Business Chief ME+AFRICA Magazine December 2023 | Page 24

THE BUSINESS CHIEF INTERVIEW

iversity is often a word that , in the business context , carries a hollow promise . Many organisations are keen to promote their diversity yet only seem to pay lip-service .

That charge cannot be levelled at Schaeffler – the leading German mobility company with an annual revenue of nearly US $ 17 billion . The Schaeffler culture recognises and values diversity , and has it embedded in the company code – not because it looks good to the outside world but because it knows that different perspectives lead to better solutions and new ideas .

Micah Shepard is President & Regional CEO of Schaeffler Asia and he celebrates the diversity in his 2,000-strong team across more than 10 countries in Southeast Asia .

“ I 100 % believe that having diverse teams makes the company stronger ,” says Shepard .

“ In the two management teams I manage , there are more than 12 nationalities . Most have lived in at least one other country , they come from many different education and religious backgrounds .”

Shepard describes a typical leadership meeting , where open discussion is encouraged to promote diversity of thought . The leadership team went through a self-assessment process to better understand each other ' s personality traits – thereby improving communication and interaction .

For example , people who are ' blue ' colour focus more on data and analytics , a ‘ red ’ person wants to drive activity , ‘ green ’ wants to find harmony , and ‘ yellow ’ wants to keep people active .

“ We need all colour personality types to form a winning team , and you can see this from our results ,” says Shepard . “ I have an excellent management team , and we believe in the philosophy ' don ' t be afraid to fail , and never give up ’.”

Since Shepard took the reins six years ago , those results have been impressive – especially when set against the backdrop of the pandemic . Sales have increased 2X ,

24 December 2023