Steve Jordan interviews Angie Mirams from Kehrli + Oeler as she settles into her role as managing director of one of Europe’s oldest moving companies.
I had been trying to get an interview with Angie Mirams for a long time, but life kept getting in the way. First there was a change of job for her, which kept her pretty busy for a while, then the pandemic came along and everyone switched into survival mode, quite literally. Our chat would have to wait a little longer.
But now the world has begun to settle. The pandemic has dropped off the front pages and Angie has been in her role as managing director at Kehrli + Oeler in Zurich, Switzerland for over three years. It’s a family company that can trace its history back to 1903. I started the conversation by asking what had drawn her to the moving industry. But, the thing is, I probably already knew the answer. Like so many others, it was just by chance.
In 2000, after working in marketing, which turned out not to be a role she enjoyed, a friend, who worked for Kehrli + Oeler, offered her a job. “I thought I’d do it until I found something better,” Angie explained, “but I never found anything better.”
But it hasn’t been a straight-line career for Angie. She stayed with the company for seven years until, in 2007, she decided the prospects looked brighter elsewhere. “Our office in Zurich was very small back then so I thought there was a lack of opportunity.” Welti-Furrer, by comparison, seemed a more attractive proposition so Angie moved there, stayed for 12 years and ended up in charge of the company’s international business.
But when professional differences started to get in the way, it was clear that Angie would be moving on ...
Photo: Angie Mirams.