COMPANY NEWS
Meet The Expert | Katarina Deme
Behind every successful manufacturing project is a team that’s supported, trained and set up to succeed — and that doesn’t happen by accident. Katarina Deme, HSSMI’s Organisational Development Officer, has spent over seven years making sure it does.
Katarina is an experienced organisational development and project coordination professional who has contributed to a wide range of initiatives in people development, programme delivery and business research. In her current role, she focuses on staff engagement, learning and development, and change management to drive continuous improvement — working closely with the Executive Director and Finance team to ensure payroll, contracts and internal processes align with staff needs and organisational goals, while promoting a positive, inclusive working culture.
From Project Coordination to Organisational Development
Previously, as Project Management Coordinator, Katarina supported the delivery of programmes in digital transformation, electric propulsion and the circular economy — responsible for project planning, risk and timeline management, and stakeholder coordination, helping to improve project delivery processes and ensure high-quality outcomes.
A Portfolio Spanning Training, Circular Economy and Materials Recovery
Katarina’s project experience shows how deeply people-focused work underpins technical delivery:
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- Co-Versatile (European-funded project). Katarina managed HSSMI’s role delivering tailored training packages for each manufacturing setting, enabling the workforce to remotely access digital work instructions and engineering data through digital manufacturing tools and digital reality technologies including virtual reality, mixed reality, augmented reality and 3D PDFs. This offline operator training accelerated engineer upskilling for faster product launches, enhanced manufacturing process development, and helped maintain quality throughout production.
- CICERO (2nd Life EV Batteries for Retrofit in Classic/Heritage Cars). Katarina provided project management expertise and deployed digital tools to support circular economy initiatives, addressing reverse logistics and waste optimisation for reused batteries and developing a strategy to manage producer liability for second-life battery use, including a new “installer” role in the supply chain. In collaboration with consortium partners, the team also designed flexible disassembly and re-assembly processes to allow the site to accommodate greater battery volumes without immediate expansion.
- ReGaIL (Recovery of Gallium from Ionic Liquids). Katarina managed a consortium-led project investigating the recovery of gallium from end-of-life LED lamps for reuse in second-life applications, such as semiconductors for power electronics, machines and drives. As part of the project, HSSMI managed the development of a simulation of a conceptual recovery facility, using digital tools to identify potential issues, support decision-making and enable scenario testing.
A Specialist Bridging People, Process and Technology
Katarina holds a BSc (Hons) in HR Management and a PRINCE2 certification. Her core skills — project management coordination, account and contract management, change management, organisational development, operations and HR management, and training and development — reflect the rare combination needed to keep both people and projects moving forward together.
Why It Matters
The most technically brilliant manufacturing strategy is only as good as the team’s ability to deliver it. Katarina’s work ensuring people are trained, engaged and supported is helping HSSMI’s clients turn ambitious digital and circular economy projects into practical, working outcomes on the ground.
Want to learn more about how HSSMI’s organisational development and project coordination expertise can support your project? Get in touch with our team.
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Contact us today for a short initial conversation on how HSSMI can help your organisation achieve its strategic goals.
