TEAM SPOTLIGHT: DR. WINFRIED GUBA

Allison Eckhart • March 30, 2020

Dr. Winfried Guba is the Vice President Global Advisory Services, Central Europe at NetExpat. His primary responsibilities involve driving growth and development of NetExpat in Germany and Central Europe. Winfried holds his MSc and PhD in electrical engineering, has previous experience as Vice President & General Manager in the Tech Industry and is an executive coach.

Winfried started his career as an engineer but through his experience shifted gears to an intercultural and executive coach. We asked him to share a little bit about the path that brought him to NetExpat.

I studied as an engineer and did a masters and PhD in Engineering in Telecommunication. I had a successful career in the tech industry, gaining experience as a head of research and development at Alcatel-Lucent [now Nokia] and then became the head of a business unit. After several years I decided to make a change and worked for an American company first as Vice President Worldwide Engineering and later on as Vice President & General Manager of the Systems Business Unit. During this time I managed people from 22 nations and became fascinated with understanding how people “tick”. Prior to this role, I had underestimated intercultural differences and started to see firsthand the challenges people experienced when they went abroad and had to learn how to work across cultures.

I decided to start freelancing as an executive coach and intercultural trainer and quickly met NetExpat’s President, Alain Verstandig. I began working as an Intercultural and Career Consultant in Germany for NetExpat in addition to my own business and found it very interesting. In 2010 I was offered a role to head business development for NetExpat in Germany. I decided to accept the challenge, but it was a major change from my previous experience. At my very first global mobility conference I did not know many people but I saw it as a positive challenge and began to develop new client relationships relatively quickly and started to grow a vast network. I now help run one of the leading mobility and talent conferences in Europe – International Mobility and Talent Management Conference (IMT) in Hanover – on an annual basis and it is one of my greatest passions.

Winfried shares his insight on the biggest trends/best practices in Central Europe when it comes to global mobility and talent management.

Hands down it’s about the Partner Experience. Everyone is talking about employee experience but I think it’s more than a buzz word. A few years ago everything was about going digital, big data and AI, but everyone seemed to forget that we are all still human beings with feelings. They were thinking about people as numbers – it didn’t work before, it won’t work now and it won’t work in the future.

This notion is not only for the employee but extends to the partner experience, which I see coming more and more into the radar. People are starting to see it and understand it. Helping German companies adapt their policies on this is currently my favorite topic in the Central European market. Partner experience involves everything from how corporations communicate with the partners/spouses to understanding how to support them. What we are seeing is that it’s not just about money; corporations are starting to ask questions – the right questions – so that there is not a mismatch between their investment and the employee/partner’s needs.

Based on both his personal and professional experiences, we wanted to know what Winfried enjoys the most about working in the global mobility/talent management space.

The thing I enjoy the most are the relationships I have been able to develop with our customers. I started as someone who did not have any connections in this industry and today I have a vast network of people who I truly enjoy working with and getting to know daily.

I am constantly learning through my intensive discussions with our clients and growing in the areas of psychology and what it means to be culturally aware. I know that what NetExpat offers is important and I believe in it personally, as I have seen firsthand the benefits for not only the individuals who receive direct support but also for the corporations who offer it.

Winfried has worked at NetExpat for almost 15 years. We asked him what he enjoys most about the team.

I’ve worked for big multinational corporations with 120,000+ people and one of the biggest challenges was how complicated it was for decisions to be made and how many people needed to be involved. One of the most refreshing things about working for NetExpat is how agile the organization is. Input from a variety of perspectives is welcomed and decisions are made quickly. Even with a wide variety of cultural backgrounds, communication is fluid and the team is highly reactive with a positive mindset.

As our world and global industries experience an unprecedented time of change and unknowns, how do you feel NetExpat can play a role in supporting our clients?

Even besides the current COVID-19 outbreak, we always need to anticipate the changing requirements of our clients with respect to the right format and content of our service deliveries. The current situation will most certainly boost virtual solutions, although we are all aware that this can never fully replace a face to face consultation, training or coaching. Moreover, we see the need now to offer content, which covers the specific challenges in these crazy times like the management of change or crisis situations across cultures.

Contact us to schedule a call with one of our experts in your region to learn more about best practices in intercultural solutions, partner assistance and talent management.

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