Access of panic, fits of tears… The young heiress of the Bahlsen empire throws in the towel and makes unexpected revelations

At 29, Verena Bahlsen, who had dropped out of college to join her great-grandfather’s business, was tasked with overseeing the transformation of the century-old cookie giant. But faced with the pressure, the young woman confesses, in a long post published on the LinkedIn professional messaging, have often cracked.

Jumbled up, she evokes her fits of tears during meetings, her uncontrolled reactions, her acerbic remarks to collaborators and the panic attack which seized her one day when she found herself in the middle of a wheat field, alongside the CEO of the company. “These moments of fear, emotional overload or insecurity often bothered me“, writes Verena Bahlsen.

With her thick red hair and shocking formulas, the young heiress did not go unnoticed and often sparked controversy, like when she said she was proud to be a capitalist. “A quarter of the Bahlsen business belongs to me and that makes me happy. I want to make money and buy myself yachts with my dividends and other things like thatshe shouted loud and clear. I think in the long run I can make more money by making the world a better place.”

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After the departure of Verena Bahlsen, her three brothers and sisters will share her shares. The young woman, meanwhile, dreams of learning to write and wants to do an internship in the cinema. But not right away, she said in her press release. Only after a few weeks of surfing and lazing on the beach while being “shockingly unproductive”.