Digital transformation. It’s a huge opportunity. But it’s also a topic that many of our employees fear. «Oh, this will overwhelm me. It will eliminate my job.» Over the past four years, I’ve especially embedded this deeply in our cultural journey. Engaging people and showing them that digital transformation has been part of our lives for decades. This often goes unnoticed. Telex, landline phones — you still remember those. Today, hardly anyone uses a landline anymore. Then came fax and email. Documents moved from paper folders to computers.

And today, we’re talking about AI.

I take a somewhat more relaxed view. I was in El Salvador shortly after the civil war ended. In 2000, I was in Russia, where the 1998 financial crisis left clear marks and meant a major upheaval. I’ve just returned from Brazil after 13 years and was actively involved in Argentina. I’ve experienced disruptive political changes and have learned to cope with them and maintain a certain distance.

We tend to always see the negative first. Those tariffs from Trump. An SRF reporter asked me: «Are you in shock?» I wasn’t. I dealt with it early on. Trump had announced it. I said early that it would be regulated. The fact is: it was first 31%. Then Trump suspended them. After that, it was 10% and later 50%. No one knows. We quickly took internal countermeasures and will adapt to the new reality.

That was a lesson in approaching things quite relaxed and waiting to see what happens. I think Brazil was a tough school.

Of course I was able to contribute. In 2012, we acquired the family-owned company Neodent, which was the third-largest player in the Brazilian implant market with less than 30% share. Due to my Latin America experience and language skills, I was well suited for the role. However, it turned out that the company was actually a turnaround candidate and appeared healthier externally than it really was. There was a risk of impairment of the balance sheet values.

The company was dressed up for the sale. But after six months of analysis, I came to the conclusion that Neodent had the potential to become an international player.

Growth resumed in 2014. By November 2024, when I left, the market share in Brazil was well over 60%, and in terms of volume, Neodent had the largest implant production in the world.

I listen. But I’m also very transparent. I ask for arguments, contribute my own, and am always open to robust dialogue. 

What doesn’t work at all for me are statements like: «That won’t work», «We’ve always done it this way» or «That’s difficult.» If no arguments follow, I’m also someone who sometimes makes top-down decisions.

Basically, for me it’s about dialogue, discussion, and trying to reach common ground. But ultimately, I’m the one who makes the decision and bears the responsibility.

It starts with an open office door. Anyone can come in. Not just my direct team. Anyone can come, anyone can talk to me. I’m also often on the move within the company, present and in close exchange with people.

Some interesting ideas come up that way. Then we schedule a separate meeting and delve deeper into them.

Employees also come with questions, for example about my monthly video messages. That way, they are always well informed about what is happening and being decided in the executive floor on the 8th floor. That raises questions. This helps me sense whether the strategy is being understood.

This is complemented by the exchange through my communications department and, of course, social media with a focus on LinkedIn. This cultural communication apparatus has developed over years. And finally, I also produce a weekly podcast for radio stations in Brazil.