Meet the Pride Worldwide: Sandra Wendland

Name: Sandra Wendland

Hometown/Lionbridge Office:
I think I have at least 3 hometowns. Besides Basel in Switzerland, where I currently live and work, my other hometowns are Hannover, Germany and Blantyre, Malawi.

Job Title:
Digital Marketing Manager, Lionbridge Global Marketing team.

How long have you been at Lionbridge?
Nearly 10 years: 7 years at CLS Communication prior to its becoming a Lionbridge company, and 3 years at Lionbridge.

What does a typical work day look like for you?
Sometimes my day starts with a meeting, but typically I start my day with a quick dip into social media, followed by emails and a scan through my assignments via project management tools. Next, I plan my priority tasks and prepare for my upcoming meetings.
I have Asian and European meetings in the morning and North American meetings in the afternoon. I’m the web manager for Europe and Asia, so I get to meet many people across the different regions to discuss translations, change requests, new content, marketing campaigns, process improvements, and deliverables.

What is your favorite place in your office?
Looking out of the Basel office window in the direction of Heuwaage-Viadukt.

View from the Lionbridge office in Basel, Switzerland

What is the best part of your job?
My job is diverse, it’s international, it’s fast-moving. It’s multilingual. I hear Spanish, French, English in the corridors. Everyone is really involved and passionate about language.
I particularly like developing new ideas and concepts, then seeing them implemented.

Fill in the blanks:

I speak 5 languages (list them!)

• German


• English


• French


• Italian


• Chichewa

(not all at the same level fluency, but I can get around and express myself in each).

My favorite local saying is ______, [and it means ______, if not English].
I have lots of Swiss German expressions that I really like:

• Macht nüt (it means something like, “It doesn’t matter” or “No problem”)


• Sicher nicht (also used in Germany, but the emphasis here in Switzerland is special. It means “certainly not”)


• S’het so lang s’het (it means something like, “as long as stocks/food/drinks last,” or “first come, first served”)

A tourist visiting my city shouldn’t miss…
A walk along the Rhine River.

Basel, Switzerland and the Rhine River

My coworkers would say my weirdest habit is…
I don’t want to know how weird I am. Based on the comments I get, I assume some people think I’m crazy because I cycle to work even in winter, wearing several layers to keep warm.

Outside of work, I always make time for…
Taking photos. I take snapshots and publish them at regular intervals on Flickr.

My hidden talent is…

Perhaps that I am trying to learn to build websites with Hugo.
Finding solutions makes me roar.

Photo credits: Nchenga (CC BY 2.0)