”It has always been my dream to work in Tanzania,” says Anne Mette Benzon, COWI Tanzania’s Director during the launch of the Danida Tanzania Alumni Network earlier this year. She took over the position in January 2018 of the long established company.
COWI has been in Tanzania since 1967. Recently, though COWI Tanzania has been through an organizational restructuring process. It has had to move from its previous premises to a smaller environment and reduce the number of staff from over 100 to 45. The company now focuses on four sectors: water, transportation, the environment and development planning.
Regardless of these changes, COWI Tanzania’s reputation as a high quality, solid partner, is as strong as ever. The guests know that Anne Mette Benzon is sincere when she rounds off her speech by emphasizing that she is looking forward to collaborating with the alumni network.
”I encourage continued dialogue between the new Danida Alumni Group and COWI Tanzania,” she says.
New Director
A few days after the launch, Anne Mette Benzon explains why she so warmly embraces the alumni platform.
”The Danida Tanzania Alumni Network has the potential to become a very important platform for collaboration between COWI Tanzania and the Danida alumni,” she says.
Even though Anne Mette Benzon is new to the position of Director of COWI Tanzania, this is by no means her first job in Africa. In fact, her career includes extensive international experience.
She spent ten years of her professional life working in China, Vietnam, Nepal, Singapore, Eastern Europe, Zambia and Zimbabwe. At the time, Danida financed a large number of environmental projects, Anne Mette Benzon’s field of expertise.
Whether the projects were about pollution or environmental management, her focus was on local capacity building. She trained consultants worldwide. Judging by history, she did so with great success.
”I remember that I trained some consultants in Lithuania and later lost a tender for a project to one of the Lithuanians that I had trained,” she says, laughing with pride.
Overall, Anne Mette Benzon has had an impressive career. She was the first woman to be appointed as a director by COWI in Denmark outside the head office in Lyngby. That was in 2007. She was Vice President of COWI Denmark before she moved to Tanzania and her focus has been on project management, business development and human resources throughout her professional life.
”It is essential for a company like COWI to recruit and retain the right employees with the right capabilities. The main thing we work with is our heads, so having the right heads on board is of utmost importance,” she says.
Talent pool
