Nestlé has grown from a small, village
operation into the largest food company in the world - by far. But no period of
its development has been more spectacular than during the last decade and a
half under the visionary leadership of Chairman Helmut Maucher. He puts down
his staggering success to a happy and secure childhood in a small village in
southwestern Bavaria, claiming that he remains…
A COUNTRY LAD AT HEART
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Have a think. What have you eaten or drunk so
far today? Because there is a fair old chance that knowingly or unknowingly you
will already have put money into the coffers of Nestlé. Did you start the day
off with a cup of Nescafé before dashing off to the airport? Did you have
a break and buy a Kit Kat in the terminal building prior to departure?
Are you sipping a glass of Perrier water as you flick through the pages of
British Airways’ Business Life magazine? For Nestlé is the name behind such a
vast range of well-known branded products (Findus, Carnation, Vittel, Maggi,
Buitoni, After Eight, Smarties, Quality Street) that there is simply not the
space to list more than a few. All of which means that Helmut Maucher presides
over an empire with operations on all five continents in 74 countries, employs
the best part of a quarter of a million people in 489 factories spread around
the globe, and is responsible for an annual turnover of a staggering 60 billion
Swiss francs - more than the entire GDP of a number of independent nation
states.
One might be forgiven for thinking that
overseeing the vast scale of these operations would have taken up all of Helmut
Maucher’s time. Far from it. For he seems to juggle his not insignificant work
load at Nestlé with two equally important roles. One is as Chairman of the
European Round Table of Industrialists (a group of approximately 50 of Europe’s
most important business people - Shell, Unilever, Seimens) whose self-imposed
mandate is to contribute to the debate as to how Europe can become more
competitive and to lobby against the creeping tide of protectionism. And the
other is as President of the International Chamber of Commerce, in which
capacity he is currently campaigning to get a hearing both at the United
Nations and G7 summits with a view to expressing the view of
business in a global context.
Three different hats, perhaps, but none of
them bearing the words remote or aloof. For despite the constant presence of a
team of secretaries and advisors, the Nestlé boss is anxious for the message to
come across that he is simple in style and approach. The door to his stylish
suite of offices might well be paneled and oak - but it does at least remain
open. "We are ordinary, down-to-earth people" he begins, "who
like to be modest and discrete. In this company we have a very personalized
style of management. I don’t have an aura around me and I don’t lead the 5-star
life - I wasn’t made for that kind of nonsense. I do believe in firm
leadership, mind you, but that it should derive from decent values rather than
authority for authority’s sake."
Born into a family of farmers and craftsmen
in a small village in southwestern Bavaria in 1927, Maucher began a commercial
apprenticeship with the German Nestlé company shortly after the end of the
second world war, steadily working his way up through the ranks. He graduated
with an MBA from the Goethe University in Frankfurt some years later, before
going on to be named head of marketing for German Nestlé in 1963. But Maucher
is quick to attribute his relentless rise to the top to his humble country
origins rather than diplomas and degrees:
"I come from the small village of
Eisenharz. My father was a dairy farmer. I was raised in a village of 1,000
people. Of course this influenced my approach - because even in a village of
1,000 you can’t fool each other - they will see through you right away."
It was under Maucher’s shrewd leadership that
the food giant moved to make an unprecedented number of global acquisitions,
snapping up Rowntree in York and Perrier in Vergèze, amongst others, in a
period of rapid expansion. Whilst at the same time acting to reinforce the principal
of decentralized management, a key component of Maucher’s approach.
Meeting with Presidents and Prime Ministers
as a matter of course, the issue of international development is high on his
agenda, Maucher is in no doubt that the biggest challenge facing the food
industry the world over is to contribute to ending of world hunger. A recent
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report revealed that some 800 million
people still suffer from hunger today.
"Even if the figure is about 500
million", he reflects, "that still represents about 10% of the
world’s population. This is where we want to help - and naturally also to
increase our sales at the same time. That’s the major challenge facing us
today."
But he refutes the notion that there might be
a conflict of interest between his Geldof style declarations of intent to feed
the world - whilst at the same time taking commercial steps to increase
turnover.
"Absolutely not", Maucher affirms,
moving his sizable frame forward to let you know that he is about to make a
pronouncement to which he attaches particular importance. "My job is to
develop Nestlé profitably. But we are all concerned about world issues and how
people are fed. I do not accept that there is a contradiction between the two.
The more you are interested in long-term strategy the less that kind of
conflict exists. Long term nutrition and feeding programmes are also in our own
interests. I am not interested in short-term maximization of profits - which
sometimes gets me into hot water with our own financial people. Because in my
view long term planning means contributing to health, education, environment
and lifestyle too."
So if someone came along, uninvited and
unannounced, with an entirely new mandate for Maucher. ‘Forget Nestlé - just
concentrate on feeding the world.’ Then what would he do differently?
"Nothing. Nothing at all. Because
everything we do serves people. On the social side you can sometimes have a
conflict, closing a factory, for example, rationalizing and so on. These are
painful decisions I sometimes have to take. But when this happens I do my
utmost to ensure that the least possible hurt ensues from my actions."
A work-a-holic before the term was even
invented, Maucher is nonetheless able to cut off from the pressures of life at
the very top of the world stage. Keenly interested in the arts, especially
music and painting (there is a splendid landscape by the 19th-century
Swiss artist Hodler decorating his office) he derives much enjoyment from a
good round of golf, battling as he does to reduce his 34 handicap to something
more respectable.
When it comes to business though, he is the
living embodiment of respectability and success. After all, how many other
Chairmen could open their 1997 letter to shareholders? "1996 was a good
year. Our sales increased by 7.1% to 60 billion Swiss francs. As for this year,
we expect an acceleration in the growth of sales volumes and good progress in
sales and profits alike."
Small wonder, then, that Maucher remains
confident for the future.
"Look at the world today - it is
globalizing more and more. More people are having a higher purchasing power -
this offers tremendous opportunities. Plus at the moment some 75% of our sales
take place in the so-called developed world. There are big opportunities for
food companies to increase their share in the developing world. Take China and
India - together these two countries make up 40% of the world’s population. In
these 2 countries we have a turnover which is just a little below 1 billion
Swiss francs - that’s only about 1.5% of our turnover. We already have 10
factories in China and 5 in India. There are huge opportunities there. That’s
why we are still aiming to double our turnover every 10 years. I am confident
that so long as we continue to do our homework, then it can and will be
done."
Constantly flying from one capital to the
next (often with British Airways: ‘much improved during the last 15 years’ he
notes) here is a man who is such a frequent flyer that he could spend his
twilight years visiting the wonders of the world on air miles alone. Or is it
safer to assume that when the new millennium comes, the remarkable Nestlé boss
and world business leader will finally put his feet up and take it easy - time
at last to have that break?
"Of course I am proud of what I have
achieved. Coming from a village and ending up where I have. But in so far as
retirement is concerned, so long as my brain and body works I will not stop.
There is always something to do. I am interested in giving service to people -
be it for Nestlé, the business community or whatever. I just couldn’t see
myself sitting back in an armchair. That’s not me. I think I shall be
interested in what is going on in the world until my dying breath."
Interview concluded. Time for Mr. Maucher to
leave. Not on Concorde to New York in order to negotiate the terms of his
latest acquisition. Just driving himself back to the village of Eisenharz in
Bavaria where members of his immediate family live to this day. And which is
where it all began.
The main Web site of freelance writer
Jeremy Josephs is at www.jeremyjosephs.com Please check there if you might be interested in
engaging him as a writer.
Many of his articles are available online.
Please check the sitemap
for a complete list.