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Published on December 26, 2007

 Ralph Gusko was approached by the management board of Beiersdorf (Thailand) in 2004 to take up the top position of managing director.

But on December 26 of that year, Thailand was severely hit by the tsunami, which made the headlines worldwide.

After much careful thought and discussion with his family and friends he decided to take the position and moved here on a five-year contract.

"People there gave me many warnings after they knew my decision. They told me to reconsider, especially my mum, who had serious concerns about the dangers I might face here," Gusko recalls.

"My wife and I would not stop moving here just because of an unexpected disaster or incident.

"The market potential here is exciting and it's the one of the fastest growing countries in Asia-Pacific, so I didn't want to lose the chance," he says with a smile.

Gusko started his working career in 1988 at Beiersdoft's headquarters in his hometown in Germany. Since then he has worked in France and South Korea but the decision to move to Thailand was the most difficult, because of the tsunami.

However, Gusko says most countries had issues to worry about. "There are issues everywhere. There aren't many safe places in the world."

Following the tsunami, Thailand was hit by a second round of bird flu, and major political upheaval, which lead to the coup in September last year. Then, a series of bombs were set off in Bangkok on New Year's Eve.

To Gusko, even with these dramas, Thailand wasn't the most challenging market he had experienced, given what he encountered in South Korea.

"I was assigned to take responsibility as general manager at Beiersdorf Seoul in South Korea in September 1997 and that year the Asian crisis occurred. That was a big challenge because the economy throughout Asia collapsed," he says.

Korea was among a handful of Asian countries severely affected by the crisis.

Considering the things that happened in Thailand, Gusko feels they could have happened anytime.

By taking up the top position here, he has had more responsibility than just looking after the domestic market where he lives, as he also oversees adjacent countries. Here, he is responsible for overseeing Thailand, Indochina, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

He says Thailand is not his company's regional office but the strongest market in this area. Hence, Beierdorf expects his office to help boost business beyond its borders. Adjacent countries have their own Beiersdorf offices and management boards working on business direction and sales. They all report to Gusko.

"Vietnam is the most prominent. Today, it generates the highest growth in Asia. It's higher than the Thai market," he says.

He often has to travel to neighbouring countries - at least once a month - as well as to Beiersdorf's headquarters.

Another thing that always stays with him is being "adaptable". Travelling around and moving to many countries allows him to see different cultures and different environments.

"Of course, people in countries with temperatures ranging from 35 to 40 degree Celsius won't have the same work culture as people in environments like Germany, so, you have to take it as fact and adapt yourself to the local environment and find a good mix with your cultures," he says.

Asked what are the similarities between German culture and Thai culture, he says: "At the end, they want to have jobs that are fun, which give them strong motivation. They want companies that empower them, to help drive businesses instead of just following orders. And these are things I try to instil in the management team and allow them to fully work."

One good thing he has noticed is that Thai employees are highly flexible in their work and highly energetic. "There is a quote in Western countries that says 'many roads lead to Rome' and Thais are good at finding ways to achieve their goals."

Throughout his two and a half years of working here, Beiersdorf has already become the leader in the mass-medium skincare market for its Nivea product, while its high-end skincare brand Eucerin has also experienced satisfactory growth rate.

The company, as a whole, achieved 25-per-cent sales growth last year. This year, Gusko says Beiersdorf targeted to grow 20 per cent, which will be two times higher than the market. The current economic slowdown is not a major factor. Instead, it's the reason that the company already had a large consumer base, hence it would be quite difficult to continue the same high growth rate.

Beiersdorf currently has four brands here, consisting of Nivea, Eucerin, Futuro and Duo condom. Meanwhile, its headquarters has about 14 brands.

Asked about the goals he wants to achieve before his term ends in 2010, he says: "I will continue to strengthen what the company has in Thailand and look at the possibilities of bringing in some more brands from the headquarters."

Nitida Asawanipont

 The Nation