Hello everybody. Some of You certainly were already quite curious about my today`s post because of the advance notice which I had published in linkedin about it last night. Don`t worry. You can trust me doubtlessly and I will tell You right now all about this great professional and close collaborator Marco Santos, HR & Special Projects Director @ Vulkan do Brasil.
In September 2014, on the first day of my freshly started career as President of Vulkan do Brasil at it`s factory in Itatiba in the beautiful interior of the brazilian state of Sao Paulo, I at first held a meeting with the managers of the different departments of our company. My main objective was, to introduce myself and to share some of my own intentions and objectives, upon which I had previously agreed with the owners of our company when they had hired me shortly before. But I also wanted to get a first smell of who all these ladies and gentlemen were and how they received me and responded to my first presentation of myself and my initial ideas.
Once this opening meeting accomplished, I had a first walk and deep look, guided by the operations manager, into all areas of the company and of the factory. After my first lunch in one of the restaurants in the quite close to our factory located Itatiba Mall, I started to hold short personal interviews with each of my new employees, who had participated in our management meeting in the morning. My intention was, to know each person on an eye-to-eye basis personally and to gain some first detailed impressions, of who these people were and how we coincidated. These meetings were very interesting and gave me already a strong feeling, with whom I was dealing there and how much comfortable I felt initially with each of the managers.
So far this was almost a standard procedure, which I had developped and practiced already in the several similiar ocasions during the past 15 years at the different companies in different countries and on different continents, when I had taken over new responsability as General Manager there. But when it comes to human beeings and personal direct contact with them, all routine flies away and the individual feelings, sensations and experiences take over. Each person is unique and has an individual history and personality and must be dealt with and treated in a fair and impartial manner.
When talking to Marco for the first time, he mentioned to me, that he had already been working at Vulkan do Brasil in the HR department since 18 years. This shocked me terribly. How could it be, that such a intelligent and still young man could have spend eighteen long years of his live and professional career in one and the same department at one and the same company? An absolute horror for me. No chance, for me to imagine and accept this. This guy “died” immediately in my eyes and I told Marco openly, that I think he should use this opportunity, to look for a completely new personal and professional development at an other company outside Itatiba, in order to give his life and career new impulses and open space for his urgently needed further development and new career. But I told him also, that although I would not force this immediately, I definitely needed somebody new, less predetermined by the history of our company especially in the HR function, because HR for me always was a key function for the restructuring and development projects, which I had carried out in different companies at different places in the world until then. Actually I had already had a good candidate for this position on hand, with whom I had worked cosely and thrustfully together in one of my former companies. I must admit, that I always love, to have “plans B”, “plans C” and “plans D” in the pocket for all ocacions, which tend to occur during normal private and professional live and where quick solutions are worth one`s weight in gold.
Here a collage of pictures of Marco and me together during joint activities 2014-2019:
On the picture above in the middle Marco and I met my pre-predecessor, Mr. Bönninger, who had been the President of Vulkan do Brasil during 25 successful years and who clearly merits the title of honor as “father” of our huge Brazilian industrial know how and market success. On the foto in the lower right corner, Marco and I are together with my great boss Sven Oelert, CEO of the Vulkan Group. And besides myself on the picture in the middle on the bottom is my lovely wife Selma. (:-
This was for sure really hard stuff for Marco and I doubt, that he had expected such direct strong comments during his first interview with his new boss. But he did not implode nor explode and during the very frequent meetings which Marco and I had from then on during my first weeks at Vulkan do Brasil`s factory in Itatiba, my impression of him, his openness, his abilities and his capabilities changed dramatically and quite soon a certain good “chemistry” and great understanding of each other started to appear between us. I became more and more impressed by Marco`s talent, to help me as a close colaborator to formulate, express and realise my ideas and projects within our company. Besides this, he showed a high experience, capacity and creativity when I asked him, to help me prepare concepts and presentations for our team and also for our my reporting to our HQ in Germany.
Furthermore I discovered soon, that – due to his extremely long history and experience in HR in our company – Marco had huge know how about all kinds of past and present employees, internal histories and all kinds of general information about our company. Thus Marco became quickly a firmly confirmed member of the new management team, which I set up during my first 6 weeks at Vulkan do Brasil as a mixture of already existing fantastic, highly experienced and motivated employees and totally new people with great experience and also of my personal trust, which I invited from other companies, where I had worked as General Manager in the past. By the way – I am terribly proud to be able to tell You, that this “dream team” never has changed since October 2014. This makes me enormously proud and thankful, because in hardly any other Brazilian company You will find such continuity on top management level during this extremely tense and challenging period in our country, where everything and everybody in the companies, in economy and politics changed several times.
Because of the truly deplorable bad state of our company at that time and face to the undoubtedly approaching deep new economical and political crisis in our country – in fact Brazil suffered the deepest recession since long during the years 2014-2016 – I decided, to kick-off immediately a massive restructuring program at Vulkan do Brasil including complete reorganisation, strong headcount reduction, consolidation of the at that time in total three different sites and the launch of several simultaneous lean projects in the operations areas. A good program for somebody, who has just arrived freshly at the company but I had always followed the principle “attack is the best defence” until then in my life and – due to my large previous successful experience with such situations – I had not the least fear or doubts about it`s sence and future success.
Although had I invited Marco to participate in all the different projects, which I kicked-off at Vulkan do Brasil one after the other, without asking him, whether he already felt experienced with such subjects, but he never expressed rejection and he also never showed real difficulties to accompany actively all these projects. In fact Marco became quite quickly one of my “right hands” and the “left half of my brain” in the sence, that we both developped a wonderful and highly productive colaboration and comradship during the first two years since my arrival at our company. His success became my success and vice versa. And Marco became also somehow one of my several “body guards” in our management team, because he gives me openly and without any hesitation always feedback, when I am doing something wrongly and he detects it. That`s like a life insurance. Top managers need this. But many of them unfortunately don`t reckognize the importance of this and wonder, why they fail some day terribly and ask then, why nobody has warned them before.
Due to Marco`s full involvement and active participation in all the strategical company and business delelopment projects (restructuring, lean operations, Latin America sales expansion, foundation of our DPPA department (Development of Products, Processes and Applications), “Vulkan Southern Hemisphere Initiative”, “Brain” Group, “Factory of the Future”…..) which we one after the other have been inventing and putting into practice, I have changed his functional titel three years ago from “HR Director” to “HR & Special Projects Director”, which describes much better his today`s role and function within our wonderful management team and company.
Marco has accompanied me and all our other management team members during all our different projects and initiatives launched during the last five years to many far away places allover Latin America, Australia and Africa and – thank God – there is no end in sight for the continuation of this. Our heads are full with new ideas and projects and I am sure, that our excelent, highly productive and successful colaboration will continue for many more years.
As music recommendation (for real Rock fans only !) the one and only right choice had to be the live recording (at the famous “Rock in Rio” concert @ Copacabana beach in the “Marvellous City”) of Iron Maiden`s”Blood brothers”, which I know, Marco also likes a lot:
I have told this beautiful story especially for my younger readers, who often ask me for advice, how to plan and perform a successful professional career. I am sure, that this will answer many of Your questions and hopefully inspire You for preparing Your own future careers.
Thanks to all other readers for having accompanied once more my daily post in this blog. See You here again tomorrow. Have a great, happy and successful day !
7 Responses
Congratulations Klaus the work you did, was exactly to identify the people to together execute the strategic plan of the company, instead of dismissing your management team, you identified and with your experience and the teams implemented the objectives and achieved the results. In fact, this and the role of the leader, won respect, created a pleasant environment and the principal recognized his employees.
if you've seen the movie Duel of Titans, that's exactly what you did with your team.
Thank you very much Klaus for your kind words and recognition. In all my life and career I have been grateful to people who gave me opportunities and trusted on my work.
I remember very well the day you came first time to the company and the following meetings and conversations – full transparency, plans, strategy.
I usually say that you live and think in a different frequency (like a radio waves) and how fast you get that, faster you can develop and move forward… I mean: in projects, tasks I guess that is the reason we are so sucessfull in all the projects and ideas We have been involved together.
I realy appretiate all the learning and experiencie that I have taken from you working side by side – and also with my coleagues in the Mgt team, for real.
At the same way I try to develop a strong team and trustworthy, delegating and supporting ("The succes is father of the success"). It is like a chain and I like that! The difference is I prefer hire corinthianos, kkk.
There is a important thermometer to certify the succes of this 'partinership': The company We recreated and running in Itatiba/SP, Brazil under your leadership. A responsible, cooperative, profitable, trustable, etic, with a wonderful atmosphere and great place to work.
Thanks Kaus,
For more projects… Marco Santos
Thank You very much for these very beautiful compliments. I fully agree with my great idol Jürgen Klopp, who just lead the FC Liverpool to it`s great triumph: "If we win, that`s because of my team – if we loose, that`s because of me". We`re winners !
Thanks, Marco. Our fight and fun and success will continue for much longer! Count on me the same as I count on all You "dream management team" members of our wonderful company Vulkan do Brasil !
Congratulations Mr. Klaus and Marco, for this beautiful history and carreers.
Thanks, my unknown reader and friend, for the beautiful reckognition. Like Don Quixote when he answered "straight ahead"to Sancho Panza`s question "where do we go?" Hope to hear again comments from You upon my future posts. This blog belongs to us, my friend !
Sorry, I forgot to sign rsrsrs
Édio C. Papik