Interview with Werner Geissler
Our alumnus Werner Geissler studied Business Administration at the Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences at the University of Cologne, graduating in 1979. He then embarked on an international management career at Procter & Gamble, where he worked for almost 36 years. Following initial roles in marketing and brand management, he assumed increasingly global leadership responsibilities, including positions as Marketing Director for Germany and the Netherlands, General Manager of the newly created cosmetics and perfumery division, and as Vice President of Luxury Perfumes for the Western Hemisphere, based in Santa Monica. Subsequently, he served as Vice President of the Laundry, Cleaning and Paper Products division in Germany, and from 1998 as head of business in Turkey, the Caucasus and Central Asia, based in Istanbul. In 2001 he became President of P&G North-East Asia, based in Kobe, Japan. From 2004, he served as Group President for Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, based in Geneva. From 2007 to 2015, Werner Geissler was part of Procter & Gamble’s senior management team in Cincinnati, serving as Vice Chairman of Global Operations and taking on global responsibility. Since leaving the company in 2015, Werner Geissler has remained active on the international stage, serving as an Operating Partner at the private equity fund Advent International and as member of the supervisory boards of global companies such as Philip Morris International and Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. In our alumni interview, we talked with him about the skills he believes are crucial for a global career today, why he has always maintained contact with academia throughout his career, and why he is now supporting a student of the WiSo Faculty with a Deutschlandstipendium (German Scholarship Programme).
Ambition to give your best, an entrepreneurial spirit, a willingness to take risks, the ability to think outside the box within a company and to adapt to different cultures and succeed wihin them. These are the key factors that determine success or failure in global leadership roles.
Dear Mr. Geissler, you graduated from the University of Cologne in 1979. Why did you choose to study at the WiSo Faculty back then? And what memories or formative experiences do you still associate with your time in Cologne?
I’d always wanted to become a general manager, and studying business administration seemed to me to be the best preparation and the best career stepping stone for that role. The Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences at the University of Cologne had an excellent reputation back then, just as it does today. So it made sense to study there.
I have wonderful memories of that time. I came from a small village in the Westerwald, so Cologne was a cosmopolitan city – at least in relative terms. My time at the University of Cologne was a formative experience for me, as you had to decide for yourself which lectures to enrol in and actually attend. I spent a great deal of time working as a student assistant at BIFOA, the Institute of Business Administration for Organisation and Automation, because I was fascinated by the subject and because I needed the income. The research field there was cutting-edge and completely new in Germany. Ultimately, BIFOA’s research into business information systems led to applications such as SAP. From my experience, anything is possible at university if you have the right ambition–you just really have to want it and take control of your own destiny!
You embarked on an international management career at Procter & Gamble immediately after graduating. Until your departure in 2015, you were part of the senior management team as Vice Chairman of Global Operations, holding global responsibility for the group’s operational activities. You remained with the company for almost 36 years in total. What motivated you to pursue a decades-long career with the same company?
Procter & Gamble is an outstanding company with a strong corporate culture based largely on the principle of ‘promoting from within’. This involves recruiting the best graduates, investing heavily in their technical and leadership skill development, and creating a motivating environment that minimises unwanted staff turnover. The fact that you can only be promoted if you have raised your own successor creates a strong incentive to look after your subordinates and colleagues.
Personally, I was fortunate enough to be offered a wide range of career opportunities within the company. These were based either on entering new business segments, such as cosmetics and perfumes, or new regions, such as Central Asia and Africa. I worked with top-class people everywhere I went, so I was constantly challenged intellectually. For me, working at Procter was like playing in the Champions League!
From my experience, anything is possible at university if you have the right ambition–you just really have to want it and take control of your own destiny!
Even today, many young graduates from the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences aspire to a career in international management. What skills have helped you develop within a large international corporation and take on new challenges? And in your view, what skills and mindset are crucial for successful global leadership today?
In brief, I would list the following skills and characteristics as being key to success in global leadership roles: ambition to give your best, an entrepreneurial spirit, a willingness to take risks, the ability to think outside the box within a company and to adapt to different cultures and succeed wihin them. These are the key factors that determine success or failure in global leadership roles. While networking is important, these more fundamental skills and qualities are far more crucial at least for long-term and sustainable personal success.
Incidentally, I have always maintained links with the academic world, ensuring I have access to the latest management and leadership know how and expertise. For instance, I served on the Supervisory Board of IMD in Lausanne, one of the world’s leading management schools, for over ten years. I was also a visiting professor at the China Executive Leadership Academy in Pudong, Shanghai, for a while.
In my view, the key is to consider an international assignment not primarily as a stepping stone for one’s career, but as an opportunity to contribute to the company’s success in a new and often highly challenging environment, while at the same time helping local staff develop and enhance their skills. If this is done effectively, everyone works together to achieve excellent results, leading to career advancement.
We have moved internationally around ten times, which meant that our two daughters had to adapt to ten new schools and classmates, many with completely different backgrounds, while my wife had to build a new social network ten times over.
An important factor that needs to be mentioned here is the support I received from my family. We have moved internationally around ten times, which meant that our two daughters had to adapt to ten new schools and classmates, many with completely different backgrounds, while my wife had to build a new social network ten times over. Despite the different cultures, such as Turkish, Japanese, Swiss and American, this has always gone more or less smoothly, and has thus enabled me to focus very strongly on my new roles within the company.
Having pursued a career in operational management, you have taken on roles on supervisory boards and in the private equity sector. In this respect, you still have a good understanding of modern business practices. To what extent do the entry-level roles and career development opportunities at a global company differ between the late 1970s and today?
Today, everything is much more international and open-minded. Many students have studied or completed internships abroad, which make them better prepared to work and succeed internationally. Social media facilitates connections and exchanges with other people on a global scale. Unlike me, most graduates speak two or three languages fluently. I studied Latin and Greek at school, and then had to learn English the hard way at university and in the workplace.
I would also argue that companies today are generally better placed to design and offer international career paths. In my day, Procter & Gamble was something of an exception or rather a pioneer in this regard.
Two key factors have also changed compared to 25 or 30 years ago. Firstly, dual-career constellations are far more common these days, which can sometimes make balancing all the relevant priorities more difficult. It was easier for us because my wife had also worked at Procter & Gamble and could take on ‘location-free jobs’ at the start of our round-the-world trip. Secondly, financial incentives for expats have been scaled back for cost reasons, particularly for positions up to middle management. Unfortunately, this means that interesting assignments abroad are sometimes turned down, even by outstanding candidates.
I owe so much to the University of Cologne in terms of my personal development and professional success that a Deutschlandstipendium is merely a modest way of giving something back.
In addition, you are currently involved with the University of Cologne supporting a student from the WiSo Faculty with a Deutschlandstipendium (Germany Scholarship), for example providing him with financial assistance but also as a mentor. What prompted you to give back something to your alma mater in this way, and how did this come about?
I came across this opportunity while browsing the university website and was immediately impressed by the project. I decided on the spot to make a financial contribution. I owe so much to the University of Cologne in terms of my personal development and professional success that a Deutschlandstipendium is merely a modest way of giving something back. At the same time, it provides significant financial relief to the scholarship holder.
Before we finish, could you please complete the following sentence: When I think back to my time as a student in Cologne, I remember...
… the almost boundless freedom I enjoyed during those exciting years between leaving school and starting work. The career dreams I did not yet know whether or how they might come true. The many interesting discussions with professors and lecturers, and, last but not least, the many glasses of Kölsch drunk with fellow students in the pubs around the university.
Is there anything else would you like to share with our current students? Do you have three tips for studying?
1. Dreaming of the opportunities that a successful degree opens up. 2. Focusing on what is needed to successfully complete your degree. ‘Carpe diem’ is a fitting motto here. 3. Realising that there are other interesting things in life besides your studies. ‘Non scholae sed vitae discimus’ applies to university life too.
Dear Mr. Geissler, thank you very much for your time and for this interview!
Questions by Pascal Tambornino
About the Deutschlandstipendium
The Deutschlandstipendium is a nationwide scholarship programme that supports students who show promise of rxcellence in their studies and careers. Scholarship holders receive 300 euros per month over a period of one year, half of which is provided by the German government and the other half by private sponsors such as companies, foundations or private individuals. In addition to financial support, sponsors and scholarship holders also benefit from a close dialogue. Since 2009, around 4,500 scholarships at the University of Cologne have been funded with 16.2 million euros.
Would you like to get involved with the Deutschlandstipendium and support students from the WiSo Faculty or the University of Cologne? Find out more about the possibilities here. There are also many other ways in which you can give something back to your alma mater.