February 12nd, 2025
After 12 years at a major banking firm, Patrick Thielen began questioning how to build upon his experience in corporate finance. Weeks later, a recruiter from Allianz Trade reached out to him, setting in motion the start of Patrick’s surety journey. Now, as Executive Senior Sales Specialist, Guarantee, Patrick provides customers with solutions for niche business scenarios.
What led you to join Allianz Trade’s surety department?
I began my career as a corporate banker at a large regional banking firm in Northern Germany. After 12 years in this sector, there came a point when I felt there was little room left for growth in my banking career. Weeks later, a headhunter from Allianz Trade reached out to me and from there, the pieces fell together.
I knew a handful of people from Allianz Trade, who all had positive things to say about the company. After several interviews, I joined the surety team in the summer of 2022. It wasn’t an easy decision, as my wife was expecting our second child at the time – but it turned out to be well worth the risk!
What are your responsibilities in your current role?
As Executive Senior Sales Specialist, Guarantee, I’m responsible for the regions of Bremen and Dortmund, Germany. I provide our customers there with surety solutions for specific cases, such as export business or in the construction or the machinery sector.
I had known about surety before, as presenting surety solutions was part of my banking job. However, I quickly began acquiring new skills at Allianz Trade. The first two years in my role actually coincided with welcoming two kids, making for an interesting professional and personal time in my life!
Is there a specific experience that stands out to you?
Every day I feel proud to be part of a truly great team. I have complete trust in my boss, who has a very progressive mindset and continuously shows support for me and my team members. For example, when I welcomed my third child in march, he and my other manager encouraged me to take time off to help with childcare.
What advice would you give to someone thinking about a career in surety?
Becoming familiar with the banking or finance industry is a good starting point for any career in the corporate world, in my opinion. A few years of training in these sectors will give you a broad knowledge of elements we work with on a daily basis. If you’re a student, for instance, I would strongly recommend gaining this kind of professional training through an internship or apprenticeship.
That being said, there’s a constant level of learning involved in surety and I’m discovering something new every week. After two years, it’s remained very interesting for me – and I can say the journey has been well worthwhile.
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Our expertise and commitment
Allianz Trade is the global leader in trade credit insurance and credit management, offering tailored solutions to mitigate the risks associated with bad debt, thereby ensuring the financial stability of businesses. Our products and services help companies with risk management, cash flow management, accounts receivables protection, Surety bonds, business fraud Insurance, debt collection processes and e-commerce credit insurance ensuring the financial resilience for our client’s businesses. Our expertise in risk mitigation and finance positions us as trusted advisors, enabling businesses aspiring for global success to expand into international markets with confidence.
Our business is built on supporting relationships between people and organizations, relationships that extend across frontiers of all kinds - geographical, financial, industrial, and more. We are constantly aware that our work has an impact on the communities we serve and that we have a duty to help and support others. At Allianz Trade, we are strongly committed to fairness for all without discrimination, among our own people and in our many relationships with those outside our business.