Occupation:
President and Chairman, Deutsche Telekom
Time in Japan:
13 years
What do you do here?
I work as President and Chairman of Deutsche Telekom Japan.
What brought you to Japan?
Thirteen years ago, I was working for a German chemical company overseas, and I met with a
person from the Deutsche Telekom personnel department who asked me to join him. But I
didn' want to stay and work in Germany for a long time because I was used to living
abroad. Then this opportunity in Japan came along and I was sent out here.
How did Deutsche Telekom come about in Japan?
We saw that a lot of German customers were here in Japan and that they were interested in
our services.
What is Deutsche Telekom?
It's the biggest European telecommunication provider with about 200,000 employees and
200,000 billion German marks in revenue. It provides all kinds of telecommunication
services.
What are some of your main responsibilities?
I'm the Chairman of the Board of Directors, so I oversee all the activities of the
company. I'm also the President, so basically I'm running the show.
How would one achieve what you have achieved both work wise and personally?
Work wise, it's always a matter of how involved you are and what you emphasize. If you
only work six hours a day, you can't make it. And you need a history of experience,
usually ten to fifteen years. My workload is ten to fourteen hours a day and has been for
the last ten years. As for the private side, I believe that if you divide your private
life too much from your business life it's difficult because the strict divide gives you
two personalities. I don't want to say my life is my work and vice versa because it's not,
but there needs to be a smooth crossover or it can create friction.
Do you see any differences in Japan now compared to thirteen years ago?
It's very different. I came here during the bubble economy. Tokyo now is a quiet place
compared to ten years ago. People spend less, a lot of shops and restaurants are closing
and business hours of entertainment venues are changing. Ten years ago it was impossible
to conceive of a club closing at 12am. It was 24 hours of power, life, and energy. I also
see the younger generation wanting to be totally separated from the rest of the crowd. The
variety of items in stores has decreased, but food prices have gone down.
Do you have a favorite restaurant?
I have several. I'm always mixing foods. I eat a mixture of European, Japanese, and Asian.
If I have to mix business and dinner, then I usually go to a German restaurant. This is
what I really like about Tokyo: you get so many choices and the quality of food is
unparalleled. You get spoiled here.
Do you have a favorite thing about Japan?
Tokyo is my favorite thing about Japan. It's like a golden cage. You can move and live in
this city without leaving. Time passes - five years just speed by. It's a big cage with
lots of attractions and it keeps you in and you have to convince yourself to break out.
What kind of advice could you give others who would want to be in your position?
Work hard and take your time to gather experience. The younger generation now doesn't want
to suffer experience any more. You have to take your time to get experience. You should
always know what is driving you: is it your history, your education?
You have to know what it is and keep it in your head. Eugen M. Angster spoke to Maki Nibayashi.
Occupation:
LIFE IN JAPAN: