With over 5,000 customers and 1,200 employees, DPD (Schweiz) AG is one of Switzerland’s leading parcel service providers. In an interview, Tilmann Schultze tells us about his management style and his responsibilities as CEO and gives an insight into his private life.

DPD: "What challenges does your position as CEO entail?"

Tilmann: "For me, one of the key challenges is mastering all of the aspects and areas of expertise that this job demands. You find yourself quickly moving from one topic to the next – operations, sales, customer service, finance, IT, international, customs clearance, HR, compliance and so on. As I’m not seeking to master everything, I have surrounded myself with people who are better in these areas than me, and together we are unbeatable.

The other challenge when it comes to putting together a successful team is finding the right people. In other words, not merely recruiting people who have the necessary expertise, but – more importantly – identifying people whose human qualities will enable them to develop in our company’s environment and specific culture and will also allow others to grow.

It’s important that you create the right work environment and motivate the employees so that each and every one of them can work under the very best conditions and perform. No matter how diverse the employees are, they need the freedom to take the initiative."

DPD: "What is your personal management style?"

Tilmann: "I think I have a management style that’s founded on trust and personal responsibility. The greater the teams’ sense of trust, the less fearful they are of taking the initiative and sharing/realising their ideas. By affording every employee responsibility, we enable them all to find their place in the collective and understand the contribution they make to the group.

Success is never the product of a single person, a single idea, a single innovation or a single action – it is a collective effort over time, based on a common goal. Our vision at DPD is this: Conquer Swiss Hearts."

DPD: "What do you like to do the most in your free time?"

Tilmann: "My professional life is so varied and hectic that I am always happy to have my family around me again in the peace and quiet and to enjoy their presence. If I’m not playing tennis, I love to do nothing! Some people find it difficult to do nothing, but I’m pretty good at it. 😉 The human spirit needs tedium and I’m not afraid of self-reflection. It’s about simply getting away from the computer screen, switching off your mobile phone and enjoying what you have."

DPD: "What’s your favourite music genre?"

Tilmann: "Check this out. 😎"

DPD: "If you could invite three famous people to dinner, who would you invite and why?"

Tilmann:
1. "Snoop Dogg: I just think the guy is so cool. I love his music and would love him to tell me about how he worked his way up out of the Compton ghetto.

2. Michael Jordan: I was already following the NBA religiously as a kid. I would like to hear from Michael how he turned a run-of-the-mill franchise into the world’s best basketball team.

3. Winston Churchill: I’m sure he would have a lot to say on the topic of crisis management."

DPD: "What do you mostly spend your money on?"

Tilmann: "I had to consult my wife on this question and her response was: “Say ‘On my wife”. 😁 I have spent my life travelling the globe, be it in my free time (naturally with my wife/family) or on business, to get to know planet earth and discover all the different cultures. My travel budget is waiting to be spent, especially now that travel is an option once again after two years of saving during the Covid-19 pandemic!"

DPD: "What or who makes you especially happy?"

Tilmann: "That’s an easy one – I’m happy when the people around me are happy."

DPD: "What activity really allows you to switch off and forget the world around you?"

Tilmann: "I love to read and I read a lot. I think if I were really immersed in a book, I wouldn’t even notice an earthquake. Let me take this opportunity to recommend two of my favourite novels:
1. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón and
2. The Corpse Reader by Antonio Garrido"

DPD: "What would you like to do if you were fearless?"

Tilmann: "I will do anything that scares me. I only suffer from vertigo if I no longer have the ground under my feet. In other words, I’m not afraid when I’m in an aeroplane. So I would like to have a go at parachuting and I would also like to swim with whales and sharks. And if I really knew how to, I would drive a Formula 1 car too."

DPD: "What experience would you absolutely love to repeat?"

Tilmann: "I would love to celebrate my 35th birthday again. On the one hand, I was 20 years younger back then. And on the other, it marked the beginning of a new chapter in my life – I was married and became a father and everything somehow felt open to me, including in my career. That really was an exciting age and I would love to experience it again."

DPD: "If you were a superhero, what superhuman power would you choose?"

Tilmann: "I spent my childhood reading superhero comics. I especially liked the X-Men and in particular Wolverine. He is hot-tempered and his behaviour is often borderline, but he is always willing to help. But I’m not interested in having adamantium claws. I would rather have Diablo’s power – if I were able to teleport, I could travel more cheaply. 😉"

DPD: "Name three highlights in your life."

Tilmann: "Meeting my future wife for the first time and the births of my two children. Nothing compares to this."

DPD: "What would you not have believed had someone predicted it ten years ago?"

Tilmann: "I never would have thought I would become CEO or that I would move to a country as beautiful as Switzerland."

DPD: "And last, but not least, do you have a recipe for success that you can share with young people who aspire to becoming a CEO?"

Tilmann: "I don’t think there’s a universal “secret sauce” that will help you become a CEO. I never consciously worked towards becoming a CEO, but I can maybe offer a few helpful tips – you are (possibly) on the right track if you work hard, listen to others, question yourself, remain true to yourself and have the assistance of a mentor."