The correspondent of The Maritime Telegraph had a great opportunity to talk to a great leader of Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement Norbert Aschmann. He shared his secrets of being successful both in the business and in the family life.
MT: What is your current position in the Company?
I am the Chief Executive Officer of Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement. My position is about leadership of the Company that is what a CEO does. We have 10 ship management centers around the world, starting in the Far East we have Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, India, Cyprus, Greece, Germany, Isle of Man, Venezuela and Mexico. As the CEO I am at the top of the organization together with a CFO (Chief Financial Officer) and a COO (Chief Operating Officer) and that is what we call the board of the Company. That is where the strategy and the way forward is getting defined and then implemented throughout the organization.
MT: How did you start your career?
It is a beautiful and long story, I used to be a seafarer. I was Master on board of container ships and in 1993 I joined a company called Hanseatic Shipping which today is part of Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement. Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement was founded 8 years ago by merging different shipmanagement companies that were belonging to the Schulte group of companies. So there was Hanseatic Shipping on Cyprus, Eurasia Shipping in Hong Kong and a few more. In 2008 all these offices were merged under the new name of Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement. So I worked for Hanseatic Shipping from 1993 to 2002 then I joined E.R. Schiffahrt in 2003 and I was there for 10 years. In October 2013 I went back to the Schulte Group first as Deputy CEO and I became a CEO in January 2015.
MT: Please describe your routine day.
There is no routine working (laughing). I like my job. I travel a lot to meet with clients or potential clients or with business leaders within BSM. For example, last week I was in New York, so there is no really routine. I am away from the office 120-130 days a year.
MT: What about your free time? Do you have any free time at all?
I do have free time. I like to spend it together with my wife. The hobbies I have don’t happen on daily basis, I like skiing for example but it is something you do for your vacation. I am also interested in cars, once a year I drive a rally with a very good friend. But it is not a really weekly hobby; I am not into golf or something like that. When I am at home I love to spend time with my wife.
MT: Do you think it is possible to combine a happy relationship with your wife and a successful career?
Definitely, you can. I think I manage to do it. Sometimes we travel together, so we try to combine some of my business trips with a bit of casual trips. For example, we were together in Singapore for a week in September. The next trip together will be in January next year, when will go to Shanghai together, so 3 or 4 times a year she is with me.
MT: Do you like listening to music?
It depends on the situation. I don’t really have a favorite band or something like that. We attend some concerts, but not very often. We have tickets for Maroon 5 next year in Vienna; our friends had 2 spare tickets, so we will spend a few days there. It is not really for the concert it is more for Vienna.
MT: As we have understood you like travelling. What is your favorite country?
When I am travelling on my vacation I prefer places where I can do nothing and simply rest. I love the Bahamas and the Maldives for example because you don’t get under any pressure to visit cathedrals or museums and things like that. It is just peace and quiet. I don’t need to be there at 12 or at 1 o’clock to visit that church. In November we went to Thailand, there will be three days in Bangkok and the rest of the days we will spend on the beach, there is nothing except sand and the sun.
MT: Do you have any pets?
We used to have two cats, the last cat died 2 months ago, it was 18,5 years old. Now we are pet-free. We were thinking about a dog, but when you are travelling a lot it is not convenient.
MT: What was your dream when you were a child?
My dream was to become a captain of a ship.
MT: What three wishes would you have if you found a bottle with a genie?
I think the first wish would be health for my family. I find it difficult to come up with two more. But maybe the third would be another three wishes. (laughing)
MT: Please share some secrets of your success.
I think there are no secrets. If you love what you are doing you will have success almost automatically. If you are at the right place then you will have success. If you are at the wrong place, if you don’t like your job you won’t be successful. I think it is not a recipe, you just need to be the right person at the right place from the beginning and you will get the feeling. It is not my success; it is all about people, so you have to get the people on board, you have to have some ability to align people, to make people follow you if you want. I think that is a secret. And, of course, behind every successful man there is a supportive wife.
MT: How to become successful if you don’t have any powerful connections?
To do the right things and what you really like. You have to find your place.
