Philipp Fahrni is the Group CFO at IDAK Food Group, a growing group manufacturing premium frozen convenience products in Switzerland and Italy for the global market, headquartered in Zurich.

Philipp joined the business as the Head of Group Finance in 2022. Previously, he worked for Credit Suisse and PostFinance, before spending more than five years at KPMG as an engagement manager and CPA. 

What were the major learning experiences that you encountered transitioning from the Big 4 into industry?

One of the biggest learning experiences and one of the biggest changes is, in the Big 4, you have almost unlimited access to know-how knowledge, resources, and network. Then you come into a company that's very much in the building phase and not a big organisation - at least not on the group level - and you find yourself quite alone sometimes.

So, for me, the learning experience there showed the importance of having a good network within the company, but also outside the company. Whenever there was a topic that came up where I felt that I needed additional input, it was very important to reach out quickly to some experts within my network.

I think the other learning experience, which the Big 4 prepares you for quite well, is to really apply problem-solving skills, and to be creative and find creative solutions to tackle the gaps that are there in terms of know-how, processes, and structure.

Another learning experience for me was that I had previously worked for a company where the product was the people and the services - an intangible product that you deliver. Here, I work for a company that produces premium frozen food items.

It's very enriching to have a product where you can go to a convenience store in Switzerland and buy the product that comes from you and the factory that you work in, or that has been developed in an innovation process that you may have enabled through some projects. So, this is very enriching and a learning experience, in a way.

The third part that was really a change and an experience was the whole topic of stakeholder management, which in my current role has much more emphasis. Of course, you have stakeholders as a consultant or as a CPA (Certified Public Accountant) in one of the Big 4, but here it's on a different level; you have to really understand the dynamics and the different expectations and motivations of investors versus management, subsidiary management versus group management, and so on. Although we are often very aligned, that is really something that I'm still learning to manage every day from a Finance perspective.

I would imagine when you're in the Big 4 your contacts are within Finance; you're probably not having as much interaction with Marketing or Operations. Is that the case?

Yes and no. Yes, the primary counterparts are in the Finance function. But I think the preparation in Big 4 is quite good in the way that you still get to interact with different people in the organisation.

For example, if you are doing a good job at auditing companies, then you will have to talk to the Sales Director, you will talk to the Purchase Officer, and you will also talk frequently to the board. So, you still get some understanding of the different dynamics in an organisation.

However, you don't really experience that first hand, because you just see it in the organisation - that’s the change or the difference.

You've ascended swiftly in your career over recent years, recently moving into your current role as CFO at IDAK. How have you navigated this rapid progression and the transition into your new position?

One thing that really helps me is that I've always had an entrepreneurial mindset and try to have a 360-degree view. I also applied that in the Big 4 and it helped tremendously, because you understand a lot of the underlying forces, the business model, the processes, where the money comes from and where it goes, and so on.

That has definitely helped me to understand the organisation that I came into very quickly: Who are the decision makers? What is the business model? What are the key products and key clients? What are the key differentiating success factors, etc.? So, this is one thing that has really helped me in this transition to start quickly and progress in IDAK.

Also, it was very important - because I came into a role that hadn't existed before – that there was no comprehensive financial management done at Group level. Finance was basically managed only at the subsidiary level, so there was a lot of blank space.

I'm glad that I’m quite good at developing from scratch and leveraging what I had seen before in different companies, so I could take that all in and decide for myself what I liked or what I didn't like in previous experiences, and then find effective solutions that are tailor-made to the situation.

The third characteristic that I'm quite good at is people skills - even as a Finance person. Yes, it's important that you are good with numbers, but it's even more vital that you can talk to people and interact well on a personal level.

The role I came into was newly created, so it was also important to get the buy-in from the decision makers, above and below the CEOs of our subsidiaries, etc., so that they can understand your role and see this new function as an added value - not just an additional person requesting financial information every month. Looking back, this ability to connect easily with people was also a key success factor in my past year-and-a-half with the company.

Could you share some positive aspects you've observed while working in a private equity-backed environment?

Personally, what's very enriching is that private equity has growth and value creation in its DNA; the mindset of constantly developing, constantly evolving, and growing as a company. This fits me and is very enriching.

That also brings about an entrepreneurial mindset. You're constantly striving to be better and create more value in a monetary way, but also to really grow as a company, develop products, develop clients, win new clients, etc. This is a very enriching aspect, which I don't think you get as much with other investment models.

I work in a company now that has also done quite a bit of M&A (merger and acquisition), and I don't think this would have been possible without private equity-backed investors. There's an appetite to develop. Lastly, I think the other aspect about private equity that is a little underestimated is the vast amount of resources, knowledge, and network that private equity investors bring into a company.

I didn't have that much experience in this Finance function before, which brings me to the point before about whenever I felt like, “OK, this I have never seen this before,” I have a network of private equity investors; I can call them and ask them, “What do you do in your other companies with that topic? What are your experiences?”

Our board is composed of very experienced people from the PE fund, and they have such a large amount of knowledge and network, which allows me to get valuable insights and have not only a governing oversight function in our board, but also effective sparring partners.

What insights might you offer to someone contemplating whether a private equity setting is the right fit for them?

It's important that you feel that it’s a fit, otherwise it doesn't make sense. There are people who are a better fit for a big corporate organisation, stock listed company, or a family-owned company, where it's maybe more about long-term development at a slower, but constant, pace.

But, if you go into a private equity-backed company, it's good if you are an open-minded and dynamic person; you certainly should not be against growth, be it personal, professional, or organisational growth. You really have to be interested in developing and constantly evolving.

What I found very valuable was, before I started this job, I informed myself quite well about who the private equity owners are behind the current company. You will find that in the private equity environment; there are a ton of differences between PE companies.

So, you find out about the culture and business model of this private equity owner: How do they manage their portfolio companies? Do they primarily invest in growth companies, in successful companies? Do they invest in turnaround cases? This can also tell you a little bit about what you're getting into.

I don't want to say private equity is for everybody, but if you believe it's a good fit and you believe that the owner is a good fit, then it’s definitely a great place to advance quickly and grow.

The other thing is that private equity is not forever. Usually - unless it's an evergreen fund - the owners might change, so you have to be wary of that and embrace that as a chance, rather than a risk.

Finally, talk to people with experience in the field - they will tell you a lot more than anything you see while doing desktop research. In my case, that helped a lot.

IDAK has been significantly active in acquisitions. From your perspective, what are the paramount challenges in integrating new businesses?

First, I will tell you how to prevent the challenges. For me, it really starts with the phase prior to closing the deal. If you do solid due diligence and ensure that there is a good strategic and cultural fit between your business and the business you’re trying to acquire, then a lot of what happens afterwards, even if there are challenges, can be overcome more easily. A good preparation and diligence work is critical and that's what I've experienced in the past 12 months doing two M&A deals.

Once the acquisition has been done or once it's in the finalisation stage, having an open and transparent communication can make a difference between successful or failed acquisition. A lot of the challenges can come from not having communicated openly - be it internally or externally - to really set the expectations.

Even though there might be some negative messages to tell, be open, don't hesitate, and don't hold back, because that drives the willingness of people to embrace the transformation as a positive. It's about sensing how people might react and proactively address these feelings with a good communication strategy.

For Finance specifically, it’s important to set expectations, but also be open to learning from the organisation you’re acquiring. Especially in our case, that's quite important, because we are not a fully developed group organisation; we can be open to new inputs that come from an acquired business.

They might do a process differently than us, so we can also look at it and be open and say, “Hey, show us what you're doing, maybe it's better than what we currently have.” We don't need to put our stamp on everything that they are currently doing and change the processes by 180 degrees. In my opinion, some of the resistance to change typically observed in the M&A process is because people are afraid that everything that they have worked for over many years will change, and it doesn't necessarily have to.

A big objective of any M&A process is usually that you want to achieve synergies. Our philosophy here is that yes, we do embrace synergies and we want to create them, but usually when you try to force synergetic measures upon an organisation and tell people, “Now you have to generate synergies,” it leads to more resistance than actual synergy.

The key success factor is if you bring people together and get people to talk and generate ideas on their own; in the end, the results will most likely be better.

Finally, in the Finance department, the post-merger integration might be less challenging when compared to other parts of the business. That is because, in Finance, it's more accepted that there is some integration effort needed and that some processes and reporting lines need to be established based on a common group approach. Once an acquisition happens, everyone in Finance instantly knows that they might have to adopt the reporting tool for the group, etc., so it's a little bit easier there.

But, as I said, it's important to respect what has been done, be open-minded, and not make too sudden changes. In the end, it’s just people, so talk to people, understand their motivations, and try to find a solution together and not barely by instructing them to adopt via a top-down approach.

I think the point you mentioned earlier about the cultural fit initially does seem to be a real key factor in success.

In the end, it depends on who makes the decision to do a merger and if these people are aware of these challenges.

For us, all the acquisitions have been driven not only by the board, but also by the management, who know the company better than the board, the dynamics in the company. And, in the end, the management has to integrate the newly acquired business – thus, I suspect management puts even more emphasis on the cultural fit. I think that is definitely helpful.

In addition to your other responsibilities, you manage teams in both Italy and Switzerland. Are there any notable distinctions in your managerial approach between the two?

I try to always stay authentic in the way that I am and how I communicate. However, in Switzerland, our leadership culture is a bit more consensus-oriented, so you try to bring in the entire team and make a team decision, and this usually leads to a better solution than doing it top-down or leading the people to make the decision that you would have made anyways.

In Italy, it’s more of a top-down culture and a bit more hierarchical. It's much more of an experience-based culture where you gradually work your way up. This determines how I manage the Finance department, interact with our local CFO and the team there. In Italy, and given my position as a young non-Italian CFO, I feel that it’s also important to be respectful, explain your motivations and why you or the group are doing something - this really prevents misunderstandings and helps to get alignment on key topics.

Overall, although I do manage the Italian Finance team a little bit differently, what helps a lot is that I speak Italian. This really gives a great sense of understanding to the team there. It's very much appreciated. Even though everybody speaks English, I get a lot of goodwill for that. They are more understanding, even if I make a mistake, which can happen, of course.

It's interesting that you mentioned the consensus aspect in Switzerland, because I see that very much from the recruitment perspective.

That’s something that people can struggle with if they come from outside of Switzerland. A lot of senior managers in Switzerland are not from here originally. In my opinion, it could be a challenge, as they could lose the followership of their people quite easily if they don't understand and embrace to a certain degree the locally accepted style of leadership.

What advice would you extend to those embarking on a Finance career, especially those aspiring to reach your level of accomplishment?

Looking back, I would still highly recommend a start in consultancy or in a Big 4 company. That is because it permits you to see a lot of different things in various organisational settings, and gives you a lot of different challenges to experience. You can collect those experiences in a short amount of time, which prepares you well for the next phase.

In the Big 4, what really helped me was not just staying for two to three years, but almost six years. The first two to three years allow you to shape your technical abilities, analytical skills. But then, after four to five years, when you advance to the manager level, you get board-level exposure and you’re very close to the decision makers; you start to understand the dynamics that are happening behind closed doors and the conversations that are taking place in these rooms. In this way, my previous experience has allowed me to quickly step into this role here and manage our board and stakeholders.

Also, it's very important to be open and interested and to have this constant drive to learn and be eager to get to know new things. If that's a constant in your life, then you're automatically going to advance.

Besides that, I think it's also important, as I said, in the first two to three years after university to really try to understand the fundamentals of Finance and Accounting - and even beyond that. Understand the business model of the company you're working for, the business model of the customers, understand key processes and other organisational aspects. Try to make the most of the career start and develop that holistic view of an organisation.

Last, but not least, you have to have fun. You have to be happy where you work and happy with the people you work with, because that gives you the energy and motivation to keep thriving in a good environment.

How do you, as a CFO, stay abreast of emerging developments and technological advancements within the Finance domain?

Given that I work in a growing, evolving company, not a very mature company with vast internal resources, staying up to date on such topics can be a challenge. Frankly, given our industry and company lifecycle, we are not a first mover in a lot of areas of digitalisation.

Nevertheless, it's important to stay updated. I try to stay connected to people who are close to these developments and keep a network back at the Big 4, but also with other professionals.

I often listen to podcasts about Finance and management. In these podcasts and through blogs, you pick up on a lot of interesting things in that realm. Then you have to be open. Even if for your company digitalisation is not the number one priority, you can grab some low-hanging fruits in the area of digitalisation - for example, ChatGPT for your personal benefit or to encourage your team to automate Excel sheets, and so on.

If you're an open-minded person, constantly trying to optimise, then you also use these technological advancements anyway in your daily work. You can then easily pick up on things that could be interesting for your function or for your organisation.

But I think it's important - even though these are very important subjects, digitalisation, artificial intelligence, and so on - to keep complexity low. That is because, at least in our organisation, we cannot afford to spend large numbers on a big-scale digitalisation project that takes up so many resources with typically quite uncertain outcomes. Any project in the realm has to have a good and quite an immediate benefit.

Regarding data, you have to be aware of the challenges to manage the data, you have to structure the data and update the data, using more resources in the beginning. So, you must think it through quite well before jumping to any conclusions.

But, as I said, there are a lot of things that you can do without doing much harm. Even if everybody on a personal level uses ChatGPT occasionally for a personal challenge - there are already a lot of benefits with that. In the end, you can really just encourage people to be open and try new technology and not be too hesitant about it.

Thank you to Philipp for speaking to Meriel Graham, Director in our Finance & Accoutancy recruitment team in Switzerland.

Views and opinions contained within our Executive Interviews are those of the interviewee and not views shared by EMEA Recruitment. 

Sébastien Scharl is the Human Resources Director at Conextivity Group (Fischer Connectors and Wearin’) in Switzerland. He started his career in Law, while being a First Lieutenant in the Swiss Armed Forces. Sébastien’s first HR role was as an interim CHRO in the company back in 2021.

What has been your career highlight to date?

I would say the fact of coming from a totally different activity; I was in Law, representing clients in courts of justice. Having the privilege to be asked to replace an HR Director position was a highlight, because it meant that, even if you do not yet have the right skills, the Group trusted me to keep running the business.

After 18 months in that position, the Group proposed the function to me, along with training. This recognition of my involvement for the Group was a highlight, to feel the trust of the Fischer family, and a real honour, when you know that trust is one of the founding values of family-run companies like ours.

I know that you were a company commander in the military at quite an early age. Do you think that experience plays a part in how you approach HR and life in general today, particularly focusing on the CHRO level?

Yes. Switzerland offers you the possibility to have that responsibility, because the country’s system is designed to empower young and motivated people.

I would raise three different elements to answer your question.

Firstly, the military structure, as a corporate company, is an organisation composed of people. Therefore, you need to understand how people behave, what their tasks and their worries are - that’s essential. Even if you are a commander, before making a decision, you really need to understand the reality of your people.

HR also plays a strategic role in understanding people, their roles and responsibilities, and what concerns them. This step back is needed to decide with a pragmatic approach – for me, that’s the first step.

The second element is to be consistent – meaning, doing what you said you’d do. This is very important, so that people can rely on your word. As a young commander or a young lead, your people need to rely on what you state, and you should commit to what you set as a goal, purpose, or action.

The third one would be exemplarity. Of course, when you do what you said you’d do, you need to follow that for others and be an example. This is of course at the heart of any management practice.

You studied Law at university and passed the bar in 2018. How have you found moving from legal counsel to HR to becoming the leader you are today?

It was an interesting transition, because one popular belief is that HR is Legal and that it's easy to switch from one to the other.

That isn’t totally wrong, because there is a legal aspect to HR. But the legal aspects are only a small part of it. Limiting HR activity to the law would be inaccurate.

Legal studies are not the usual route taken by HR professionals. Certainly, studying Law makes you understand the globality of HR compliance quicker, but definitely not the rest: recruitment, people development, compensation and benefits, succession planning, HR strategy, partnership to the business, etc.

For me, moving from Legal to HR in an industrial group was a great experience, because my Legal activity was quite local. Entering into a global business was for me a tremendous change.

Also, by going into HR in Conextivity Group, I’ve been given managerial responsibilities and the opportunity to work with a wide range of people, which I am grateful for. I also experienced that during my military career, and I wanted to repeat this happy experience in a professional environment.

Tell me about Conextivity. The technology group comprises two business activities, Fischer Connectors and Wearin’: What do they do? Who are they? And what growth have you seen over the years?

Conextivity has its roots in Fischer Connectors, a family-owned business founded in 1954. Our nearly 70-year success story began with our founder, an expert in vacuum technology, who invented the world’s first high-quality sealed and hermetic connectors.

Conextivity is the name of the holding company created in 2021 to comprise Fischer Connectors and Wearin’, a start-up created in 2019 to provide IoT (internet of things) solutions that enhance the safety and efficiency of field intervention personnel, such as firefighters, first responders, and lone workers.

So, with the third generation of the family at the helm of the group – Jonathan Brossard as CEO since 2016 and Sabrina Brossard, the granddaughter of the founder, as President of the Board of Directors since 2023 – we envision the future of connectivity with high-performance solutions at the crossroads of micromechanics, electronics, embedded software, cloud and AI.

This new dynamic is proving a success, and growth is the order of the day. Over the last seven years, we have doubled both our revenue and our workforce – today, nearly 700 professionals globally. This speaks volumes about the Human Resources challenges we face, both in terms of attracting and retaining talent with various business expertise.

We’ll come to this specific HR challenge later. You mentioned family in there – what's it like to work for a family-run organisation?

I would say trust, sustainability, and longevity would be the three words that describe working for a family business.

It also means we can personify the family to the organisation. You have access to the family, to the CEO and the Board of Directors, and you can talk very easily to the big decision-makers. That’s not common in big multi-nationals. In our organisation, everyone can reach the CEO and the President at the canteen or during coffee breaks to propose something. Entrepreneurship lies at the centre of our culture.

Can you describe the culture and the values?

Being a community of talented, motivated, and entrepreneurial-orientated people is part of our DNA. We are entrepreneurs in an entrepreneurial company that is family owned. That is key, because our people have the possibility to grow and take responsibility.

For example, this means that if you want to take on more responsibility and you have the skills, the Group develops you, bets on you, and supports you to reach success or to grow. It is essential for us to first promote our people in the company, especially those who have proven their worth over time. The average length of service, which is good in our company, is by the way a revealing indicator of this.

The culture and values here are related to what we’ve been doing for such a long time, with the quality that has made us well-known among the worldwide engineering community. As a full-service provider of connectivity solutions for demanding environments, we cover the entire value chain of connectivity, and that’s where our real values, innovation, and entrepreneurship lie – and our profound sense of responsibility, too. Everybody in our company knows what and who we work for – and is very proud about it.

Our products are both innovative and ultra reliable. That is why they are used in such a variety of rugged applications, in high-reliability organisations and ecosystems, such as hospitals and nuclear power plants, and in high-risk environments, such as military battlefields and crisis zones.

How do you attract people to work for Conextivity and what challenges do you face?

This is an interesting question, because – in the B2B (business to business) market – attracting talented people is harder than in the B2C (business to consumer) market. Firstly, we need to be very clear in making our activity perimeter known. At first sight, it’s not very appealing when you say you’re working in the connectors industry, but when you think about it, connectors are everywhere – and they are critical to make our hyperconnected world and our everyday life work.

So, if you manage to show to your targeted audience of talent how wide the variety of our customer applications and operating environments is, how fascinating the technologies we harness to design and manufacture our products are, and how essential the type of connectivity we deliver is, then you have their attention to explain what kind of purpose they will find in joining us.

We also attract and retain talent by setting an example of promoting people, developing responsibility, and showing the professional evolution of those who contribute to our business. For example, we recently nominated two motivated and talented colleagues for the positions of Finance Director and Marketing & Sales Operations Director. This promotion motivates all of our colleagues and the world outside our company, who can see how we enable our talent to move up the ladder of management responsibility.

Another way to attract talent is simply to demonstrate the dynamic growth that our Group has been experiencing for several years. One of our recruiters' key selling points is that working for us means being part of a successful entrepreneurial adventure, and that we're a family-owned business whose aim is precisely to perpetuate this success.

Who is the most inspiring person in the business world for you?

The most inspiring people doing business would be Michelin star kitchen chefs, because they are first and foremost taste entrepreneurs. They reach excellence and become the best in an activity that humanity shares. Having this capacity to achieve the same level of excellence and inspire their brigade every day is an example for me.  

Even more inspiring, the vast majority of chefs have started out by washing the dishes and worked hard for many years before becoming Michelin star chefs – what an exemplary success story!

Are you a good cook in the kitchen?

I love to cook, and I hope my guests enjoy my food. To date, I haven't yet received a negative review on TripAdvisor, but I suspect my guests are being far too polite.

Thank you to Sébastien for speaking to Keely Straw, who manages our Human Resources recruitment team in Switzerland. 

Views and opinions contained within our Executive Interviews are those of the interviewee and not views shared by EMEA Recruitment. 

With 32 years, 11 national and international employers, and 17 roles under his belt to date, Tom Garssen has enjoyed a richly diverse Finance career – one he continues to build on as Netherlands CFO for global market research brand, Ipsos.

We caught up with Tom in Amsterdam to reflect on the pivotal personalities and decisions that have shaped his journey, from the leaders that made an impact on him to the time he took an overnight promotion halfway across the world.

What strategies do you use for developing innovative, diverse teams?

In this tight job market, you have to be creative. The most important thing is getting multi-disciplinary, multi-gender people from different cultural backgrounds – not only focusing on candidates with an economic qualification, but also looking at those from non-Finance fields, such as Psychology or Engineering.

It’s important to get people thinking in different directions. If you only employ individuals from a Finance background, they tend to focus on risks and costs – and that’s not necessarily the best way to encourage innovation or thinking outside the box.

The difficulty is that a lot of the compliance and reporting work is very repetitive, especially in the corporate world, so it can be difficult to find people from a non-Finance background who are truly attracted to that, whether that’s because it’s out of their comfort zone or simply because they see it as a bit boring.

When I’m looking for Finance Controller roles, in particular, I’ll keep an eye out for people who might not have the ideal financial background, but who I think have a broader understanding of the business as a whole. I’ll also look out for talent in those important soft skills – people who’ll be able to make calls, write emails, and chase payments or receipts in a way that reflects well on our brand.

In my experience, if a person is motivated, willing, and analytical, they’ll always be able to learn. And, ultimately, they’ll be more successful too.

Think back to the best manager you’ve ever worked for. What was it you liked about their management style?

Going right back to the late ‘90s when I started at Douwe Egberts, I worked for the CFO of the coffee and tea division. He was so open-minded. Despite having a huge workload with 60 countries to manage, he genuinely wanted to take the time to educate me about the business, how to make financial predictions and, importantly, he allowed me to make my own mistakes.

You learn so much from those kinds of experiences. Even though I was relatively young at the time, he put a lot of trust in me to do things my way and gave me a great balance of coaching and genuine autonomy. It was through him, his teaching, and his belief, that I eventually became a CFO.

What’s the secret to building a strong network?

Number one: you have to be unbiased and meet with people not just from the financial world, but from a huge range of backgrounds. It’s important to be open-minded and humble, too. Not everyone’s going to be interested in your stories – sometimes it’s more useful to stand back and listen to others.

Being socially active in your personal life can be hugely valuable, too – you never know who you’ll meet and where those connections will take you.

What’s the most surprising thing that’s happened in your career?

There have been a few surprises. The most memorable was, again, when I was at Douwe Egberts. They’d acquired a company over in Sao Paulo, so I’d been working on the M&A calculations.

It was late on a Friday afternoon when I got a call from the CFO I mentioned earlier. He said: “Tom, I really want to ask you something. On Monday, I want you to go to Sao Paulo and become the Finance Manager there.” I’d be working alongside their CFO, he told me, and reporting into the Dutch MD.

It probably goes without saying that I needed a minute to think about it – his question came totally out of the blue, a complete surprise. I’d have to get myself a plane ticket and fly out Sunday night – the last thing I’d envisaged as I made my weekend plans earlier that day!

In the end, I said yes, bought my plane ticket, and what started out as a few weeks turned into three months, and three months became a year working in Brazil. The company we acquired had bought a market-leading coffee operation from a large corporation out there, but there was no Finance department, so I had to plan and set up a Budgeting department, then hire and train someone from the local area to take over my role.

It was a huge challenge for me, a great learning experience, and ultimately earned me my first CFO role. Thankfully, my girlfriend at the time (now wife) was very understanding.

How would you define the role of the CFO?

I don’t use the term business partner, rather business coach. You’re a financial sounding board as much as a scorekeeper; you have to be innovative, strategic, and open to new ideas for growth, not always thinking about risk.

On the other hand, you have to be quite strict. It’s up to you to ensure that new ideas are robust enough to add value to the company and, ultimately, to make money. That’s always a challenge, because ideas usually start out quite vague. The skill is being able to make everything more concrete and coach team members to think outside the box, so you can innovate strategically.

Who owns sustainability in the business and how do you involve employees in your vision?

Sustainability is something we take very seriously at Ipsos. We have a board member dedicated to Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG), and she’s supported by an executive committee.

We also have local representatives who are responsible for rolling out ESG in the 20 biggest countries. ESG forms part of the strategy for every one of our service lines, too, and we’ll produce regular reports to ensure we’re continually measuring up against our ambitious sustainability goals.   

What is it that makes the Netherlands such a great place to live?

Well, we can agree it’s not the climate! I think it has to be the fact that you can truly be yourself – no matter what your gender identity, sexual orientation, etc., it’s a very free, open-minded, and friendly place to live.

We’re also pretty well organised. And, even though the Netherlands is a small country, we’ve always traded internationally, so it’s a really diverse and inclusive place. Everyone is made to feel welcome – from the cities to the smaller neighbourhoods – and that’s a huge advantage to everyone.

Thank you to Tom for speaking to Hannah Mallia, Head of Finance Leadership recruitment, in our Netherlands team.

Views and opinions contained within our Executive Interviews are those of the interviewee and not views shared by EMEA Recruitment. 

Danielle Rainha is the Global CHRO/Board Member at SHV Energy in the Netherlands. She started her Human Resources career at GSK, before moving to BG Group. Danielle joined SHV Energy in 2014 as part of Supergasbras Energia Ltda in Brazil, before moving to the Netherlands in 2022.

I’d love to start by learning more about your career and personal story.  

I have been working in Human Resources for more than 20 years and started my career at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). I was hired as an intern, and I spent 13 years there. I would say GSK was the place I built my technical, professional background.

After that, I went to BG Group, now acquired by Shell. I worked there for four years, and I was an HR Business Partner for countries in South America.

Then, I went to a national, family-owned company with over 10,000 employees, and my mission there was to support the company with the IPO. It was an amazing experience to prepare the company and support the improvements of the processes that should be in place.

After that, I joined SHV Energy, where I have been working for almost ten years. I started my journey with the company in 2014 as an HR Director at Supergasbras Energia Ltda. After two to three years, I was invited to go to Makro Atacadista as a CHRO in South America.  

Then, a year-and-a-half ago, the company invited me to come to the Netherlands to become the global CHRO for SHV Energy. So, my professional journey has always been in HR. I think HR is something that touches my heart. I truly believe our journey is not about products and services; it’s about people and love. I believe that this passion is something that is a very important energy and fuel to make the company successful.

Personally, I was born in Brazil. My father’s family is from Portugal, and my mother is Brazilian. I have had the experience of working very closely with countries in South America, such as Columbia, Peru, Argentina, Brazil, and Venezuela. I am really proud to have had the opportunity to work with these countries. Now, in a global position, I am very proud that I am learning a lot about the new countries that I am looking after. I can say that I have the job of my dreams: work with people, contribute to their happiness and satisfaction, and relate to different cultures - it is really amazing.

Talking a bit about my purpose in life, and what I was born for, it is about growth and giving or giving and growth. As much as I give, as much as I grow. And as much as I share, as much as I grow – that is my belief. I believe and understand that, worldwide, must be the wave generating and developing growth and passion. Every place I go, I have that with me – give and grow. That is my inner belief.

I was born in Rio de Janeiro. My father was a teacher, and my mother was a secretary. If you were to ask me if I thought I would be in the position I am today, the answer would be no, never. But, for me, it is very important to take opportunities that life can offer to me, and also to bring people together and make them grow with me.

Education was very powerful in my house. Values such as respect, collaboration, and sharing were taught by my parents at home and are still with me today, and still guiding my beliefs, the way that I am, the way I connect with people, and the way I believe I can impact the organisations I work with.

Tell me about the move to the Netherlands. How was that transition?

It has been amazing, but I must confess that, when I received the offer, I was a bit shocked, because I was afraid. I told them it was my dream; it was something that I wanted to happen in my life to live abroad to work in global company. I didn’t have a dream to be the CHRO, but I did have a dream to have a professional experience abroad, so - when the offer came - I was positively surprised.

I have a high motivation to learn, and it is important to me, and I try to spread this belief in every place that I go, with my children (sons), and also to the people that I work with. To be in a senior position in an international company, it was also about representation, Diversity & Inclusion - I am a woman, Brazilian, and a single mother, so people like me can see that they can also grow. That is very powerful.

As I mentioned, I came to the Netherlands with two kids. My youngest was eight years old when we landed and my eldest was 14 years old, so it was a very interesting and powerful experience.

We landed here a year-and-a-half ago, at the end of the pandemic, so it was lockdown. My assignment was going to be in one city, but that changed, and I chose the house I would live in via WhatsApp! I just had to go for it.  

I landed in the Netherlands with my two boys and nine pieces of luggage, going to a house that I only saw via WhatsApp. I had to go with my gut feeling - following a bit of intuition is something that can be very powerful.

It was a successful choice; my house is very nice, the location is very good. My children love living here, the freedom, and the country. I can see they are growing very fast and that makes me very happy, and also updates my purpose and why I am here – it’s about me and my relatives, but also the example I can bring to the place that I am in. 

As a mother, if your children are happy and settled, that gives you the comfort and the freedom to do your role, which I am sure is intense, but you feel a strong connection and purpose with.

What I try to teach to my kids and when I share my experience, is it’s not just having your values written down; you show values with your behaviour. We are not perfect, we are human beings, and sometimes we have a lot of contradictions inside ourselves. But, if we know ourselves and we have the commitment to be better person every day, why we are here, and why we are doing the things that we do, that is very powerful.

When I talk about values with my children, I try to give powerful examples to them. For example, after we landed in the Netherlands, two months later, I was driving a car and I hit the car behind me. I thought, “How am I going to deal with this, who am I going to call, I don’t know anything…” But the kids asked, “What will we do now?” and I said, “I’m going to park the car and then come back," because the car I hit was parked.

I said we would wait and then have a talk with the owner. I told them, “It’s important to be responsible for our own actions.” So, we stayed there together, waited for the owner, introduced myself, apologised for hitting her car, explained I was new in the city, and asked how we could resolve it together.

I was going to be responsible for everything, because I was the one responsible for the incident. The lady was surprised, because she knew I could have left. I believe in doing the right things and having the commitment to do the right thing, that’s why I am here, and it was a strong example to my children. I say to them, “Be honest and be responsible.”

I learned that from my parents. When I was seven years old, I went to the supermarket with my mother, and I stole a lollipop. I went home and showed it to my mother, saying, “Look, I stole it from the supermarket,” smiling as I said it. My mother came down to my level and looked into my eyes, and she explained to me that we couldn’t steal anything that didn’t belong to us, and we would go back to the supermarket, apologise to the manager, and pay for the lollipop.

So, I went back to the supermarket with her, apologised to the manager myself, and paid for it. It was a very strong example for me and a strong memory. I believe we learn not from explanation, but through the way we behave.

It would be great to hear about the values within SHV Energy and how they come alive. Could you tell us more about that?

At SHV Energy, we have a clear purpose: courage to care for generations to come. We have three elements in our purpose: performance, people, and planet. In most of the meetings that we have, we ask ourselves: did we think about the purpose, have in mind performance, people, and planet, and where we are related to this?

We are a family-owned company, so it’s the courage to care for generations to come, not only for the generations to come for the owners of the company, but the generations to come worldwide and how we can positively impact the world.

We have different kinds of businesses under the SHV umbrella. In SHV Energy, we are leading the energy transition, so how we will impact the world for generations to come. We have been working very closely with all the business units to make it come alive.

When we talk about values, they are very powerful. It’s about integrity, curiosity, passion, trust, and inclusivity. Our values are more than just words; it’s how we bring them alive.  

Integrity is having a very strong compliance culture. We have channels, we have learnings, and a strong community we work very hard with to strengthen the compliance commitment and strengthen the values of integrity and trust.

Curiosity is about entrepreneurship. We are a company that believes we have to look at the unusual. We have to look ahead and see what no one else sees. It’s something that motivates us.

Inclusivity is about me, as a woman, a Brazilian, single mother in this role as a CHRO worldwide. It’s much stronger than what you put on the wall; it’s how you show it in an organisation. How you behave is more important than what you say, as I mentioned earlier. Culture is about how you hire people, promote people, etc.

Passion is to put love in everything we do. It’s not about products; it’s about people and love.

For me, it’s an honour and a pleasure to work for SHV. SHV is a company that really connects with my values. I feel respected and recognised. I have had huge opportunities to climb the career ladder in this company, starting from HR Director in Brazil to Global CHRO. I am a concrete example of how much the company invests in me and my career, and has given me opportunities to grow in the company. It’s a very special company; every day, I am sure I am in the right place, doing the right thing.

It’s quite a responsibility to work for a business that focuses so much on the next generation.

I think we work very hard to take care of our people and to make smart decisions that positively impact the work we are doing.

For example, in our head office, we have more than 30 nationalities. It is very international, with different mindsets and cultures. It is a rich place to be and learn. As leaders, we have to be able to look at ourselves and have a growth mindset – a mindset of improving ourselves.

In SHV, I have the opportunity to improve myself every day. In every meeting I participate in, all the interactions, it’s always a great opportunity to grow and learn.

You obviously have a very strong sense of belonging and connection with the business. How would you say you create that sense of belonging for the wider workforce?

We are quite decentralised, so we don’t have a big head office that centralised everything. I have 21 business units, 21 HR Directors, and only eight people in my head office - two people in charge of different specialisms in HR. That means a lot has been done by the business units.

What is aligned and what we have as a common understanding is our purpose, values, culture, and leadership. We have some rituals as an HR community; we meet twice a year to share best practices and build things together. We have an HR community to learn from each other and share what we have been doing.

We have four strategic projects. In these projects, we have an opportunity to work together to deliver a better experience to our employees. One of those projects is related to leadership. The second is about employee value proposition (EVP) from a local and global perspective.

The third is about data analytics and how we can improve the quality of data, make decisions based on data, and how we can create this culture in our organisation.

The fourth is about building capabilities; looking at our strategy, business, and what capabilities are required for our business. To understand capabilities broadly comprises tools, processes, and competencies – looking at the people and what we are missing, the knowledge we can enhance in the organisation, and leveraging knowledge sharing in our teams.

With these four strategic projects, we have the commitment of working together to apply the product of these projects to other business units.

Was there ever a different career path if it wasn’t HR that might have been interesting?

No, I love working with HR, I love human beings. I love to study psychology, coaching, and mentorship. I truly believe in people development. I think we can learn everything our mind can acquire, meaning if you understand it exists and you believe it is possible to learn, then it is possible.

I think I was born to work in HR. My goal is to be a business leader, to help my colleagues and influence them to make good decisions about the business, taking into account the effect on people.

When you have happy people in your work environment, that can impact your profit and loss (P&L). Happy people will make customers happy and send a positive wave worldwide.

I think everyone understands that people is not a subject that belongs to HR; people is a strategy and subject that has to be integrated into all parts of the organisation.

Is there anyone who really stood out to you as being inspiring or anyone who has helped contribute to your success and where you are today?

I am a lucky person, as I have had the opportunity to work with very inspiring leaders. Since the beginning of my career, I have had the opportunity to work with different people and different profiles.

I can share one small experience. When I was at GSK, I had my first son, and I received a letter of my first promotion as a manager when I was at the maternity hospital, which is very meaningful. I went to the hospital to have my baby, and my promotion letter arrived together with my baby – it’s very symbolic.

It was an important message; you can have a baby and climb the career ladder. You can do both together.

I’ve had leaders who were so generous with their knowledge to help me understand the business and develop myself. Also, I am very lucky to have worked with amazing teams, very good people, with very good potential, and high talent - they fly.  

I am very proud of the people I have worked with who are in very special positions today. They have climbed the career ladder and are remarkable professionals.

For people who are early in their HR career, is there any advice you would pass on to them that has been helpful for you and had an impact on how your career has developed?

The first thing you should do is know yourself. Leverage your level of self-awareness, know who you are, what you like and what you don’t like, embrace your vulnerability, and don’t pretend you know everything, because you don’t - you need people to connect with you. So, please be aware of yourself, who you are, and where you’d like to be.

The second tip would be to take the opportunity, take the risk, don’t be afraid – go, go, go!

The third one is to be generous with your colleagues and the people around you. Connect with them and share as much as possible, because when you share, you grow.

Thank you to Danielle for speaking to Katie Insley, Associate Director in our Human Resources recruitment team in the Netherlands.

Views and opinions contained within our Executive Interviews are those of the interviewee and not views shared by EMEA Recruitment. 

Mario Della Casa is the Chief Operating Officer at Medartis in Basel, Switzerland. He started his career in Italy, before moving to Switzerland in 2007. Mario has since worked for Johnson & Johnson, Stryker, and Invacare Europe.

How would you define the role of Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Medartis?

As COO at Medartis, I am responsible for the end-to-end supply chain activities, from strategic sourcing to manufacturing, supply chain management, and global quality.

Medartis is a growth-focused company, so the main objective of my role is to ensure that our supply chain can cope with double-digit growth, while achieving effective management of costs and capital.

What is a memorable moment from your career and why? 

I have many, and I had the privilege to have many experiences in several companies. I still remember many achievements, but also big mistakes. However, looking back now, both achievements and mistakes allowed me to grow and learn.

If I need to pick one single event, I will never forget the call that I got from one of my former CEOs years ago when I decided to leave the company for another opportunity. It was the greatest possible recognition of my work, but also a big lesson in leadership.

What excites you about working for Medartis? 

Working in the medical devices industry is a privilege, as your work is connected with the purpose of improving the lives of other people. In addition, Medartis is a very innovative and dynamic company.

I like the speed in decision making and the focus on making sure that the supply chain supports the double-digit growth of the company. The combination of high dynamic, speed, and growth creates a highly engaged environment and committed teams.

What sustainability challenges does your organisation face?

Similar to many manufacturers, we are asked to reduce our carbon footprint and reduce the waste of the packaging of our products. Medartis is well set up in this regard, as we already have a very low carbon footprint in our manufacturing, thanks especially to the utilisation of fully renewable energy.

How can leaders create diverse teams? 

There are many ways to create diversity, and education, gender, and age are important differentiators. When setting up a team, I rely on the Gallup StrengthsFinder to assess the diversity of my team in terms of strengths and create the so-called team blend.

This allows us to quickly assess the 34 traits and classify them into four main dimensions: strategy, execution, influence, and relation.

I then make sure that my team knows the characteristics of the group and, most importantly, I select new hires based on the traits that are missing to create more diversity in the team. Currently, for example, I am focusing on increasing the execution and relation skills through new hires.

What advice would you give to aspiring leaders?

Be clear about your personal objectives, including your professional ones. This will help you to set the course of your journey. A lot of the people I ask this question cannot answer it properly.

But, if you can’t, how can you decide the next steps in terms of career and development?

I had the privilege of having clarity on my target since the beginning of my career. I have wanted to become a Plant Manager since I started working. This helped me a lot to make the right choices and make the journey I needed through different experiences in lean, materials management, and production management.

At the age of 38, I took over a 600-employee plant. At 45, I had multi-plant responsibility, which I never thought I could achieve.

Also, choose your boss - I learnt leadership from my best managers, not from books. Especially in the early stages of your career, this is an important key to your success. Nevertheless, keep your authenticity - do not try to be someone else other than yourself.

Furthermore, manage yourself with high discipline, especially for time management. You need to master this skill; you will profit from high efficiency and effective execution. You cannot manage others if you cannot manage yourself first.

Finally, know yourself - the strengths that you should further improve and will make you successful, but also the blind spots that you need to mitigate.

What advice would you offer to someone moving to Switzerland?

Switzerland offers a high quality of life and has a lot to offer. Many people who come to Switzerland never want to leave again. If you come from abroad, I suggest you live close to one of the bigger towns, as life in the country doesn’t offer a lot of entertainment.

What is your favourite motto/quote and why? 

“Make it happen” – I like me and my team to be focused on changes and improvement. I value focus, speed, and perseverance as important skills to execute successfully and to make a difference.

Thank you to Mario for speaking to Rebecca Spicer, Associate Director in our Operations recruitment division in Switzerland. 

Views and opinions contained within our Executive Interviews are those of the interviewee and not views shared by EMEA Recruitment. 

Nashaat Salman is the Director of Global Manufacturing Strategy & Quality at Hitachi in Switzerland. He started his career with ABB in 2000, where he worked for almost 20 years. He joined Hitachi in 2020.

How does your global role at Hitachi Group contribute to the overseas transformation and what sustainability challenges does your organisation face? 

Hitachi Group has been undergoing an unprecedented transformation in recent years, moving from a Japan-centric manufacturing portfolio into a global player in green and digital transition, with the aim of becoming a global leader in the social innovation business.

Portfolio transformation drastically globalised Hitachi’s business and required the group to set up global teams to create a sustainable management structure, and to enable the global rollout of diverse businesses and initiatives by working as “One Hitachi” in the various fields related to three global trends: green, digital, and connectivity.

The key to achieving Hitachi’s goal is the growth of our social innovation business, which provides solutions for social and customer challenges through co-creation with various partners by leveraging information technology and operational technology with superior and high-quality products and Lumada (Hitachi’s advanced digital solutions, services, and technologies for turning data into insights to drive digital innovation). 

Within the Manufacturing Strategy division, we work on applying these solutions - starting with our core business and production sites - so that we support testing and showcasing those innovative solutions within our core manufacturing footprint. We also put high emphasis on exploiting any possible synergies, as well as cross-sharing of expertise and technologies across our sectors and business units.

As for sustainability, Hitachi puts great emphasis on environmental challenges and the wellbeing of people. The transition to green is perhaps the greatest global shift and Hitachi is embracing this unparalleled challenge as an opportunity. Aiming to become a climate change innovator, Hitachi has developed a green strategy that comprises the two transformation pillars of “GX for CORE” and “GX for GROWTH”.

While Hitachi’s portfolio is well positioned to contribute to the realisation of a carbon-neutral society, we still have homework to do, as we have pledged to move to a 100% carbon-neutral footprint of all our manufacturing sites and facilities by 2030.

The key contribution of our manufacturing and production design is within the GX for CORE pillar. In addition to decarbonisation, energy saving, and applying eco-design for newly developed products, we are promoting sustainable recycling across our own operations. Contributing to a circular economy is a key area that we address.

What strategies do you use for developing innovative, diverse teams? 

Hitachi now has more than 300,000 talented employees around the world, with diverse languages and backgrounds, and even with different approaches to doing business, but sharing a common determination to contribute to society and to people’s happiness.

We believe that such diversity fosters an environment of innovation. We would like our teams to be enabled to appreciate such a diverse global network. I personally believe in the power of network leadership.

Our teams are encouraged to go far beyond traditional inward-looking and autocratic hierarchal management. This would also require the workforce groups that have no access to resources to manage the hierarchal barrier. They are encouraged to utilise the global network within the group to initiate collaborative action, share skills and knowledge, and bring connectedness to diverse mass under a “One Hitachi” spirit.

How will digital transformation change the roles within Manufacturing?

The digitisation of manufacturing and the adoption of automation technologies are reshaping the industry and changing the workforce, making it more competitive, efficient, and sustainable, and - most importantly - even safer. It will, of course, impact the future of job employment in terms of creating new jobs or losing others. But it is largely being anticipated - or at least hoped - that it will lead to job displacement, rather than loss.

Obviously, the biggest impact on the workforce will come from artificial intelligence and robot/humanoid areas. All in all, for an organisation to succeed in digital transformation, it requires stronger workforce engagement and adaptation to the change.

Angela Merkel once said: “Be ready in 2025 or history in 2035.” However, it is interesting to observe that - as per most recent industry surveys - while for 94% of surveyed manufacturers, Industry 4.0 (the fourth industrial revolution) was sighted as being critical to keeping operations running, most organisations (74%) are still struggling to get value from their Industry 4.0 investments. All in all, 64% of companies are still at an early stage of digital transformation.

So, we need to appreciate that this will be quite a journey for all players in the market and we have a massive opportunity ahead. Within the Hitachi Group, one of our key priorities is to enable our footprint to be in the front seats of this journey and even be ready for Industry 5.0.

We are all very excited about generative AI and the opportunities that it is bringing, but we need to be prepared to address the change responsibly. Hitachi’s approach is to promote the safe, effective use of generative AI fuelled by human will to “power good”, quoting our CEO’s vision.

Think back to the best manager you’ve ever worked for. What did you like about the person’s management style? 

It’s hard to pick a star leader that alone stands out. In fact, all the previous business leads and line managers have had some kind of positive impact, but the teams I have worked with have had the most influence.

I have been inspired by leaders and peers who empower and develop their teams, encourage them to explore, and to go and play beyond their comfort zone, while remaining resilient. That brings me back to the very early stages of my career, when an inspiring well-known quote was shared by a senior colleague of mine: “20 years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So, throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

How do you relax outside of work? 

Spending quality time with my two daughters has always been a cherished escape from the demands of everyday life. The joy of watching them grow, explore, and learn fills my heart with happiness.

However, one of the most fulfilling aspects of our time together is our shared love for music. In fact, not many of my colleagues are aware, but in my spare time, I find joy and escapism in the art of music composition and orchestration.

What advice would you give to someone starting their career in Operations and Supply Chain?

Be agile and ensure you have the soft skills to adapt to change – to quote Charles Darwin: “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”

The ability to adapt and evolve is not just a skill; it's a cornerstone of success. Supply chains are continuously reshaped by technological advancements, global shifts, and unforeseen challenges.

Stay curious and committed to lifelong learning. Life is a journey of continuous exploration and progressive development. Keep playing until you get it right.

What is the one book or podcast you would recommend to all? 

It’s difficult to pick just one, but let me recommend the latest book I read, which I received as a present from a colleague of mine: Our Iceberg is Melting by John Kotter. A complex topic like change management is told in a simple story.

Finally, what are the three challenges ahead for you as Director of Global Manufacturing Strategy & Quality?

1. To promote and practice the “One Hitachi” culture and enable safe and high-quality operations across our global footprint that maintain customer trust in the Hitachi products and systems.
2. To work with the wider Hitachi family, divisions, and functions on enabling the group to undergo the green transformation journey successfully.
3. To enable our global operations to exploit all potential synergies across the diverse spectrum of Hitachi’s industry sectors, leveraging our social innovation solutions and enable our manufacturing portfolio to stay in the front seat of the digital transformation Industry 4.0 and even be prepared for 5.0.

Thank you to Nashaat for speaking to Rebecca Spicer, Associate Director in our Operations recruitment division in Switzerland. 

Views and opinions contained within our Executive Interviews are those of the interviewee and not views shared by EMEA Recruitment.