What excites you about working for Siemens Schweiz AG

First of all, it is very motivating to work for a company with over 160 years of history and such a vast amount of inventions. Siemens is a company built on a strong fundament and we are proud to be one of the world's largest producers of energy-efficient, resource-saving technologies. Personally, I also like the international presence and the cultural mix of people you are working with.

What does your organization currently do to contribute towards the corporate social responsibility?

Our strategy within Siemens is geared towards four global megatrends – demographic change, urbanization, climate change and globalization – and their effects on society and our business. Corporate governance based on the principles of sustainability forms an integral part of what we understand by profitable and successful entrepreneurship.

This is reflected in the Siemens Environmental Portfolio, where the company is already a global leader. Our commitment to sustainable development is clearly evident in our expertise in ” green”? solutions. Independent organizations have acknowledged the extent to which we factor sustainability into everything we do. For many years, Siemens has held a leading position in both the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) and the CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project).

Within Procurement we further expect suppliers to comply with and implement their commitment to the standards and principles specified in our Code of Conduct. With respect to issues of human rights, labor standards, environmental protection and anti-corruption initiatives, the Code of Conduct for Siemens’ suppliers and third party intermediaries is essentially based on the principles of the UN Global Compact. Acceptance and implementation of the Code of Conduct is a basic requirement in order to do business with us.

As someone who has had over 16 years’ experience within the Swiss market-place, how have you found the Swiss market & working environment has changed over these years?

I believe the Swiss market place has become more efficient, more international and more agile over the years. Especially since the financial crisis, Switzerland has been challenged with currency exchange rates and the constant high productivity demand. Agility and willingness to change and adopt have become prerequisites to be successful. However, I am not sure if we have seen the full impact on the market yet. The immigration of international talents on the other hand has helped us to maintain a high living standard but it has also challenged the job market in regards to competition.

If you could go back and give your younger (graduate) self some career advice, what would it be?

I would recommend them to gain international experience at an early stage. It does not even matter whether it is a work experience or educational studies. It just provides them with a different perspective and cultural exposure. This is becoming more and more essential in a globalised world.

As your first degree was a Mechanical Engineering what would have been your second choice and why?

I always had affection for figures so Finance would be my second choice. As an entrepreneur you always need to have a good understanding of the full picture and that includes the figures. Whenever I act I always assess the financial impact or benefit of the action to assure it makes sense from an entrepreneurial point of view 

What makes you relax from working in such a pressured role?

I am addicted to sport so I like swimming, mountain biking or working out in the gym. Depending on the season I vary on my preference. Furthermore, I love photography to express creativity.  It fulfills me with pleasure to capture a moment of time in a nice photograph.  

What would you say is the most rewarding part of your role?

The most rewarding part of my role is to work with a motivated team towards a common goal and to support them developing their personal career. I further enjoy working internationally and with different cultures. Working with different cultures has truly expanded my horizon and I enjoyed spending four years working the United States. 

What do you love most about your current role?

In Procurement you interface with most functions within a company and every action always has bottom line impact. You constantly implement strategies that ensure the best possible value for money is obtained when doing the purchase.

What recruitment challenges do you face?

I am glad I have a very low churn rate right now. Good people in Supply Chain are hard to find especially since companies have realised the added value of it. I see an increasing demand in this area which makes me concerned about future shortages in the talent pool. But in general it’s a challenge to find the right balance between good technical and commercial skill sets.

What was the worst/best interview experience you ever had?

Well, I cannot really say I ever had a very bad interview experience but I have learnt to focus more on the ” individual contribution”? the candidates have performed in their previous jobs. On the other hand, I already have a lot of good interview experiences. For example, candidates that come well prepared and quickly connect the dots. They ask the right questions and get a good feel for the job.   

What advice would you give to future aspiring leaders, and why?

First of all, the only definition of a leader is someone who has followers. That already sets the tone but typically, managers manage things and leaders lead people. This is the first prerequisite beside three main things to focus on: Be a strong performer in what you do, make sure you are visible within the organisation and build up a strong network.

Who was your most admired person in your childhood and why?

Good question, I guess it was Batman or Spiderman. Two heroes with the same goal to make the world a better and safer place. 

Who is your most inspirational person in business and why?

I like Nick Hayek, the CEO of Swatch. It is inspirational to see a CEO that does not let himself be influenced by analysts and short term interests. Yes, he is for sure egocentric but always makes his decisions based on long term perspectives. We need entrepreneurs with such qualities in top companies.

If you could choose an Artistic, Musical or Sporting career, what would it be and why?

I would love to be a photographer like Herb Ritts. He was an amazing black and white photographer and whenever I look at his pictures there is so much vitality and expression in it.

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

Looking back through your established career at TNT, what would you identify as a personal highlight?

There are many highlights during my career at TNT. If I were to prioritize, I would rate the successful and sustainable turnaround and integration of the acquisition TNT did in Chile as my number one. Having said that, setting up the regional Finance function in New York and doing Mergers & Acquisitions in Shanghai rate as close second ones.

Your experience has been very International, what are the main challenges you have faced during your various assignments?

The challenges varied across the different locations and positions and included understanding different cultures, gaining trust from the people you work with (without speaking their language), establishing or improving (Finance) functions, processes and profitability, and just simply getting the job done despite being completely new to the field of expertise.

What would you say is the best piece of advice you could give someone who is just starting out in their career in Finance?

Make sure you continue to invest in yourself, through professional education, move from a head office to operating unit (or vice versa), work in different areas of Finance (if possible also outside Finance) and, of course, in different parts of the world.

What would be your advice for someone looking to make their initial move in to Industry?

If you are moving from a professional audit firm into an Internal Audit function, I would recommend to look for a company that supports development and acknowledges that audit is a step into the business and not a goal in itself.

When interviewing candidates at an earlier stage in their career what are the common mistakes you see and what advice would you give?

Sometimes candidates very much have an (external) auditor mindset and have difficulties to relate to the business and provide pragmatic solutions. 

What advice would you give to future aspiring leaders, and why?

Don't be afraid to take risks and go outside your comfort zone, as only that way you will learn your boundaries and get the most out of yourself. In addition, focus on the people you work with, as none of us is as smart as all of us.

If you could go back and give your younger self some career advice, what would it be?

To start, I am very happy with the various positions held and the opportunities TNT provided to me. If I were to do it again, I would have spent more time on learning the local language early on (or before) arrival in a new country.

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

As someone who is interested in sports in general, what can Switzerland offer?

Due to its topography, Switzerland offers a wide change of outdoor opportunities. As you may be aware, we have a lot of lakes, rivers, mountains, forests and open areas that are all easily accessible due to their proximity from our main cities and the excellent transportation system that this country offers. In addition, the seasonal weather increases the variety of options that are available to all outdoor fans. Last but not least, I haven’t heard anyone complaining about some of the amazing landscapes that are definitely worth exploring!

What advice would you give to someone looking to move here at the current time?

First of all to ensure that the company has a medium/long term plan in place to keep its presence in Switzerland. As all other countries do, we are subject to economic and political factors/decisions that may justify reconsidering the needs to set up/keep local operations. However, Switzerland has been and remains a very attractive place to do business and invest in due to its stability, safety, know-how and qualitative workforce which will always be favourable elements. I would also mention to assess if the Swiss lifestyle is something that matches the expectations of people coming from abroad – We have a very high quality of life but are quite different from our neighbour countries. Finally I would definitely recommend learning the local language which will be an asset for the rest of your life.

What is the best advice you have ever been given?

To make sure that you learn new skills or develop new ones every 6 months as part of your private and professional development and that you make a difference in your current role before moving too quickly to the next one. A career is something that should be built with patience and decisions should be taken considering the long run.

Who do you look at for sources of inspiration?

People and leaders that are able to balance their life (work life balance) and manage their time efficiently. By definition time is limited which makes it very precious. I always believed that we all beneficiate from being able to switch off from work regardless of how busy and how much responsibilities we have. With the development of technology and the endless increasing completion and pressure, we are all required to be more connected and flexible. Being able to add skills and perspective that come from our private life into our professional live is key. Similar to the previous question, this is something that will contribute to the long term success and stability.   

As someone who has lived in both the French & German speaking regions of Switzerland, what would you highlight as the main differences of the regions?

First of all the language…even if pretty much everybody speaks English in Switzerland! The mentality is also very different but this is not only dependent of the speaking region that you are in but if you live in a city or in the country side. In general, German speaking people seem to be more conservative. People’s habits are also different but this difference trends to decrease due to the fact that our main cities have a lot of expatiates. They both offer multiple job opportunities and a wide range of outdoor activities.

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

You have clearly had a long and successful career within P&G since 1999.  Why is P&G such a good place to work?

P&G is a great place to work, indeed. The first stunning experience is the quality of the people. It’s excellent! And what unites those brilliant people is their passion for winning infused by a very strong ethic and value driven business approach.

As you spend much of your time in Geneva, what do you like about Switzerland?

The people, their balanced culture and the proximity to the most magnificent landscape. I like the easy access to nature and outdoor sport in general. 

You have recently been leading the re-structuring of the Duracell business.  What were the main challenges and successes for you during this project?

Duracell today is a division of P&G, and will become a fully independent, stand-alone entity owned by Berkshire Hathaway. For me, the biggest challenge was to (re)create the F&A Team, from a small regional HQ team to an end to end Finance function leading the region. This team will have a critical complement skillset, balance technical hard core F&A skills with start-up spirit and passion to succeed with this project.

As a senior finance leader who inspires people, who do you look to for sources of inspiration?

The biggest source of inspiration for me is having a purpose, in business like in life, and putting every action in the context of this purpose. My purpose is ” improving everyone’s life”?, and my way of doing that is by selling products which perform better and truly improve people’s life. As well, by being more performing, you end up using less resources and therefore produces less waste. In my experience, it is important for each employee to feel what they are doing goes beyond business titles and a pay check at the end of the month.

What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?

Stay true to yourself. Every person is

different, and the best way to succeed is to find what is the unique thing one can add, and playing to one’s strengths.

Finally, with the Christmas period fast approaching, what are your plans for the festive period?

 I will enjoy spending the time with my family, that’s my lovely wife my great 3 year old boy and my only recently new born baby girl. Being with them will allow me to recharge my batteries and looks towards a very successful 2016 with Duracell.

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

Emerson Process Management seems to be continuing to grow and expand what makes you stand out from your competitors?

I think we have had a good run until a year ago. In all fairness, however, with the oil price being low this year we – like our competitors- are now having to structure and redirect our business towards industries that use oil and gas as their feedstock. Our recent order intake numbers make us optimistic that we are going in the right direction .As you alluded to in your initial question we have done really well.

What do you enjoy about living and working in Switzerland?

It is a very stable environment in a central European location and an excellent infrastructure. Tax incentives have always been a factor in the past. And quality of life is very good here.

As someone who has about ten years of experience working in the Swiss market-place, how have you found the Swiss market & working environment to have changed over these years?

Economically things have changed in the last couple of years: there is more pressure for transparency in banking and taxation. Last year’s referendum on immigration will inevitably have a future impact on the issue of work permits. Finally the Swiss franc has recently strengthened. These things all put pressure on the country and companies and serious challenges ahead.

What are the biggest challenges currently facing the business?

No one can tell where the oil price will go, but if you watch the news the supply of oil and gas is high at the moment and we will stay in this low oil price environment for a while so we have to explore other sectors. We have benefitted from the expanding Chinese economy, so the downturn in the Chinese economy has affected our business. We will have to see how we reposition in China and the export from our European countries into China. It’s a portion of our business but not large enough to have a dramatic effect. Matters in Russia we will also have to monitor.

Have the ongoing problems in Greece and its impact on the Eurozone had any impact on Emerson?

The Greek market is comparatively small. However, the Greek crisis has had a detrimental impact on the Euro.

What attracted you to join Emerson and what has kept you engaged about working here?

I joined when a segment of my previous company was acquired by Emerson.  Once here I began to appreciate the company culture and its values, which match my own in many ways. It is a global company with a vast number of career opportunities, assuming you have the flexibility and personal circumstances that allow you to pursue positions abroad.

What do you see as the core values of Emerson?

Drive for results, continuous improvement and problem solving, reliability and commitment, honesty, humility and integrity. We don’t take short cuts and we work hard.

If you could go back and give your younger (graduate) self some career advice, what would it be?

My oldest daughter just finished her International Baccalaureate and we are having lots of discussions right now.  I recommend taking time whilst you are young to explore what you enjoy doing; your chances of success are significantly higher if you really like what you are doing. Try new things; have different experiences and try different occupations. Travel is invaluable to get a sense of the vast variety the world has to offer; see the world before getting embedded in your career. Do not be naïve in thinking you can plan or predict anything beyond the next 5 to 10 years.  It is likely that you will retire in a quite different place than where you started your career and that in itself is not a bad thing.

What are your personal motivators?

Making the company better every day; helping the team to develop their competitive edge; using my common sense; decision making as if it were my own company; continually learning; helping to nurture younger talent.

How did you plan out your career development path?

Step by step, I had no long term plan. I was open minded and self-motivated and grabbed every opportunity that arose.

How do you relax outside work?

Honestly, I do struggle to switch off from work at times. I am trying at the moment to get my focus back on the main things and don’t get distracted by the noise. I have worked out with my all my direct reports to work a system for when I am on holiday to prevent flooding my emails and how to reduce e-mail traffic in general. It is one thing to say, I am not going to look at my emails, but at the same time nobody wants to get back from holiday and have a 1000+ emails. When I do switch off eventually, I enjoy spending time with my family, sports (hiking and skiing), reading, wining and dining.

What would you say is the most rewarding part of your role?

Having a hand in the development of future leaders, coaching, inspiring and mentoring people.                                                        

Looking back through your career, what would you identify as a personal highlight?

My time in China shaped me the most, both in work and private life.  It was a real adventure. There were several particularly memorable leaders who had a great influence on me.

What was the worst / best interview experience you have had?

Best: when you can have lively discussions on different business scenarios early on in an interview.

Worst: when a candidate answers with a generic statement indicating that they have not had hands-on experience.

How would you advise a jobseeker to approach the current market?

Do your research! Spend as long as time allows for detailed research.  Ensure that you make you application in the appropriate manner for that particular company. Showing an edge is better than trying to please everyone. Have a niche.

What advice would you give to future aspiring leaders, and why?

Be passionate, true and use your common sense. Take a balanced view; keep your sense of humour and moral integrity. Make a difference and try to maintain an entrepreneurial stance, even in a large corporation.

Which person do you admire in business and why?

Steve Jobs for his uncompromising vision and execution; I am not sure I would adopt his leadership style however!  There are also a number of CEOs, of small and medium size companies, for their personal vision and perseverance surviving in niche markets through innovation and speed. Politically I admired the German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, in my opinion, one of the best leaders Germany ever had.  It is fascinating and humbling to read his views and learn the extent of his knowledge.

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

What do you love about Switzerland and why?

As a native Swiss, this is a wonderful question to answer. But I think the wonders of Switzerland are obvious to anyone who lives and works here. In business, I'd call out Switzerland's capacity for innovation, high quality products, and excellent education and management skills. Personally, I love skiing and mountain biking - we have breathtaking mountains and views.

What do you think are the major challenges that lie ahead for Switzerland's growth?

I do not intend to give the Federal government or its institutions advice on the economy, but I can share some of Logitech's recipe for growth. Our co-founder, Daniel Borel, says that "success is never final". He's so right. The day you succeed at something, you should move towards your next success. Logitech designs dozens of products every year in an industry full of competitors, many of whom are inspired by our innovation and follow quickly after. That means we can never be satisfied with our success. We need to move fast and innovate. Last fiscal year we grew three new businesses into our portfolio - mobile speakers, video collaboration products for small and medium sized businesses, and accessories for tablet computers. They contributed around $380 million dollars to our sales. This is a great example of the need to move fast, innovate and keep moving. Whatever the future for Switzerland's growth, I'm convinced we'll succeed.

How does your organization stand out from the market and your competitors?

I've already described Logitech's ability to move fast and innovate. That sounds easy, but for a global organisation with around 7000 employees, it's a daily challenge. We have a "small company" culture at Logitech to help keep us hungry and lean, like a start-up. As a start-up you have nothing to lose - decisions get made and you move fast. That's what we aim for, no matter how big we grow. Big companies can all too easily be slowed down by bureaucracy, hierarchy and the complacency of size. We work to being the same speed into our innovation machine - prototyping ideas and iterations of our products very rapidly in order to fail, learn and perfect them as quickly as possible. We have also recently integrated a culture of design into our product innovation machine, ensuring our product experiences reflect art as well as science.

What are your growth plans?

Over the past two years we've worked hard on our profitability - it has tripled over that time period. We're now accelerating our growth transformation. For the current fiscal year, our outlook is to achieve 7% growth in our retail business in constant currency.

What challenges await your business and how will you overcome them?

Like every business, we face innumerable challenges. The PC and iPad markets are currently in decline, the strong dollar creates headwinds for our sales. Nevertheless, we never expect to be doing business without challenges and believe our strategy to be the right one.

What excites you about working for Logitech?

I've touched upon the reasons already - small company culture, the speed of the business... It's a wonderfully fast and inspiring culture built on the back of a great team of people.

If you could give your younger self career advice, what would it be?

Keep on learning - the world is changing so fast, you have to keep looking at it with a new pair of eyes.

What do you feel makes an effective sparring partner?

Someone once said that strategy without numbers is poetry. Said differently, strategy without numbers is just words. The point is that great strategies yield great numbers, and that really is what I love in my job. In partnership with my business leads, we frame strategies that yield growth, margin and cash. To succeed you need to convert data into insights, and insights into actions and lead organizations to ultimately impact positively our business. Being in finance, numbers are definitely a form of ” professional poetry”? but above all leadership and impact is what counts.

What are your personal motivators?

To have fun a work - it's a large part of your life. I love that I don't know what a day will be made of. I also admit to specifically enjoying working for Logitech. There's something new every day and I work with people who truly believe they can change the world if they put their mind to it.

When did you decide to explore a career in this area and why?

I better not admit that it was as early as 13 years old. Did I say that out loud?

How did you plan out your career path?

My first big job was with P&G - probably one of the best leadership ” academies”?. On-the-job experience and career progression there is a career plan in itself. That said, at the heart of a career, will always be a vision to achieve, a passion to pursue ... and the ability to identify the right opportunities.

What recruitment challenged do you face?

The idea some people have of Logitech is a Logitech from the traditional world of the PC. That's how we built our business. For the past two or three years, we've been reinventing ourselves. Our people, culture, product lines, leadership and brand are all very different, keeping the best of who we've always been. Every new candidate needs to be brought up to speed on this.

What attributes do you look for when choosing a recruitment partner?

The most important element in my opinion is a partner who takes the time to understand the company and role in order to identify the right profiles. EMEA Recruitment did just this - it took the necessary time rather than rushing in.

What advice would you give to future aspiring leaders or someone aspiring to be where you are now?

Branson is great, but there is not necessarily a need to be Branson to inspire. There are lots of talented people around you. If you learn from and emulate the best of them you're already on a good path. Also, it's important to learn that what you learn is often not what actually happens!

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