0:02

Before the COVID pandemic upended

0:04

the way the world does business, logistics

0:07

was one of those industries that might have been

0:09

taken for granted. That's not

0:11

the case anymore due

0:14

to other turbulences over the last two years.

0:17

Customers are now realizing how

0:19

important it is to have a reliable

0:21

logistics partner on their side. Our

0:24

people are doing a quite complex drop.

0:26

People think, are they just to live up past it somewhere?

0:29

That's an easy If you think about what

0:31

our people are doing, it's quite complex.

0:33

Businesses and consumers are suddenly thinking

0:36

a lot more about how things they

0:38

need reach places where they're

0:41

needed. It's thrust the sector

0:43

into the spotlight. Logistics

0:45

and supply chain has become a household name.

0:48

It's dramatically different

0:51

than pre pandemic. Yes, it's grown,

0:53

whether that's in market, revenue,

0:57

profitability, investor in

0:59

the dress. For Deutsche Post DHL

1:01

Group, that's created opportunity

1:04

to build on momentum and set ambitious

1:06

goals for service and performance. When

1:09

you look at our footprint, we're the most international

1:11

logistics company there is. We want to become

1:13

more digital and we want to be much

1:15

more sustainable than we have been. D p

1:17

d h l's revenue has sword since

1:20

twenty with full year profit

1:22

nearly doubling in one

1:25

CFO. Melanie christ is a key

1:27

leader of the team that's delivered these

1:29

results, and she views her role

1:32

as much more than just a number

1:34

corruption. There are, unfortunately

1:36

these cliches that finance is

1:38

boring and it's kind of like been counting

1:41

in the back office would be successful in finance.

1:43

I mean, you have to have the financial

1:45

expertise, right, but you also have to

1:47

be credible business leaders in order

1:49

to really impact the business and steer

1:51

the direction. She is extremely smart

1:54

and bright. You need somebody who is able

1:56

to digest a lot of information that rapidly

1:59

and can distinguish it's important what's less

2:01

important. She has tremendous

2:03

skill in that, and she's not afraid to

2:05

cool people out to call out other members of the

2:07

executive team. If she feels

2:09

that something isn't being she does it in a

2:11

very nice way. Actually, she helps

2:14

me tremendously in straining the company because

2:16

she is highly regarded

2:18

by my other colleagues in the senior

2:21

team, and typically

2:23

if they have a problem, they share shared

2:25

first with her before they come

2:27

to me. When I think about the conversations

2:30

I have with Frank. The shortest part

2:32

is actually about the analysis and

2:34

the facts. Um, it's more the debate about

2:36

okay. On that basis, what are the

2:39

options? What can we do? My role

2:41

is essentially saying, in three sentences, what

2:43

is working well in this company, where

2:45

do we have challenges and what to do going

2:48

forward. M

3:03

Deutsche Post DHL Group consists

3:05

of five divisions, Express

3:07

Germany's post and parcel service, Global

3:10

forwarding and freight, supply chain

3:13

and e commerce solutions. Each

3:15

of these segments has seen revenue growth in

3:17

the last four years, while the surge

3:19

of e commerce volume during the pandemic has

3:21

had a direct impact on the trajectory.

3:25

If you see e commerce as a very structural

3:27

and fundamental growth driver for us as a

3:29

company, what we now saw under the pandemic

3:31

was a structural acceleration. It took

3:34

us forward to a point in terms of e compenetration

3:37

which we probably would have reached un enormal circumstances

3:40

in three years time, So it was a big step

3:42

forward. D P d h L

3:44

was well prepared to take this step.

3:47

The company's strategic plan recognized

3:49

e commerce as a growing trend in

3:51

the logistics landscape, but no

3:53

one could have forecast the speed and

3:56

breadth of the transformation when

3:58

we are now seeing that also

4:01

under the pandemic, not only domestic

4:03

e commerce has taken a faster

4:05

growth trajectories than anticipated, but

4:07

also cross border e commerce um and

4:09

we see that very clearly in our express network

4:12

but also in our e con Solutions division. What

4:14

are the other big structural shifts that you see

4:16

on the horizon? Is it e commerce B two B?

4:19

Is it increased trade as

4:22

globalization restructures? What

4:24

are the shifts that you're seeing The would

4:26

be to be EQUALM is still at a very early

4:28

stage, so we believe that there will be

4:31

a huge growth opportunity there and

4:33

we also see that when we're talking to our customers

4:35

now. I guess everybody has been now realized

4:37

that being dependent on just one

4:39

supplier in one province in one

4:42

country is probably not a good idea, so

4:44

they want to build more resilience into the supply

4:46

chain. I think our international footprint,

4:49

our global strength, is really

4:51

something we can leverage for the benefit of our customers.

4:54

Another factor in the company's favor is

4:56

its balance sheet. Since Melanie

4:58

christ became se FO cash

5:01

flow has improved significantly.

5:03

One of my priorities over the last year's has

5:06

been to really focus the whole organization

5:08

on better cash generation. It's not

5:10

just a finance job. Making

5:13

sure that ultimately revenue

5:15

converts into ebort and into cash

5:18

in the bank account is the responsibility

5:20

of the whole organization. She says, you know, we

5:22

we can't be successful as

5:25

a company if we are not collecting the

5:27

cash for our services we have provided,

5:29

and she has not missed

5:32

one single opportunity to talk about that.

5:34

I think it's a very comfortable situation,

5:37

particularly in the current environment, to

5:39

have a strong balance sheet. I think in that sort

5:42

of respect, I'm very conservative and I

5:44

rather have a bit more on the balance sheet and a

5:46

bit more a buff us spell out for us what the priorities

5:48

are, the longer term priorities in terms of putting

5:51

some of that cash to use for you. The

5:53

first priority here is organic

5:55

growth. He clearly indicated also with our

5:57

capex budget twelve billion for the next

6:00

three years, that we will keep investing

6:02

into organic growth. We are very focused

6:04

on our regular dividend payment and

6:06

then if there is something left, which

6:09

is fortunately the case at the moment, we

6:11

will think about in organic opportunities

6:14

and we will also think about other means

6:16

to allow our shoulders to participate. That

6:19

is why we're currently running a two billion euros

6:21

share by back program. In Organic

6:23

opportunities include M and A like

6:26

the recent purchase of beverage shipper Hiller

6:28

brand, but deploying cash is

6:31

always subject to careful consideration.

6:33

Does Melanie ever turn around and say no

6:36

when you're pushing through or pushing for a

6:39

particular package of spending. Yes,

6:41

she does it quite often, you know, because

6:44

she has she You know,

6:46

she is a person, and that's great

6:48

if you have a CFO or who is risk of prose

6:50

because you need somebody. You know. The business

6:52

is always too optimistic. Melanie

6:55

might be something too pessimistic, but

6:57

that's a very healthy discussion. If we've

7:00

the jointly come to the same

7:02

conclusion after a debate, then

7:04

we are probably in the right spot. How often do you

7:06

find yourself saying no to divisional

7:09

heads? So when

7:11

I kind of like was promoted into the C

7:13

of all position, my team gave me a stamp,

7:15

was kind of like rejected. It

7:18

sits on my desk. I think the fact

7:20

that people know it sits there already

7:23

has instilled quite a lot of discipline in

7:25

the organization. UM, so I think

7:27

UM when I get a

7:29

proposal, it has also gone already

7:32

gone through a number of iterations UM

7:34

and is normally of such a high quality

7:36

that I don't need to rejected a stamp

7:39

too often for the time being. Christ

7:41

should be able to keep that stamp in

7:43

a draw. CEO Frank Cappelle

7:46

has expressed a commitment to service quality

7:48

and confidence that customers will

7:50

accept higher prices that come with

7:53

it. If you are too expensive,

7:55

you will be out of business, But if you don't

7:57

provide the right quality, you will be out of business.

8:00

So we want to be We will never be the cheapest

8:02

in town. That's not will be the

8:04

premium provider. That's all the strategy. Of

8:06

course, it's also more challenging for us

8:08

than our customers are under pressure. At

8:11

the same time, I think over all

8:13

the last two years have shown that reliable,

8:17

high quality supply chain comes

8:19

at a certain price. Tech I definitely

8:21

see that inflation

8:23

is having a huge impact on

8:26

the logistics industry, and there's

8:28

been substantial price increases

8:30

in the last few years. I

8:32

do not see that changing. There's a lot

8:35

of innovation happening. Uh,

8:37

and I don't see the inflation necessarily

8:40

going away. It might level out

8:42

a bit, but it's not going to go away. Logistics

8:45

companies may have pricing power with customers,

8:48

but their stock prices haven't

8:50

been so robust. I think that

8:52

the issue there is the increase

8:54

in interest rates has made

8:57

everyone rethink and we

8:59

can turned about the level of

9:01

inventory that is out um

9:04

you know, in the system, if you will,

9:06

and with the level of disruption. I think what's

9:09

happened more in the lasts

9:13

is it more of a view that we're actually not heading

9:15

into certainly an

9:17

you can't slowdown maybe a recession.

9:20

With more than half its revenue coming from Europe,

9:22

investors may see dp d h

9:25

L as more exposed to recession risk

9:27

than its global peers. The company

9:30

insists it can meet its revenue

9:32

targets in the event of a downturn.

9:35

It's counting on diversification

9:37

as a cushion. I'm not so pessimistic

9:40

that the that there is really

9:42

a deep recession at our doorsteps.

9:44

So but even then, you know, our

9:46

portfolio is very much balanced. You know,

9:48

we are everywhere in the world of the world

9:50

will not go entirely in the recession A doubt

9:53

that would it be a stretch to suggest that DP d

9:55

h L is to some extent recession proof.

9:59

I wouldn't go as as to say recession

10:01

proof, but I think we are very well

10:03

positioned to deal with all different

10:05

types of recessions in every scenarios

10:08

due to the breadth of the portfolio. The balance

10:10

also portfolio really gives us a lot

10:12

of resilience against any type of

10:14

headwind. As the chief financial

10:16

officer of one of the world's largest logistics

10:18

companies, Melanie Christ has made her

10:21

mark in global business. That's

10:23

not what she originally attended

10:25

to do. I really wanted to go into research.

10:28

I wanted to become a physicist, and

10:30

that was where my passion was. But

10:32

then during my studies, UM some friends

10:35

of mine started doing this strange thing.

10:37

They went into management consulting. I

10:39

didn't even know how to spell it, and I had

10:41

no idea what it was about, but what they told

10:43

me was quite interesting. Um and UM.

10:46

So I ended up doing an internship with a consulting

10:48

firm, and I learned more in the two

10:50

months there than I had in the last two years

10:52

in my physics job at

10:55

university. That is how I ended up

10:57

in consulting. She started

10:59

her career with three years at mckensey, then

11:01

spent four years in private equity with

11:03

Apax Partners in London before

11:06

joining Deutsche Post DHL Group into

11:08

thousand and four. I was brought

11:10

into the company to do international M and A

11:12

project. That was at a time around twenty

11:14

years ago when we were really building

11:17

the company in the current shape, acquiring

11:20

lots of logistics companies

11:22

around the world. The M and A part was the first

11:24

thing, and I then wandered into

11:26

a more mainstream finance UH

11:29

field here in in the group, becoming

11:31

the CFO of our DIATL Express

11:33

division. So from then on it was more

11:36

leading towards the CFO role. Eventually,

11:39

Melanie Christ now heads the finance team

11:41

with around eleven thousand employees.

11:45

Success in this role is as much

11:47

an art as a science. If

11:49

you do the greatest piece of analysis

11:52

and you see it all and you know it all, but

11:54

you can't convey that message and you can't

11:56

convince the rest of the organization that

11:59

we should move into a certain direction, it's

12:01

useless. DP

12:03

d h L is sending a consistent

12:06

message with its investments. The company

12:08

spent a hundred twenty three million euros

12:10

to upgrade its logistics center at

12:12

the Clone Bonn Airport, designing

12:15

it around key strategic goals.

12:18

Well, I love about this building is it

12:20

actually shows them the big mega trends

12:22

which formed our strategy

12:25

which was inaugurated in tween

12:28

this building opened. So globalization,

12:31

connecting the worlds e commerce.

12:33

We have a lot of sortation facilities here

12:35

for smaller e commerce shipments. Sustainability,

12:38

it's a very sustainable building that solar

12:40

panels on the room and everything, and

12:43

digitalization and well you can

12:45

obviously see that it is quite automated. How

12:47

did the team pitch this investment

12:49

to you initially and how hard was it

12:52

as a cell for them? How quickly did you

12:54

turn around say yes, this is worth

12:56

a hundred twenty three million euros. Of course,

12:58

you always have to make sure that you have the right capacity

13:01

for the growth in the network. And

13:03

at that time they came and said, hey, we

13:05

will really see a strong growth in new commerce

13:08

volumes on top of the regular B two B growth.

13:10

We need more sorting capacity, we need this

13:12

building. And of course they always debates

13:15

doesn't really have to coast under twenties three million

13:17

euros and so on. But fortunately

13:19

they convinced us because then with Corvid

13:22

and the volumes hurt who urgently needed

13:24

the capacity. At the same time

13:26

as COVID accelerated demand for logistics

13:29

services, disruptions in the labor

13:31

supply hurt. Productivity

13:34

advances and technology like this digital

13:36

sort have helped offset some

13:38

pressures. But automation also

13:40

raises questions. Does this tell

13:43

us that there's the business grows, this

13:45

is gonna become a more automated business, that

13:47

there's going to be less need for labor for workers.

13:50

Well, you still see people here, and I think

13:53

what you can nicely sportins

13:55

here is the combination of technology

13:57

which supports people. So for examply, when

13:59

you look it's a customs area. It used

14:01

to be a very manual and sometimes confusing

14:04

process. Now the people are supported

14:06

in picking the right hipments for customs inspections

14:09

by light and they are automatically sorted

14:11

in this sort of to go to customers expections.

14:14

So it is also having the

14:16

people. Um, it was the job they're doing here

14:18

every day. We all a said, you know in two thousand,

14:20

nineteen twenty, you know we might

14:22

get one third less jobs in

14:24

the current set up until twenty

14:26

thirty if we digitalized for your organization,

14:29

But we are very sure that our company will be at

14:31

least fifty maybe hundred percent bigger, and

14:33

we will have more jobs to offer than at

14:36

the beginning of a couple of years ago when we started

14:38

their journey, people said, oh, you

14:40

know, I might lose one job. I haven't heard that in

14:43

the last two years as

14:45

a question in any town hall. This

14:48

airport have also showcases dp

14:51

DHLS aviation fleet, which

14:53

both more than three hundred twenty

14:55

dedicated cargo aircraft. We

14:57

all in the biggest tone of our aircraft,

15:00

but we also have short and medium and long term

15:02

nieces and with the growth in our business,

15:04

we anticipate that the people

15:07

keep growing. And you've talked about investing, of course

15:09

in sustainable fuel. Yes, when

15:11

does that, when does that come online? How significant

15:14

is it? Is it just the critics might say that's just window

15:16

dressing around a part of the business that

15:19

is of course very very carbon

15:21

intensive, at least a lot of emissions. Yeah,

15:24

so you absolutely right. The problem with

15:26

our beautiful aircraft is the CEO two

15:28

emissions and when you look

15:30

at our overall, it's U two emissions

15:32

to thirds up from aviation. It

15:35

is about flying these birds with more

15:37

sustainable fuel, and we said that we

15:39

are really willing to spend billions on it.

15:42

We now really hope that we will see the uptick

15:44

in supply over the next year's spending

15:46

billions isn't vague hyperbole.

15:49

The company has pledged to put seven billion

15:51

euros towards sustainable technologies

15:54

and fuels by thirty with

15:56

the goal of climate neutral logistics

15:58

by twenty fifty. Just inability

16:00

makes good business sense anyway,

16:03

especially if you are in a business

16:05

that is energy or fuel

16:07

hungry. As a compliance element that not

16:10

just operators in the logistics sector

16:12

need to consider but also their customers,

16:15

so being transparent becomes part

16:17

of the service about their impact on

16:20

the globe. We had a lengthy discussion

16:23

should we make financial

16:25

commitment how much we want to invest for

16:27

the next decade in our sustainability

16:30

and we had a long debate is it right

16:32

to say we want to invest seven billion? Until

16:35

there were pros and cons But that was a

16:37

very intense discussion Melanie and I had

16:40

where we finally came to the conclusion

16:42

that this is a right number. This

16:44

is a right approach. We convinced our colleague,

16:46

and that's the reason why we are where we are. Where

16:48

we are seen as somebody who really commit.

16:51

They're not that many companies who have quantified

16:53

their future investment, which opposed DHL

16:56

groups. CFO Melanie Christ is

16:58

often named to lists of the most powerful

17:00

women in business, and while men

17:03

still out number women as finance heads

17:05

of large companies, there are signs

17:07

that the balance is shifting. The

17:10

number of female CFOs across major US

17:12

companies has risen to an all time high.

17:14

According to a study by Chris Colder Associates

17:18

and executive search firm Cohen Partners

17:20

reports that thirty six percent of new

17:22

CFOs hired by notable

17:24

companies in the first half of two

17:27

were women. I asked Melanie

17:29

Christ if she's encountered obstacles

17:31

as a woman rising through the executive

17:34

ranks. I have to say, UM,

17:36

I have not made many negative

17:39

experiences. UM. Maybe I

17:41

was also a little bit even not thinking about

17:43

these challenges so much so. I mean,

17:45

when I studied physics, there weren't many women,

17:48

so I was somehow always used to it.

17:50

And it can also be an advantage when

17:52

you're kind of like the only girl in the

17:55

room. I mean the boss at the end

17:57

remembers your name and not the nineteen

17:59

guys who all kind of

18:01

like we're dark suits and white shirts and look alike.

18:03

Right. So, UM. I never

18:06

experienced it um as a

18:08

yeah, external stress

18:11

factor. I have to say for me

18:13

personally, it was more balancing my

18:15

own UM expectations

18:19

around kind of like getting family and the

18:21

job combined. UM. But that was probably

18:23

more of a pressure I put on myself, thinking

18:26

that I had to be perfect in every dimension,

18:29

and not something where the pressure was put on

18:31

me from my male colleagues. So

18:33

how do you take that experience and

18:35

put it to play in terms of how you advance

18:39

the role of women in this organization. I

18:42

think the great thing is that now across

18:44

the board in finance, but also in the group

18:46

overall, we have role marvels

18:48

which show young female talent that

18:50

everything is possible. In finance, we

18:52

have a share of women in management

18:55

of thirty um, so

18:57

we are ahead of the group. We want to

18:59

get to thirty five percent by

19:01

five I think they are not a position. If you have

19:03

a vacancy. I want to have at least one woman

19:06

on the short list because we have enough

19:08

female talent, so every

19:10

short list should contain a woman, and then

19:12

the best person in the race should win. CEO

19:15

Frank Capelle says Christ sets an example

19:18

for the entire organization and

19:20

he believes her success may influence

19:23

the entire industry. She has proven

19:26

that she is an outstanding CEFO and she's

19:28

definitely a wrong one in many dimensions that

19:30

you you know what I like about there?

19:32

She is still, you know, a

19:35

very warm and nice person

19:37

and that makes such a big difference, so you can

19:39

get to that level without

19:42

compromising on how nice

19:44

you are as a person. I think she's a great wrong

19:46

one and I hope that this has had positive

19:48

impact for many of us from

19:51

the big picture down to the smallest

19:54

operational details. Melanie

19:56

Gryce is fully engaged in guiding

19:58

dp DHL to the future.

20:01

I wanted to know what she sees when

20:03

she looks ahead. What do you see

20:05

is the biggest opportunities for d P

20:08

d H L over the next ten years.

20:11

I think we have a fantastic portfolio and

20:15

we just have to leverage the growth opportunities

20:17

which are there both on the equam side

20:20

um and also on the traditional B two B side,

20:22

and the key differentiators for us will

20:25

be digitalization, sustainability

20:27

and our great people. As you look ahead

20:29

ten years, what are some of the challenges what keeps

20:32

you up at night as you think about

20:34

the business going forward. I think

20:36

we have to keep this focus and the ability

20:39

to adjust in a very agile way.

20:41

Sometimes when you kind of like think about

20:44

all the risk controlling and stuff,

20:46

people tend to create the impression

20:49

that you can pre plan everything. That's

20:51

clearly not the case. So I think we have

20:54

to stay focused and keep

20:56

the ability to react in a very

20:58

edgile way. But looking

21:00

at what happened over the last twenty four months, I'm

21:02

very optimistic that we will also be

21:04

able to cope with whatever happens next.

21:07

And how do you see your role changing

21:09

in the years ahead. I think

21:11

it is changing at a very rapid pace,

21:14

which is a great thing because it never gets

21:16

boring. Um, those elements I just

21:18

mentioned for the group overall, digitalization

21:21

and sustainability are also hugely

21:23

irrelevant for the finance role. It's

21:25

like a new language you have to learn, and you

21:27

learn the vocabulary, but then you also have

21:29

to develop a feeling. If I kind of like, put so

21:32

much capital into this de carbonization measure,

21:34

I get so much in terms of return out of

21:36

it. But that's a fascinating opportunity

21:39

where we can make a huge difference for finance

21:42

and for the group overall. As you look to the future,

21:44

Melanie, what do you think is going to be the skill sets,

21:47

the knowledge basis They're going to be essential

21:50

to the success of future CFOs.

21:53

Guess probably the two most essential

21:55

new skills will be to get

21:57

even better at lifelong learning, because

22:00

we will have to learn so much new

22:02

stuff every year, be it in

22:05

the digitalization area, be it on sustainability.

22:08

So this ability also as

22:10

a fifty year plus old person to

22:12

keep learning and keep the curiosity,

22:14

I think that is going to be super essential. And

22:17

the second element will be being a great

22:19

team player. The world is complex,

22:22

you can't know it all, so you really

22:24

have to work even more strongly with your

22:26

team. What advice would you give to someone

22:29

who has just recently been appointed

22:31

CFO. That's

22:34

a great question. I think I would probably

22:36

simply say, be curious and

22:38

ask as many questions as you can,

22:41

try to learn as much as possible,

22:43

not only in the finance area, but

22:45

get close to the business. Try to really

22:48

understand the business, because only

22:50

when you are close to the business and you

22:52

understand the fundamental profit drivers

22:55

will you'll be a really great, fearful I'm Tom

22:57

Mackenzie. This is

22:59

Bloomberg foot