Interview with Co-CEO Michael Wahl

As you take on the role of Co-CEO, what opportunities do you feel come with this position?

My new role as Co-CEO gives me the unique opportunity to apply my experience as CFO and my comprehensive understanding of operational processes to the strategic development of our company. My goal is to work with our dedicated employees and managers to generate innovative ideas, secure long-term competitiveness, and promote sustainable growth. I am particularly looking forward to actively and responsibly shaping the future of our company in partnership with the Simon Hegele team.
 

In your new role, what are the first key outcomes or cultural changes you would like to achieve?

At the start of my new role, it is particularly important to me to promote open and trusting cooperation across all hierarchical levels. By actively involving the first and second management levels at an early stage, I want to ensure that we develop a strong, shared vision and a clear strategic direction together. My goal is to create a shared strategic understanding and develop concrete measures to successfully master these challenges. In doing so, I want to strengthen a culture of cooperation, openness, and clear goal orientation.
 

Looking ahead, what do you consider the key growth drivers in the sectors of industry, trade, and pharma and what strategic initiatives are you planning to leverage them?

Our specific expertise in contract logistics provides the basis for further growth. We offer a wide range of customized services along our partners' entire value chain. Unlike “standard” providers, we do not primarily market space or parking spaces. Instead, we offer our customers specific value-added services that are individually tailored to their processes and provide them with significant benefits. To drive further growth, we will continue to develop our service portfolio and strengths and apply them in a targeted manner to new target customers and markets.
 

In your daily work, what gives you the greatest sense of motivation and purpose?

I have always set myself new and ambitious goals. I draw my motivation from achieving these lofty goals. That gives me satisfaction. But the main driving force is my passion and enjoyment of my daily work, as well as the desire to advance Simon Hegele as a company.
 

Looking ahead five years, what kind of achievements would you like to realize together with your colleagues? What preparations are you making now to achieve this vision?

Over the next five years – and beyond, of course – we want to continue developing our large multi-customer locations in a targeted manner, particularly by expanding and deepening our value-added services. Together with our customers, we want to design services that are not only economically convincing, but also serve as beacons for the industry. I am firmly convinced that we will be successful in this endeavor. Simon Hegele is characterized by highly committed and motivated employees with a strong entrepreneurial spirit who are eager to embark on this journey together.
 

How would you like to further develop the partnership with the NX Group in the future?

For me, the greatest potential for further developing this partnership lies in the complementary service offerings, which are ideal for targeted cross-selling. We already serve well-known, globally active customers, whom we want to win over for global end-to-end solutions together with NX. At the same time, there are many NX customers who are active in Europe or Germany or want to gain a foothold there. Together with NX, we can convince these companies of our comprehensive service portfolio in Germany along the entire value chain.
 

What is the most important message you would like to convey to your employees and teams right now?

Our employees are the cornerstone of our success – today and in the future. We are therefore very much looking forward to working with our employees, drawing on their commitment and expertise to lay the foundations for further expanding and strengthening our market position.

Please share your message to your target audience (e.g., customers in the industrial, trade, or pharmaceutical sectors) and the key points you would like to highlight in your sales activities.

Simon Hegele stands for reliability, commitment, and partnership. Our highly motivated employees drive the continuous development of our services with entrepreneurial spirit and flexibility – always with the aim of offering our customers real added value. Your goals are our goals. This is the only way to create a long-term, successful partnership. A strong example of this is our rapid and successful entry into the pharmaceutical business through the establishment of a vaccine distribution center. It was a cross-functional team effort that we accomplished together with the customer in a very short time. What sets us apart is that we always want to prove that anything is possible – “We (also) find a way” – and apply this solution-oriented approach to all industries and customer requirements.