You are the first interviewee who mainly practices a team sport. Can you tell us more about your passion for soccer?

I’ve been playing soccer since I was 6! Currently, I train two to three times a week and I play one match a week. I particularly like spending time with my team-mates, but also passing on my experience to young players to help them raise their game. In addition to soccer, I do pre-work gym training three times a week and try to cycle to the office (60 km there and back) as often as possible, weather permitting… A good workout and an invigorating shower are a great way to get the day off to a good start and be more productive. On the other hand, playing soccer after a long day’s work helps me to unwind. As I spend most of my days at my desk, sport generally enables me to make up for this lack of physical activity and does my body good.

Thanks to soccer, you must be an ace at teamwork!

Team spirit is obviously necessary for playing soccer and achieving good results. It’s the same thing at work, especially when you’re under pressure or have a heavy work load. In soccer, as in the professional world, you have to learn to work with different personalities, but also motivate people when needed, encourage others … I learned a lot about this from my coaches! They always know how to adapt their tone of voice to the personality and needs of their players: boosting the confidence of those who lack it or cutting the overconfident ones down to size. In the end, they know how to make a good set of players into an outstanding team.

What other sporting values do you emphasize in your professional life?

The sporting value I promote most at work is fair play. For me, it’s important to give your utmost while playing fair. In soccer, you have to give the best of yourself for 90 minutes and give your opposite number a good fight, but you should always respect him. After the game we shake hands, irrespective of the result. It’s an attitude you also need to have at work, above all when there is conflict or disagreement: never take things personally or be a “bad loser”.

Have you already taken part in a sporting event organized by the Group?

Not yet, but I take part each year, with a team of colleagues from Cologne, in the Cologne Business Run, a race which brought together about 20,000 runners last year.

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