January 14th, 2025
How a Christmas party can change your life: my surety journey
Kristyna Jungova was completing her PhD in International Management in Moscow when a serendipitous conversation led her to intern at Allianz Trade, plunging her into the world of surety. Fourteen years later, Kristyna finds everyday excitement in her role as Group Surety Business Analyst in Paris. Here, she shares on why she loves what she does, as well as the inspiring teammates she works alongside.
What led you to join Allianz Trade?
I’m originally from Prague, Czech Republic, where I actually worked for a trade credit insurance policyholder as a student. This would later prove to be a valuable experience for my career in that it gave me a chance to understand trade credit insurance from the customers’ side. I then went on to earn my Master’s degree in Economics and Management before moving to Moscow to pursue a PhD.
During this time, I happened to meet someone from Allianz Trade at a Christmas party. This encounter proved to be the turning point of my professional life as it led to an internship with the company, and I really felt like I belonged. When they offered me a permanent role, it felt natural to accept it and leave my PhD – and I’ve never looked back!
After 14 years in a variety of functions across the company, I was ready for a new challenge that would still enable me to stay at Allianz Trade. Surety presented the fresh change that I had been craving. Entering into it, I felt like a student again, filled with a hunger to understand surety inside out while also excited to apply my previous experience to the field.
What are your responsibilities in your current role?
Stepping into my role as Group Surety Business Analyst involved learning our primary business operations – the contracts, facilities and bonds – and, importantly, the data behind them. That means understanding how the data is structured and extracted as well as how to harmonize and translate it for the everyday person.
I now use this skill set to deliver our global surety reports across all functions, which entails collaborating with stakeholders, reviewing figures and making informed decisions based on them. I’m also working on a major upgrade of our surety reporting roadmap and training local teams to use them to meet their respective business goals. This has been a fun project involving lots of interesting, highly motivated people. I get laughed at when I describe my job as “fun,” but I really do enjoy working – it keeps me grounded!
What accomplishment are you most proud of in your career?
I’m proud to have built a career that allows me to wake up excited for the day, and that I get to share with kind, smart teammates. You gain so much insight and opportunity for collaboration from making personal connections. That can mean everything from having lunch with colleagues and actively listening, to helping them achieve their projects and progress towards long-term goals. Projects, both in terms of experience and outcomes, are way better if you know the people you’re working with.
I also consider the work-life balance I’ve achieved, thanks in part to the flexibility given by Allianz Trade, a significant victory. Enjoying time with family and friends after work keeps me happy and energized.
We only have one life to live. My goal is to have a sustainable life where I continue growing professionally while helping make our planet a better place. I’m very lucky to do this through my job, especially now that we’ve launched Surety Green2Green : a new surety solution that enables our clients to support low-carbon technologies and renewables projects.
If you are interested in exploring a career at surety, please reach out to me. We have many roles that will give you a chance to shine!
