Audi 2013 Annual Report Download - page 34

“IF YOU AREN’T
AUTHENTIC, YOU WON’T
CONVINCE ANYBODY.”
Prof. Rupert Stadler,
Chairman of the Board of Management of AUDI AG
Right up close. Follow the discussion between
Prof. Rupert Stadler and Pep Guardiola in the
Allianz Arena. You can watch the video here.
Is that the reason why you still discuss career decisions
within the family ?
GUARDIOLA : Yes, when I was planning to move to FC Bayern
Munich only the Bayern board and my brother Pere knew …
… until Silvio Berlusconi spilled the beans ?
GUARDIOLA : That’s right. It seems Silvio Berlusconi, who was
both Italian Prime Minister and President of AC Milan, might
have started talking. Probably because I didn’t sign for his club.
Mr. Stadler, are there moles in your industry too ?
STADLER : Industrial espionage is no rarity. Competition is
tough, and the global economy in particular has a battle on its
hands making sure that strategies and new products aren’t
made public or divulged to competitors. The NSA aair made it
clear that we need to improve our game in that regard. My
personal take on it is that it has become even more important
to be careful who you trust.
And who can you trust ?
STADLER : My Audi team. I can always count on them. In the
private sphere, my wife Angelika and my children. In terms
of strategy and Group goals, I discuss matters at length with
my closest colleagues and of course with Martin Winterkorn,
the Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG,
and with Ferdinand Piëch, the VW Supervisory Board Chairman.
GUARDIOLA : Do you talk business with your wife ? My wife
Cristina sometimes complains about my game tactics. She tells
me I should start with the same team that won last time.
Trying to explain my principle of squad rotation to her is harder
than telling Arjen Robben : “You’ll be sitting on the bench
today.” STADLER : I can certainly empathize with that. I can
talk about soccer with Angelika for hours and still not agree.
That aside, I try to separate my job from my family life.
So you draw a clear dividing line between family and career ?
STADLER : It isn’t quite that simple. That would imply the idea
of two hearts beating in my chest. That doesn’t work. The
very interaction of family and career is the recipe for success.
Though I admit when I’m at home my wife will often say :
“You’re thinking about Audi again,” and of course she is right –
and yet she is my rock. I draw strength from my family, and
that equips me to do my job. That calm environment often
fosters the best ideas for the Company. GUARDIOLA : You can’t
keep work and family life strictly separate anyway. Anyone
who tried to do that wouldn’t be authentic … STADLER : … and
if you aren’t authentic, you won’t convince anybody.
PHOTO : Anke Luckmann
Fuel consumption and emission figures at the end of the Annual Report
THINK FORWARD
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