photographer: carly wollaert © | make-up artist: sharmila vooren
selin capkin(she/her)
head of partner success at klarna
about
born and raised in the nl, i spent my first 20 years growing up here. i studied international business & management in rotterdam, istanbul and beijing. after graduating, i worked in marketing at google nl, before joining the h&m group on an international adventure. i spent 6+ years living and working in singapore, china, hong kong and sweden. at the h&m group, i have contributed (doing various sales, operations, controlling and expansion roles) to the growth of the business by rolling out over 300 stores, in more than 100 cities, launching new markets like philippines, taiwan and macau. upon return to the nl, i supported the european growth of ace & tate. currently i lead a partner success team at klarna where together with my team we support our partners in their international growth journeys.
i enjoy travelling and immersing myself in new (food) cultures, like catching sea-urchins with remote tribes in myanmar. when i am not traveling, i feed off energy creating a healthy lifestyle. the hectic work travels and moving around got me in touch with yoga, meditation and i got interested in improving sleep, nutrition and overall well-being. i was inspired to certify as a personal trainer and pilates trainer and when i was in between jobs i spent six weeks in indonesia to complete a 200hr yoga teacher training.
what qualities do you think are essential for success?
there is this quote from deepak chopra which i use as a guidance for my life: “if you focus on success, you’ll have stress. but if you pursue excellence, success will be guaranteed.” trying to be better each day and self-reflection i feel are very applicable to my role as a lead, as an employee, and a colleague. thinking back of my early career, i was aiming for success. i looked at others, and worked hard to get where they were, because i saw certain positions, certain achievements as succes. but success in that way is limiting. it has an end destination. instead now, i focus on growth, on becoming a little better than i was. picking a direction, and being committed and self-disciplined to work trough the ups and downs. reflecting constantly and using my strengths to accomplish what i desire.