Business Field Management
Paul has been with Goldschmidt for 30 years. In 1992, he started as a metallurgist at our location Thermitrex in South Africa. He later became a foundry manager and then moved to our location Thermit Australia in Australia. There, he initially worked as a technical manager before becoming Managing Director in 2011. Since 2017 he has managed the business field Rail Joining at Goldschmidt Holding in Leipzig.
As a Business Field Manager my main responsibility is to set the strategy for the business field for the coming years and to see that this strategy is carried out, both at the business field level, and within the individual group companies for which I am responsible. This involves interacting with the companies to understand their unique situations and challenges in order to best implement the strategy in their local market. Here I try to act as a sounding board to the local managing director, and also to challenge them to achieve the best possible outcome.
I enjoy the variety in the job. Each company has different resources, capabilities, and hurdles they face. It is never boring. The work is interesting, challenging, and through it I have met and worked with a variety of interesting people.
I also like my work because Goldschmidt is a caring company which also offers a broad variety of challenges. The working atmosphere is supportive and collaborative.
I have had many opportunities to develop professionally. This started with the support I received to study an MBA in Australia which I completed in 2009. My colleagues were and are always willing to share their knowledge and experience which helps me to build up further expertise. My development also benefited as I was given different roles, at different sites, over a period of time. This exposed me to many aspects of production processes, products, markets, and customers to enable me to build up a comprehensive knowledge of the business.