听播客，对话Felix SCHMAUCH（上）

Junko Chen: Hi everyone, welcome back to FORVIA HELLA Electronics China podcast. I'm your host Junko Chen. Today is an English episode as we are having a special guest from Germany. I'm really excited to have Felix SCHMAUCH, Deputy managing director and head of Business Strategy Electronics China at FORVIA HELLA on our podcast today. For this episode, he will be talking about his journey, his experience, and how he feels working here in China. So with that, let's welcome our guest Felix.

Felix SCHMAUCH: Hello everybody, hello, yeah, nice to be here first of all, Now after half a year, after a year in China now and I'm happy to be here.

Junko Chen: thank you for the introduction. It's really such a pleasure to have you here with us. And today we are gonna get to know you better because you are pretty new here and most of our colleagues don't have the chance to know you. that well. First of all, can you, can you tell me how to pronounce your last name? I'm afraid that I made a mistake at the beginning.

Felix SCHMAUCH: there is no problem, maybe Felix is even sufficient, but if you would like to pronounce it, it's SCHMAUCH. There's even a meaning behind in German there is if you, if you are shooting a gun, then there is some kind of particles remaining on your hand. And this is the same meaning. Actually, it's not very nice, but this is the meaning of my name, actually SCHMAUCH. 

Junko Chen: Okay, got it. we all know you are from Germany. But which, what part of Germany?

Felix SCHMAUCH: I'm from the very, very north of Germany. So maybe, you know, Germany is connected to Denmark. Denmark is in the north of Germany and I'm living actually near to the border of Denmark. So this is near to the Baltic seas is one of the two seas connected to Germany. It is in the eastern part of Germany, yeah, and this is where I'm from. So, and I was grown up there, I met my wife there, and then later on we went a bit more to this south, to a bigger city in Germany for university, but my life until 18/19, I was spending in the north.

Junko Chen: Ok, so I guess the city you live in is close to Lippstadt right?

Felix SCHMAUCH: Now yes, indeed. After my time in at the university, I moved a bit further to the south. Now we are more in the middle part of Germany where Lippstadt is located in and I'm not living in Lippstadt directly but the city, very, very nearby, maybe 20 km, away from Lippstadt, and it's called Zeus. Maybe others already know about the city. If you are in Germany, you have to visit our headquarter, spend time in Zeus because it's very historical city, very, very nice city, a lot of restaurants, good to see.

Junko Chen: Thank you for sharing your hometown and your journey in Germany, actually, another fun fact about German is that they are usually seen as reserved and strict. And how about you?

Felix SCHMAUCH: what is famous? What do you think is famous for Germany?  

Junko Chen: you know, Germans are famous for their reserved character and personality.

Felix SCHMAUCH: you mean for the for the human beings in Germany, it a bit more more, okay, yeah, that's, that's true, that's true. If you compare the Germans with the with the southern part of Europe, that's definitely true to the Italian or here our colleagues from French, they are much more external with a lot of more emotions and yes we Germans are a bit more calm more also sometimes more direct in these things maybe one or other experiences already in daily life. So don't be angry with the Germans. They are pretty much on the point always so, but this is our nature a bit so.

Junko Chen: so are you a typical German, no?

Felix SCHMAUCH: I'm not a typical German, you got already the light version of a German one, even though you might feel, maybe Felix sometimes, sometimes he's also typically German, but I'm already a bit more adjusted, so to say.

Junko Chen: And are you a person of an extrovert or introvert.

Felix SCHMAUCH: It depends a bit on the situation. So business wise I'm more close to the first, more with emotions. I like to speak, I like to connect, but I also need my time to be on my own. Also during the weekend, yes, for sure, I spend time with my family, but I also like to stay alone, read a book, listen to music. It's not always like you know me here in the company.

Junko Chen: So you are more of a quiet person.

Felix SCHMAUCH: Yeah, also from time to time, I also need time for myself.

Junko Chen: And speaking of your personality, I feel like you are really amiable, patient and easy to connect with because at our charity class in August, the kids really did enjoy talking to you and keep asking you question, even, they first met you. Yeah, they so impressive.

Felix SCHMAUCH: Yeah, this was really, really, interesting event, no, initially when I got the opportunity, I was not so sure how this will work out, but finally it was really cool, cool inside to have it. And like you said, the children were very open, very interested, also interested in exchanging a bit. So, yeah, that's really, really cool to see. And yes, indeed, coming back to your question now, this is something I like very much now, So I like to exchange with people, doesn't matter whether these are colleagues in the company or some children in these charity class or some people I meet on the street. I'm always open for a dialogue.

Junko Chen: So you're open to exchange your ideas with people.

Felix SCHMAUCH: Definitely. This is also my strong conviction. It's not only about that exchange is also opening your mind a bit, it's also making a lot of fun, So if I have to be always on my own sitting here in the office doing emails or what, what presentation material I would hate it. Yeah, for sure. I would hate it. I need, somebody to exchange somebody to talk with. Yeah I'm not the X guy.

Junko Chen:  And there's something I'm also curious about, like, how can you keep yourself in such a good shape? You must hit the gym or do you play any sports?

Felix SCHMAUCH: Oh i'm turning you that, but nobody can see it.  yeah, initially I did actually before I came here to China, I did a lot of running indeed. But yeah, I stopped to be honestly because I like running outside and most of the time, as we all know, it's simply too hot. I cannot do sports outside it's I'm suffering too much, therefore maybe I will change once this is getting a bit cooler outside in autumn. Maybe right now to be honest I'm not doing too much. I enjoy the life here in China without having any sports.

Junko Chen: Got it, thank you for letting us know a little bit more about yourself personally. My next question was gonna be like, how did you get into the automotive industry?

Felix SCHMAUCH: Wow, yeah, this was right, right at the beginning. I after, after university, I said already university in Hamburg, I had the first impression on the automotive industry because in Germany, maybe here in China, it's the same. You have to do some kind of internship. I selected an automotive company. They also have one location near to Hamburg and this was my first exchange now. So and yes, my perception was it's quite interesting there it's very innovative, technologically driven, but also well structured. And it's, also very professional in, so it's very demanding on one hand and therefore you always have to be on the point. And this is something I still like very much, even though there are now also other industries where you have a lot of innovations ongoing, but automotive is still, from my perspective, one of the most challenging ones. And now thinking about your first step, I thought maybe it's a good idea to enter this industry because you can learn a lot. And this is how I finally entered.

Junko Chen: Then how did you start your career at FORVIA HELLA? 

Felix SCHMAUCH: It's already, yeah.

Junko Chen: by the way, how long have you been working?

Felix SCHMAUCH: Yeah. I will come to this point, I tried first ignore your question, but I have to admit I'm since, 2004 already with HELLA. 2004. Yeah, now you have to calculate, yeah, more than 20 years, Incredible!!yeah. Yeah, I have the same feeling I how is like working a company for more than 20 years? Yeah. I'm also not quite sure how I did it. Yeah, but yeah, especially when I started never ever, it was on my mind to stay that long in one company, but yeah, why I did it because this is something I still like at HELLA. You have a lot of freedom. So you can, you can decide on your owners maybe too much, but if you are motivated, if you are engaged, you will get a lot of responsibility immediately. Everybody will give you a certain trust and then you can jump on the topic and if you are doing well, you get more. This is something I like very much, so it's on you. And, at HELLA, you will always have plenty of opportunities also like, like I'm doing right now, you can go abroad, you can change your job, you can, you can get additional task, it's on you. And this was one of the major reasons why I'm still with HELLA because it's still motivating me day by day for sure. I also have lousy days now. So when I say, oh shit, this day was not a very good one, but if i'm looking back, most of the days are really like I would like to have so, and this is really, really cool, and I enjoyed a lot, I had a lot of changes and I'm still here, nobody knows how long, but I'm still here.

Junko Chen: Sound like you have grown a lot at HELLA.

Felix SCHMAUCH: Yeah, at least I experienced already a lot of things. So when I started in 2004, I was joining as a quality engineer so in lighting electronics then after two years went first time abroad to South Korea as a resident engineer project management program management, I did a lot of things already. And yes, for sure, I learned a lot in all the different positions. And this is also my recommendation for everybody. So be open for everything new, you can learn something out of it, maybe you will realize, not everything is expected and maybe you do not want to continue, but there is still something you will get out of it. So be open.

When I was in South Korea, it was very challenging. So I have to admit, I also underestimated it was in 2007 how different this would be to my previous life. But at the end, if you go through such a challenge, it makes you stronger. Also, you will gather a lot of experience, you will also learn what should happen. You find your way even in a very, very unconvenient environment. You can do it. And this is something, something I'm trying also to do in my daily work, so let's be open, let's try something. Uncertainty is not too much of a risk, it's also really, it sounds stupid now, but it's also really an opportunity for all of us.

Junko Chen: And were you mainly responsible for the R&D teams before coming to China? 

Felix SCHMAUCH: Yeah, my in my, in my last four years, but. 10 years Since 10 years. I'm responsible for R&D, before that, I was in charge of other topics. But yes, indeed, since 10 years I'm more R&D focused. I started with some kind of DC to DC converters and we are still ruling also here in China in May Deng's team, this is where I started the R&D work. And then I did a lot of battery management electronics also related to May. And yes, always these are very sophisticated products, I have to say, in our portfolio, and they are more complex. They have a lot of software content in, and therefore R&D was always very, very important. No? And I like all these R&D part. So even though i'm more tending to program management, I was always interested in the technology itself, in the how we are doing these things because there is also most of the exchange with the people I mentioned before. You have to go down to the point, otherwise you will not make it.

Junko Chen: looking back, how do you think your past experience in Germany influence the way you take on this current position?

Felix SCHMAUCH: One topic for sure, this experience I did over my career so far is be open for changes. This is something which was in favor also to finally decide for this opportunity here. And I also had always a lot of exchange already with China. So I mentioned these two products, knowing the market in China a bit. China is very, very advanced in these two technologies. China is leading market for power electronics and battery management systems. And therefore, also a lot of our customers were already located here in China.

Even though I was working in Europe, I had a lot of exchange with May and May’s team, also with China. I was twice a year, sometimes even three times a year. I was here in China already, and therefore I learned a bit and it was not totally new to me now to be here, okay?

Junko Chen: Good to know, And as we all know, it's been half a year since you joined HELLA Shanghai Electronics. how has it been so far about the environment and culture?  

Felix SCHMAUCH: Very good, so I think what helped me a lot is you will get always a lot of support here, that's for sure, for valid for all the colleagues here. So whenever you have a question you can, I can go out here, out of my office, ask somebody, they will help me and it doesn't matter whether this is now a private or business related topic. So they are all very supported, but it's not limited to our company only, even if I'm somewhere outside. So I had the experience at the beginning, it's not so easy for us to pay. So we have our tools here in China for you very normal meanwhile, but if you are new here in China, you are not so familiar and you can not read anything. It's all in Chinese. You need it, but you can take picture and translate This is something, but, I like exchange English people, I will ask somebody and then whether they can help me, they are always helping me. So this is this helps a lot to somehow integrate a bit on privately. I'm also meanwhile settled, so I have nothing to complain. So the environment here is really, really very convenient, even though it's still for sure the language barrier.

So that's really something maybe I can, I can shortly, shortly I took initially some kind of Chinese lessons and no, I did a pause because it's maybe I'm not good in languages, but it, it was impossible for me, impossible, really impossible. The pronunciation is so different to how we are doing things now. There, there are even pronunciations which are not existing in English or German. So even though my teacher was trying to say something, I was listening and trying to put it with my own with my own language in somehow to repeat at least it so that's really an issue. The language is an issue, but maybe for me personally more, I still will not give up. But this is still a challenge and this is also, limiting your daily life a bit, because you cannot simply go somewhere in a cinema in watch a movie or theater all the things are somehow still hidden a bit for me.

Nevertheless, you are living here in Shanghai where we international city, you will find a lot of international restaurants things, clubs, music and you can enjoy now so daily life is no problem and also business wise, I have the feeling I'm more integrated now initially this rule was something new and it took me a while to structure a bit and to also figure out where I can contribute now most, but meanwhile I have a good feeling that it's getting better and better. So to answer your question I'm on my way after six months I'm quite happy if I'm looking back, yes, it took a bit of one or other topic, but I'm on my way.

Junko Chen:  I am so happy to learn a lot more about Felix today and please stay tune for the second episode of Felix’s interview. Bye!