication. With 4,000 monthly incoming calls, Cecilia and her team help customers with charging and other concerns. They work proactively and aim to find non-working chargers before the customers do. Cecilia stresses the importance of her team’s breadth of knowledge over specialist experience, as the industry is always evolving. Her team is motivated to continually learn and improve the customer experience.

“In our industry, you must be curious and be able to adapt as the industry is always evolving. In my departments, we have an incredible breadth of knowledge,” she says.

Cecilia is passionate about her work at Mer, where she feels that she is making a positive impact on the world. She believes that the current global energy situation has increased awareness about the importance of renewable energy and building a sustainable future. Cecilia values the opportunity to learn and grow as an individual while working towards a common goal.

Cecilia underlines Mer’s commitment to promoting women and describes that the company sees people and their competence and does not differentiate on any other factors. She believes that this is an essential strength of the company, which also encourages personal and professional development among its employees, which she believes in and is proud to represent.

“I find my work at Mer very fulfilling and rewarding, and I am proud to be able to tell my children and friends that I contribute to making the world better every day. I believe in selling a product that I believe in is key to success, and I value the supportive and caring culture fostered by Mer,” she says.

 Passions for travel and gardening

During her free time, Cecilia loves spending as much time as she can outdoors. She’s become aware of the importance of exercise to feel good and enjoys practicing both yoga and strength training. One of the favorite things to do as a family is to go on their yearly ski trip to Italy for a week to enjoy good weather, perfect snow, delicious food, and a glass of bombardino in the slopes.

“I want to learn to speak more Italian, and I’m hoping that I will get the chance to live in Italy for a time period. Why not start a Mer-office in Italy? Count me in!” she says.

In recent years, Cecilia has nurtured her interest and fascination for flowers, and eagerly anticipates week 12 each year when she can finally begin growing sweet pea flowers.

“Watching them grow from seed to flower brings me joy. I feel happy when I’m in my garden, buying new plants and watching everything evolve through the different seasons,” she tells.

In addition to growing fragrant sweet pea flowers, she has a great passion for birds, both in the wild and as interior design motifs.

“My family thinks we have enough interior pieces with motifs of birds at home. If it was up to me, I would love to have living birds in the house. But since I don’t want to keep birds in cages, I enjoy their visits outdoors instead,” she concludes.