Tobias Maier, Regional CEO in the Middle East and Africa for DHL Forwarding, speaks to Finance Middle East for the cover of the February edition.
You made the transition from Regional CFO to Regional CEO, what is familiar and what is new?
Given I worked for ten years as CFO of the region, there is a lot of familiarity; I know the team, I know the customers, I know the countries, and I know a lot of the things very well.
Transitioning from the CFO into the CEO role, I think there is a lot of focus on myself now.
Everyone wants to know “what is the plan” which came very, very fast. From the minute my position became public, everybody expected me to have a comprehensive plan for what will be next.
Other than that, being the CFO in the same environment as the CEO requires a transition period where I need to let go of certain things and focus more on what is more important.
As the CEO, this will be accelerating the growth of our business.
Could you talk more about those things you have let go?
Just standard routines, all the financial reports, all the visibility, and just quickly double checking what is happening here and there.
I think the level of detail and interest is something I need to leave to my new CFO and step back whilst spending more time with customers, with the other functions, products, and sales functions to really engage with the customers to create the platform for the growth.
What makes a successful CFO?
When I was CFO, I always said that half my job is having the right team in place.
We operate across 27 countries, which is quite a lot, so it is really important to have a strong team to support you very effectively.
I think one thing which I did all the time is using the finance function to be very curious. We had all the information in finance and transparency; I could therefore put my nose into each and every aspect of the business.
I could challenge all the colleagues and understand what is driving each of different departments, understanding what is driving the Profit and Loss (PnL) of the business. I always felt that I had a duty but also privilege, and freedom to get into every detail of the company which helped me transition.
Finally, I was always engaged with the business side and the engaging of the customers. I took ownership for certain accounts which helped me to get a lot of credibility across the organisation, so not just commenting about the business results but taking ownership for what’s driving the company.
That was a big support for reaching where I am today.
How do you balance the short-term strategy with the long-term financials?
It’s as usual, it’s like in sports, if you don’t decide the next quarter, month, or next year you will be trouble.
It is about finding the right balance and support; I think a lot of the things we have done is getting the right support from our headquarters in Germany to get funding for investments which then create the platform for the growth later on.
To have the credibility, you need to deliver on the promises in the short term. If your short-term performance is not good, you will struggle to get the funding for your long-term plans.
Finally, what is your mission as Regional CEO of the Middle East and Africa?
I think it is a super amazing region roughly 2B people. Our purpose is connecting people and improving lives.
I hope we will further benefit from the growth we see, especially in the Middle East at the moment, but also in Africa which is approximately 1.5B future consumers.
Giving all these 2B people access to global trade in a cost-efficient way will transform this region, bring a lot of prosperity to the region and will actually make the world a better place.
Read the full interview with Tobias Maier for February.
