IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Sharing Solutions: How local approaches enable global success

Setting sail for the coffee business of tomorrow: On course to the first ERP rollout for NGUS

Depicting NKG’s growth in Asia: Insights from Mira Yudhawati and Emily Chua

Smart design for a sustainable future: The Ibero Uganda mill project

Behind the scenes

Mail from NG Comms: A personal Update

Virtual Tour: Berindo Jaya

Faces and portraits

Interview with Thomas Silva

Interview with Marcelo de Paula Nogueira

On a Cupping with Maks Mazurkiewicz

A visit with Kayd Whalen

NKG Integrity Champion: Thumbs up for reliable colleagues

NKG Holding who is who: Introducing Legal Department

Breaking the coffee ceiling: Inspiring women at NKG

Out of the box

Three by Three Questions: EUDR challenges and implementation

Time to take action: Neumann Gruppe donates to the promotion of democracy

At a glance

Recap: What happened in half-year one / 2024

It's your turn

Quiz: Spot the Difference

CLOSE-UP

Welcoming the Newest NKG PACE Partners: We’re Finding Strength in Flexibility

CLOSE-UP

Welcoming the Newest NKG PACE Partners: We’re Finding Strength in Flexibility

The Neumann Kaffee Gruppe Partnership to Advance Coffee Equity has officially entered its second year. As the class of 2024 Partners find their new routines and shake off any early-days nervousness, an overriding theme is becoming clear. While the program has been meticulously planned – it has an updated and more comprehensive curriculum, as well as set lecture and Speaker Series schedules, and bi-weekly calibrations and check-ins – it is, perhaps exactly because of its sturdy foundation, wonderfully adaptable.

Some natural adjustments are occurring in response to the diverse experiences of the new Partners. Zakiya Mason, the newest member of the Hoboken team, spent several critical, early-growth years at the hip Los Angeles café chain Go Get ’Em Tiger, where her roles evolved from barista to warehouse manager and green buyer. She’s no stranger to origin travel or to the cupping table – though she’s new to the SCA cupping form and the sample library.

“She’s a natural leader, and she’s always looking at where and how the pieces connect,” said Ed Kaufmann, Quality Control manager for InterAmerican Coffee. “She’s very logical, very organized, very sharp and full of questions – and well ahead of where I imagined we’d be just four weeks in!”

Dinner with the 2024 NKG PACE partners

Zakiya, Shaa’ista and Jalen during their quality lab orientation 

In San Diego – as part of a small team that takes big pride in its willingness to wear many hats – Shaa’ista Sabir is having the unique experience of being an NKG PACE Partner who gets to learn from an NKG PACE Graduate, Jayy Terrell.

“[Shaa’ista’s] joyful disposition, her curiosity and her passion for coffee and people has just been amazing to see,” said Jayy, who’s now the InterAmerican QC manager in San Diego. “It’s also been great for me to have someone to be hands-on with. QC can feel less collaborative than other areas of importing, so it’s been great to kind of impart what methods of studying have helped me to grow, as well as to share some of the skills I’ve learned since I got here.”

Additionally, drawing on her degree in Digital Communication, Shaa’ista is already participating in events and will help run the NKG PACE Instagram account.

If each of the Partners is making the program their own, the needs of the teams are also shaping their experiences. In the Atlas Coffee Importers office in Seattle, Jalen Kelly will additionally receive training as a trading assistant, because that’s where the team needs him.

“Jalen is amazing! We show him how to do something and he picks it up right away and can continue independently,” said Gavin Tull-Esterbrook, QC Manager at Atlas. “His adaptability and quite confidence make me sure he will find success working in both the Trading and QC departments at Atlas.”

2024 NKG PACE partners in Hoboken, New York

Neumann Gruppe USA management has also taken notice of the program’s adaptability and is considering how it might incorporate some of the introductory modules – designed to introduce NKG PACE Partners to various departments and other aspects of NKG to benefit all new employees, or even current ones. The happy lesson we continue to learn, with NKG PACE, is that we created a program that’s so well intentioned, and so thoughtfully designed, that far from benefitting three individuals each year, it’s fortifying all the pieces of our business that it touches and making us better for it.  

What colleagues say about the new NKG PACE Partners:

Zakiya Mason
“[Zakiya] is a natural leader, and she’s always looking at where and how the pieces connect. She’s very logical, very organized, very sharp and full of questions - and well ahead of where I imagined we’d be just four weeks in!”
ed-kaufmann
Ed Kaufmann
QC Manager at InterAmerican Coffee Hoboken (Headquarters)
Shaa’ista Sabir
“[Shaa’ista’s] joyful disposition, her curiosity and her passion for coffee and people has just been amazing to see. It’s also been great for me to have someone to be hands-on with. QC can feel less collaborative than other areas of importing, so it’s been great to kind of impart what methods of studying have helped me to grow, as well as to share some of the skills I’ve learned since I got here.”
Jayy Terrell SQUARE
Jayy Terrell
QC Manager at InterAmerican Coffee San Diego
Jalen Kelly
“Jalen is amazing! We show him how to do something and he picks it up right away and can continue independently. His adaptability and quite confidence make me sure he will find success working in both the Trading and QC departments at Atlas.”
gavin-tull-esterbrook
Gavin Tull-Esterbrook
QC Manager at Atlas Coffee Importers Seattle

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20457 Hamburg • Germany

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