Interviews

Do you sleep seven to nine hours per night, as recommended? If you sleep less than six hours per night you have a problem. Sleep deprivation is a widespread problem all over the world. European Business talked to sleep expert Els van der Helm about the importance of sleep, what employers can teach their employees and how you can be sure you get a good night’s sleep.

As a leader you are faced with many challenges, especially when surrounded by different personalities. Do you know how best to manage a Diva or a Maverick? Alan Willett knows how to manage people and projects. In his book “Leading the unleadable: How to manage Cynics, Divas and other difficult people”, he gives insights and examples, and reveals a formula for modifying undesirable behaviours. We talked to him about challenging personalities, the use of feedback tools and which leaders can be seen as role models.

Board the aircraft and leave traffic behind you: With Volocopter, that is not a problem anymore. It is designed to replace conventional taxis in the future and cover short distances in large cities autonomously. Why the multicopter has only been underway with a pilot so far, what Daimler has to do with the company and what exactly is behind the trend of urban air mobility – Alexander Zosel, Cofounder and Chief Innovation Advisor of Volocopter GmbH, reveals all that in an interview.

From humble beginnings as a family-owned, Swedish based company, to the successful adoption into the Datwyler portfolio, Elfa Distrelec is now one of the leading electronics suppliers in Europe. Since 2008, the company has undergone rapid growth in response to the needs of their newly merged supplier and customer networks. Their promise: to deliver a truly personalised customer experience.

John Adair is one the world´s leading authorities on leadership and leadership development. He has written more than 40 books on these topics. His latest book “Lessons in Leadership” was published in 2018. We talked to John Adair about the meaning of leadership, what qualities make a good leader and how leadership has changed in the past years and decades.

Growing up in a family of explorers and environmentalists it was only natural for Céline Cousteau to become an advocate for our planet. Whether she fights for the indigenous tribes in the Amazon or discusses the concept of social entrepreneurship with big corporations: her work is a reminder that we all need to do our best to maintain the beauty of the world we live in.

What is the greatest challenge for humanity in the 21st century? British journalist and author Gideon Rachman considers it to be the process of managing 'Easternisation', among others. He spoke to European Business about this major challenge and other related topics based on his book ‘Easternisation: War and Peace in the Asian Century’.

Japan is, without a doubt, one of the world’s most technologically advanced nations in a plethora of industries from electronics to automotive, robotics to medical technology. The MISUMI group, which produces and supplies machine parts, is a prime example of Japanese innovation, with its focus on automation components. European Business spoke with Stephan Stammberger, Corporate Officer for Sales and Marketing at MISUMI Europa GmbH in Frankfurt, to find out what makes MISUMI different and how the company plans to establish itself as the world’s number one platform for engineers.

Fewer and fewer people have time to cook at home but eating out can be equally time consuming as well as expensive. For exhausted workers arriving home tired after a long day, the solution is increasingly to order food in using a home delivery website or app. European Business talked to Joris Wilton, Manager Investor Relations at Takeaway.com N.V., one of the big success stories in the home food delivery market.

Etergo’s mission is not only to build the scooter of the future – The company’s founders Bart Jacobsz-Rosier and Marijn Flipse are on a mission to prove to the world that the time for the transition to ecologically sustainable transportation methods is now. European Business spoke with Mr. Jacobsz-Rosier about facing the traffic challenges of tomorrow, improving road safety today and how Etergo set out to completely re-invent the scooter.