Bosch Korea CEO accents human factor in business

Bosch Korea CEO accents human factor in business

Frank Schaefers Bosch Korea CEO

Bosch, one of the world's largest auto parts makers, is seeking to expand its business in Korea.

As part of its efforts to boost its local presence, the company recently established a 50-50 joint venture with KyungChang Wiper to develop, manufacture and sell advanced wiper systems.

Frank Schaefers, Robert Bosch Korea CEO, says what makes or breaks a business is human elements.

"Many big mergers in the world were dissolved because the management later found out that the values did not match," he said during an interview with The Korea Times.

"What you find in different companies are different cultures, the way you consider leadership, whether they are willing to take high risks or not and how to motivate people. How to deal with all of them can be significantly different."

That is what he emphasized during his recent lecture, titled "Shared company values: the ‘unspectacular' key factors of success," to Korea University students.

Schaefers, who lives by a "learn, earn but make time to return" mission, says he is sharing his experience with younger generations.

"At school they all learn about hard facts such as profits and market shares. But, when we talks about partnerships, when all the financials are done, all of a sudden you find people you have to do business together," he said.

He says students trying to get their first jobs should first look deeper than what is written on the wall, and a good indication is the founders.

"The founders have people around them very much like them. Bosch's second CEO, the former assistant of Robert Bosch, was not kin of the founding family. And the legacy continued. What the founder is really like and what is written on the wall. And if those two don't match, think twice."

The Robert Bosch Stiftung, a charitable foundation, currently holds a 92 percent stake in the share capital of Robert Bosch GmbH. The share dividend received by the foundation is used exclusively for charitable purposes, to support general medical care, international understanding, social work, training and education.

He said the founder's founding spirit is one of the major reasons why he joined the Bosch group.

Asked about his personal goals, he said he would like to learn the Korean language so that he could speak at least three sentences in Korean at his next press conference. "To learn about people and culture, there is no way around speaking the language," he added.

Schaefers, calls himself "demanding, challenging and supporting," added that he wants to be the person who helps people to grow.

"From a management and leadership point of view, the point of leading is letting people grow and develop their personality to get them ready for something bigger."