Profile

Photo:

Katerina Ilieva

My CV

  • Education:

    I went to normal Primary school, and my secondary school education was a ”special” curriculum around Maths.

  • Qualifications:

    I went to Foreign Language School, learning extensively English and German. No GCSE levels or so.

  • Work History:

    I started as a Laboratory Technician in a company producing liquid fertilisers for the farmers, then moved to a Quality testing lab to support Engine Oil development, then moved away from the lab to support Castrol products like engine coolants and brake fluids, that are equally as important as an engine oil. I was managing our Blending operations for about 8 months.

  • Current Job:

    I am now a Senior still looking after brake fluids and coolants, but also presenting technical training to colleagues so they can know a bit more about the car fluids.

  • About Me:

    I am Chemist and I am always curious about the world, especially the world of Science. I enjoy a good nerdy book of facts or documentary.

  • Read more

    I live in Woodstock with my long-term partner. We have no pets, but I am planning on adopting a cat. I am a foodie and love going to the gym. I like spending my time and money travelling and visiting different countries. I drink too much coffee, but sleep like a baby anyway and sleeping is my favourite activity on a rainy day. I am part of the LGBT group at work and enjoy going to London parade.

  • Read more

    My work includes meeting customer complaints, questions what product need to go in their car, I support colleagues who want to launch new markets or refresh our product portfolio. I approve new raw materials we wan to buy for our products and I also control some of our ”recipes” for Castrol products.

  • My Typical Day:

    I wake up early, go to the gym and only after that my day can start. I can start the day with a meeting or a phone calls. I spend a lot of time answering emails, but often I can escape and perform some work in my very own lab where I put into testing our product quality.

  • Read more

    My day can start as early as 7.30 to accommodate geographies like Australia and perform critical talks to discuss if something went wrong. That means I want to address this as quick as I can and if any testing is required I need to forget about emails and concentrate on some hands on work. I like taking coffee breaks and spend more time at the office but get the job done without the need to be glued to my desk for eight hours. We work in an open plan office so I sit on a deck of desks with my closer team, but we have open collaboration areas where we can get together and talk, which I like rather than shooting emails. My lab is a lonely place as I am working on my own. Often that is a very peaceful place.

  • My Interview

    • How would you describe yourself in 3 words?

      funny, competitive, curious

      What did you want to be after you left school?

      A hairdresser

      Were you ever in trouble at school?

      yes

      Who is your favourite singer or band?

      J Lo

      What's your favourite food?

      Any pasta dish

      If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!

      To be always honest, to be able to have a chef, to have a flock of alpacas.

      Tell us a joke.

      Once I told a chemistry joke?- There was no reaction.

Questions answered by Katerina

No questions to show