Angelika Kolmer and Margrit Windeck go into retirement

After almost three decades of service, two DR-WALTER executives, Angelika Kolmer and Margrit Windeck, retired on March 31. Both were still hired by the company founder Dr. Siegfried Walter and played a decisive role in the company's growth.

Managing director in times of trouble

When Angelika Kolmer started at the expert for international insurance in 1994, the task was to build up a claims department. This required not only specialist knowledge, but also independent work and creativity. Today, more than 40 employees belong to the team that Kolmer successfully led for more than 15 years. In 2020, she moved up to the highest management level. As Chief Operations Officer, she was responsible for the processes and structures of the Contract and Claims departments. CEO Reinhard Bellinghausen: "When I asked Angelika Kolmer to become the second Chief Operations Officer three years ago, she didn't hesitate for long. Like all the years before, she took on every new task and was delighted with the special challenge." What neither could have guessed: The global pandemic broke out almost simultaneously. Bellinghausen looks back: "I am very glad that I had a strong companion at my side. Because of Covid, we had to get through the most difficult time in the company's history. Together we successfully led DR-WALTER through the crisis. Today, the company is in better shape than ever before. A merit of which we are both very proud."

Trained her own successor

Margrit Windeck was also part of the staff from the very beginning, when DR-WALTER transformed from a micro-enterprise to a small business. She managed the contract department for almost 20 years, which today includes around 20 employees. Windeck remembers: "Although we always stayed in Neunkirchen-Seelscheid with the office, my time at DR-WALTER seems like a long journey. In our minds, we were always connected to the entire world, because we received calls from everywhere." The coming department manager Pia Wölke was trained by Margrit Windeck herself. Thus, the successor corresponds exactly to her ideas for the further development of the company, the new retiree is pleased to say.

Bellinghausen emphasizes that Margrit Windeck "was an inspiration and role model for many. She was an old-school employee: 100 percent loyal, 100 percent committed, and always focused on the good of the company. She was the contact person for our customers almost around the clock, and she was always there for her team."

An emotional farewell party

Almost the entire staff came to the big farewell party last Friday to wish the beloved colleagues - often with tears in their eyes - all the best for the new chapter in their lives. Reinhard Bellinghausen and the other associates thanked them for their great commitment over the years. After all the companions and external partners had thanked them in various ways, Angelika Kolmer and Margrit Windeck left the office for the last time, carrying flowers and gifts.