Putting “Openness” into practice

PI’s third Global Business Conference was held in mid-February and 40 colleagues attended the event. In addition to representatives from the regions themselves and the marketing department, representatives of the supply chain, purchasing, controlling and research functions were also present as well as members of the extended PI management team. Following Bangkok and Mettmann, the location this year was the small town of Billerbeck in North Rhine‑Westphalia. The focus topics included PI strategy, presentation of the work being done in the regions, and C4Connect®.

“It is precisely the diverse mix of different divisions and regions that makes the conference so valuable for us,” says Dr. Dirk Höhler, head of Marketing & Sales in PI. “Whether it was regional topics, current issues or strategic topics, such as new business models or our C4Connect® digital solutions, the discussions were open and the participants gained new and interesting ideas and insights. This is how we learn from each other.” Paul Harmsen, head of Strategic Marketing in Performance Intermediates, also emphasized that the close and personal exchanges are key to the success of the businesses: “I consider the discussions and the time spent with our colleagues from the regions to be very valuable. It enables us to gain in-depth insights into our global activities and it greatly assists our collaboration. It allows us to work together to generate new, concrete ideas for our business.” Overall, a very successful event that lets us look ahead with optimism and enthusiasm to an exciting 2019.

PS: During the event, two new online campaigns were launched: #C4Regions and #Chemistry4People. You can find out more here: