Christoph Haeusler joined Refresco in 2021 as Chief Manufacturing Officer. Christoph is an experienced Supply Chain & Manufacturing executive with an international track record. He has held several senior executive supply chain roles at Reckitt Benckiser since 2007, most recently as Member of the Executive Committee for the Hygiene Business leading the End-to-End Supply. He started his career at Procter & Gamble, of which 7 years in the beverages business, and is a graduate from the Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany.
Listen to the full discussion here:
Connect with the Guest:
Christoph Haeusler: LinkedIn
Some of the highlights from the podcast:
- Career inflection points that got Christoph into supply chain
- How to integrate M&As from the supply chain lens
- A magic wand for supply chain improvement
- Culture Assessment in Refresco
- Hiring traits – soft skills and hard skills
- Advice for success in the supply chain
Show notes:
- [1:08] How did you end up in the supply chain and what were some of the inflection points when you look back on one or two moments in your career, which really made a difference for you?
- [2:16] When I did my first internship in a very big FMCG European-based company, I enjoyed connecting with marketing, this constant change, this constant innovation, and this constant need from the supply chain to respond. That was the first big one that I said, I want to work in FMCG, if I call the first one.
- [2:50] When you look back, what were some of the moments perhaps AHA moments in your career that made you and shaped you into who you are today?
- [3:02] So I was very fortunate in hindsight to have joined beverages in Procter and Gamble in 1995.
- [04:35] What would be one or two projects that you’re most proud of in the period that you’ve been with the company specifically in the more recent past?
- [4:44] One thing I’m very pleased with, and one which I’m particularly proud of is that our strategy has not changed for more than a decade. The second one is that the company is growing very fast. There’s a lot of pride in the company and I feel that we are getting stronger and stronger and becoming aware of what we’ve delivered.
- [6:21] What are your primary focus areas for the next 12 to 24 months, and what are the main challenges you foresee you will have to get it?
- [9:14] I wanted to ask if you had that magic wand right inside the Refresco, where or what is that link that would make the most difference throughout your end-to-end supply chain and that would improve the most, your productivity or your efficiency?
- [10:21] I don’t believe that there’s a magic wand around globally, I think the most important thing always is that you have your key leaders and your key position.
- [13:06] From your perspective, where would you look from this M&A lens supply chain?
- [13:11] I think first of all, it’s very important that we take ourselves and operations not too seriously, but equally also being aware that we have a significant contribution.
- [16:18] How do you do culture assessment in Refresco? Is there a way in which you do this more objectively?
- [17:44] What I love about our company is it’s not about how you say it, it’s about that you make sure that your troops are supported, engaged, inspired, and they do deliver your numbers. And every place is a bit different and you’re completely empowered.
- [18:22] When you hire regardless, irrespective of role. Are there certain soft skills that you look for or characteristic traits and values that you try to spot?
- [21:35] This time from a hard skills perspective or functional skills, what would you tell them? So if you wanted them to have a super successful career in the realm of supply chain, what would you tell them to study, as of today?
- [26:36] It’s very important that you’re customizing and you’re being sharp, and what is relevant for your leadership team. But I strongly believe it’s not about that you are getting the buy-in only because that would assume that you know it all. I think it’s also about being still very open to connecting the sharpness of your peers because someone who is not part of your own hemisphere sometimes has an additional stint.
- [27:47] Our job is not to shine in the first place. Our job is to win with our commercial colleagues with the customer.
Quotes from the Episode:
About the Host:
The host, Radu Palamariu is the co-author of “From Source to Sold – Stories of Leadership in Supply Chain”. He has been named one of the top 3 Global Supply Chain Influencers on LinkedIn and was featured in Forbes, Bloomberg, WEF, Bangkok Post, and MIT Supply Chain Talent magazine. Radu invites executives to share stories and perspectives around technology, logistics, e-commerce, supply chain, and manufacturing, and their views on how the future will look.
Alcott Global connects and upgrades the supply chain ecosystem by finding the right talent through executive search, developing talent through learning solutions, and meeting supply chain technology needs through a comprehensive crunch base marketplace.
The supply chain executive search has been our focus since the very beginning, offering recruitment services for top-tier supply chain roles at every level of the end-to-end supply chain: plan, source / procure, make, and deliver. Our consultants have years of experience in placing top talent, in North America, LATAM, Europe, the Middle East & Africa, and APAC, and besides speed, one of our biggest strengths is our network within the supply chain industry, and we capitalize on it to find the best solutions.
Through the years, we have grown as an organization and our offerings with it. One of our initiatives, the learning solutions- training and supply chain academy, is focused on transforming leadership- self-leadership, executive presence, influence capital, and business acumen. Through Supplify, we aim to match corporations with the top technology companies to solve their supply chain and logistics challenges with a focus on innovation and digital transformation.
We are in constant touch with the leaders in supply chain, inviting them to inspire the supply chain professionals in thought-provoking podcast episodes and events, and showcasing what is possible at the yearly Leaders in Supply Chain Awards.
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