Interview with the Board of Management
EnBW is evolving yet also remaining true to itself. In an interview with the whole Board of Management, the members explain how the company will utilise its core expertise and a clear strategy to successfully shape the energy world of the future and areas beyond it.
Dr. Frank Mastiaux:
The result achieved by our company last year was in line with our forecast. This shows that we are still on track with the implementation of our strategy and the realignment of our company. We are now increasingly positioning ourselves as a competent infrastructure partner beyond the energy sector.
Dr. Frank Mastiaux:
Well, it is in the DNA of our company to supply and operate things reliably and safely, such as power plants, regional and supraregional electricity grids or even large wind farms. We are now increasingly transferring this core expertise from the energy sector to new, high-growth business fields with a promising future, such as the expansion of broadband, electromobility or the sustainable development of urban districts. This means we are combining our traditional strengths with important themes for the future. We also believe that it is just as important to pay attention to social aspects that are closely connected to some of these new activities as it is to simply provide good technology. In district development, for example, this means that we want to play our part in developing areas in which people really want to live. These smart districts not only require childcare facilities and meeting places for citizens, but also a butcher and a baker.
Dr. Frank Mastiaux:
That’s correct, which is why our overarching initiative “next level EnBW” is so important. The aim of the initiative is to make our entire company fit for the future. We want to improve in everything that we do, whether it means getting things done more quickly or promoting innovative strength. We don't just want to take small steps but aim to achieve significant leaps in quality across the entire organisation, with a clear focus on customer orientation, internationalisation, new business and internal cooperation. We don’t think of it as a programme, but rather as a movement that involves everyone in the Group and gives people greater courage and skills to face new challenges.
We are now increasingly positioning ourselves as a competent infrastructure partner beyond the energy sector.
Thomas Kusterer:
Nothing less than taking the entire finance organisation of our company to a completely new level. Digitalisation will also play an important role. We will utilise the new technical possibilities offered by analytics, robotics and artificial intelligence to speed up our processes and procedures even further. We want to provide information in real time as far as possible and provide our business units with even more targeted and appropriate support – so that they can operate on the market as successfully as possible.
Thomas Kusterer:
Yes, an increasing level of automation has certainly made us more efficient but we can still do better. We have, for example, installed a robot to help with incoming invoices and we are currently working to achieve further leaps in quality in financial accounting with the aid of artificial intelligence. However, the most important thing is maintaining close, personal contact with our business areas. We can only make a valuable contribution when we know what data and information each individual business unit requires and in what form. Close contacts and good communication with one another are absolutely essential.
Dr. Hans-Josef Zimmer:
I can only underline what has just been said. That's why for me “next level” also means networking the various skills that we have at our company even more closely – and very importantly – across departments so that we can find solutions by working together.
We are taking the entire finance organisation of our company to a completely new level.
Dr. Hans-Josef Zimmer:
... and this is why we are planning, for example, to also construct Germany’s largest solar park in Brandenburg. We want to grow further in the area of renewable energies, particularly as wind power and hydropower did not perform very well – mainly because of the weather – in 2018.
Dr. Hans-Josef Zimmer:
The prices for solar panels have fallen by 90 percent in the last 10 years. This has made solar parks with an output of 50 to 60 megawatts or more an interesting prospect from an economic standpoint, even without government funding. This is just one of the reasons as to why we are now investing in solar energy and establishing a third pillar of business in the area of renewable energies alongside wind power and hydropower. As part of our internationalisation activities, we could also imagine constructing solar parks outside of Germany.
Dr. Hans-Josef Zimmer:
Extremely important because ultimately the grid forms the backbone of the Energiewende. Energy that is generated in the north of Germany also needs to be transported to the south of the republic. This requires highly efficient transmission grids. It is also important not to forget the distribution grid, which we will also strengthen. After all, this is where the energy that is produced in lots of small, private units is collected. The fact that we are also grid operators – not just for electricity, but also for gas by the way – gives us a competitive advantage. It allows us to offer our customers solutions across the entire value added chain. A good example is electromobility, because for this we need renewable energies, we have to integrate the charging infrastructure into the grid and we also need to offer attractive products to customers.
As part of our internationalisation activities, we could also imagine constructing solar parks outside of Germany.
Dr. Bernhard Beck:
We want to achieve significant leaps forward in every respect. Therefore, it is necessary for us to have competent employees on board in all areas both now and in the future. In this context, we are relying on targeted employee development activities and also on securing additional skills from outside the company. The market for skilled workers is currently very competitive. We are working closely together with the business units to identify suitable candidates for each position and secure them for our company. Continuous cultural change is one of the things that we will need to take us to the “next level”.
Dr. Bernhard Beck:
We are making good progress and it will enable us to cooperate on an interdepartmental basis to an even greater extent in the future. How can I help you and how can you help me? How can we achieve things even more quickly? These are the questions that we need to ask ourselves across the company so that together we can successfully position ourselves to tackle new business fields such as electromobility or district development. And whether we are able to identify the opportunities offered by digitalisation is ultimately a question of attitude. After all, cultural change begins in the mind.
Colette Rückert-Hennen:
I am delighted to be able to continue the successful work carried out by Dr. Beck over many years and believe that there are primarily three main tasks: developing expertise that is fit for the future in all of our employees, an unconditional focus on our customers and diversity – and I don’t just mean gender diversity. It will mean that EnBW continues to be the EnBW we all know but also becomes more open at the same time.
Colette Rückert-Hennen:
Yes! Heterogeneous teams comprising young talent, experienced employees and international colleagues have the potential for great strength – for one, united company.
Dr. Frank Mastiaux:
Yes, this is the direction in which we are heading. We will still be an energy company in 2025 but we will also be an infrastructure supplier beyond the traditional energy sector. We will be a partner that not only offers purely technical expertise, but that also has a good understanding of the importance of social interaction and people’s needs. In this sense, we will to some extent be returning back to the roots of our company because EnBW was always seen as a “caring company” in the past. In some ways, “back to the future” is an appropriate motto.
Cultural change begins in the mind, it is a question of attitude.