Esther Maria Loidl, CHRO, Freudenberg SE | Mobility Outlook | Women In Mobility

Thank you for having me. It's a pleasure. Thank you.

Yeah, so it was a very interesting journey. I'm originally from Austria. I studied tourism there and did a lot of internships, got to know a lot, and then moved to Mexico. I lived there for 10 years. In the first years, I worked in tourism and managed a hotel, so this was a very valuable experience. I think it shaped me for my career and gave me real-life insights into interaction with humans, about service interaction and service orientation, but also important insights that I then converted into my career in Human Resources.

Yeah, both are family-owned companies, so this is what they have in common. And it was actually very interesting for me to move from a company that's focused on automotive, or mainly on automotive, to come to Freudenberg with so many different industries, so many different customers, different products. So that really, you have to adapt the way also you work in human resources and cater to different industries and needs. But what they both had in common, being family-owned companies, is this really long-term orientation and vision and a very strong focus on the employees. And this is what motivated me working for those companies.

Yeah, I learned a lot about structures and processes, which is very common in the automotive industry, to really have clear processes, to have them documented, to follow them. And this is something, and also the idea of lean management, to really have no waste also in your processes and in the way you work. This is something I could really transfer also then to my different tasks at Freudenberg, to have this process orientation besides the people orientation and besides the service orientation.

Yeah, definitely. It taught me a lot about human beings and about interacting with people. I mean, you have to deal with happy customers, but sometimes you deal with very angry and unhappy customers. It taught me a lot about leadership. I was in a management role at a very young age, managing a large group of people who were considerably older than me. So it was really learning by doing in the area of leadership. So this was a very valuable experience I still benefit from today. And I think also the intercultural aspect, working in Mexico, for example, as an Austrian dealing with many Americans back then, this was a lot of learning about cultures, about how humans from a certain cultural background react in certain situations. So for sure, something I still benefit from today, to also have a more open mind and not reflect everything with my own cultural background.

I don't necessarily think you have an advantage as a woman. We may have a little bit more of openness and antennas in interpersonal relationships. On the other hand, you also have other challenges. So I think it's all about an inclusive work culture and making sure that everybody is heard in an organization. And I see it also as my task to support women in our organization and make sure that they rise through the ranks.

Support structure a woman has. So first, they need to be given the opportunity to have a good education, and I believe that's still a challenge in many countries, and for sure also in India. After that, they need the support of their family to work. They need the support to have their career. I think women are motivated. They are very often amazingly educated, they have all this drive, they have this energy. They are able to multitask, they are able to handle immense amount of pressure and immense amount of work. So all they need is a support structure which frees time and space for them so they can really do an excellent job. And I have seen especially here in India amazing female talent, and I think there is a bright future for female executives in India. I think it's important to have the opportunity, so you always need somebody who supports you, not only from your family but also in the company. So it's important to have a mentor, it's important to have a manager who gives you the opportunity, gives you interesting projects, gives you support, gives you development opportunities, maybe stretch assignments. And then you have these opportunities, and then it's up to the lady to grasp this opportunity and really grow in the organization and shine and show what they're doing. On the other hand, for a company, it's also important that you keep track on it, that you measure how well your diversity initiatives are advancing, and that you have also a goal on where you want to be with female representation in your company, making sure that this is not only on the lower levels of the organization but that also female talent has the opportunity to rise through the ranks.

I think there is a massive benefit from having different generations in the workplace. So they have different perspectives, they have different ideas. So young generations can benefit from the experience of more experienced colleagues, and the more experienced colleagues can benefit maybe from fresh ideas, from a completely different view, and from also maybe other skills that the younger associates are bringing on the table. So what we need to make sure is that we have a work environment where they can come together and where they can really take advantage of their strong points and their knowledge, and there is no confrontation of the generations but really an inclusiveness where together we can then achieve something better. So it's also all about listening and learning and benefiting from the experience.

Yeah, of course there are many differences, different expectations towards an employer, different expectations towards a workplace, different expectations towards their career development, also what work really means in their life and what people want to achieve in their life. We see that all over the world; it varies from country to country, but definitely the expectations are different. So as an employer, we have the task to cater to the needs of all the generations. So we should not alienate the more experienced associates and focus only on the younger generations, because we need them both to be successful.

Yeah, I have the advantage that I like to travel. I like to explore culture, to learn something about culture, and maybe that also comes from my tourism background. So I'm very interested in all that. I'm interested in trying food, local food, learning more about it. So I really enjoy traveling. On the other side, it's obviously not always easy, time-consuming, and exhausting. And I'm glad and happy that I have a family network that supports me and puts no pressure on me, but helps me really to do that.

Yeah, I think yoga in firsthand helps me to be more grounded, to be more in touch with my inner self. So I practice yoga every morning. I try to. I'm obviously also there on a journey, and every day learning also something about myself. So it helps me to be more centered, and that helps me to be more open for people, to be more receptive, to be able to really focus, be in the moment, and also appreciate other human beings. So I think it was very important for me to discover that, maybe a little bit late in my career. I wish I would have seriously practiced yoga early on. Then I was more seeing it as a sport, you can practice yoga once a week and the world is going to be fine. But when I started practicing on a day-to-day practice, I really felt that after some time, something changed besides a better physical being, also my mental being.

Mobility in the sense of... So I think we will be for sure on the trend towards alternative fuel, being electric or fuel cells or maybe also biofuels. This is going to move forward. So I think also autonomous driving is going to be coming seriously. We see that already in the U.S., a little bit in Europe, probably in India a little bit later because there are more challenges in the traffic. And yeah, so I think lots of innovations in this area, which requires a lot of talent, a lot of skills. So we're for sure going to be busy in that industry.

Thank you so much. Thank you very much.