Henkel CEO, at the Fall Press Conference held in London on November 6, 2008. Extracts from his statement:

“(...) I am a clear believer in there is a very big correlation between the quality of the team that you have and the numbers you produce. We can see in countries that are neighboring countries with the same products, the same customers, the same market trends, that country A performs significantly better than country B - and in almost all cases it is due to the impact of a better team. And that is why people management is at the top of this company.

We need to make certain that we take this very seriously and drive improvement into organization, coach our people, give them consistent feedback. And the consequence of doing this (...) is that today our team will be better than yesterday. And our ambition should be that (...) tomorrow our team is better than today. By spending more and more time with our people, in training sessions, in feedback sessions, in ensuring that we have the right culture but also knowhow capabilities around the table. (...) It means working with people, assign them to the right jobs (...), assign the right leadership skills (...). That will be a key driver to make us more successful in the future. (...)

And we take diversity in terms of age, gender and nationality very serious. One of the examples (...) is (..) that (...) more than a quarter of our managers today are female, and that is growing one percent per year. (...) We have no quota in this company. The only thing that counts is competence (...) It is our outspoken incent to empower people: Let the right people take the right positions. (...) So people is on the top of the agenda of the management of this company.“

Head of Global Diversity & Inclusion talking to Henkel Corporate Communications.

? What are your duties at Henkel?

Meier: The function of Global Diversity & Inclusion is relatively new at Henkel. Its objective is to render the company more international and more feminine in its make-up. Part of my job also involves looking into the effects of demographic developments at Henkel.

? What is a typical working day for you?

Meier: It is my task to pursue the path of active communications in order to explain the advantages of diversity worldwide, namely access to new markets, higher productivity and improved innovation capability within the team environment. Specifically, however, it also means improving the underlying conditions, say, for fathers and mothers within the company, by providing for example childcare and working time and location flexibility. For older colleagues, maintaining health and motivation is an important factor.

? Why do you find the job so interesting?

Meier: Globalization, demography and also the changes in social values which are taking place are trends that Henkel cannot avoid. Coming to terms with them at an early stage and creating appropriate structures and conditions are extremely exciting undertakings.

? What advice would you give to someone joining Henkel as a new recruit?

Meier: At Henkel, people should not specialize too early on in their career. Instead, they should make the most of all the opportunities that the company is able to offer. Because Henkel is in itself broadly diverse and can often provide unexpected chances for development.

? What posts have you previously held at Henkel?

Meier: I started in the Investor Relations department at Henkel HQ in Düsseldorf. I then switched to Investment Financing. Later on I became a project manager at Henkel Financial Services before going to Britain as CFO of the local subsidiary for 18 months at the beginning of 2004. I came back to Germany in 2005 and, until October 2007, worked at Internal Audit. Since November 2007, I have been responsible for Global Diversity & Inclusion.

Anke Meier has been the Diversity Manager at Henkel for three months. In an interview with Henkel Life, she explains what diversity means for
Henkel and the goals Henkel hopes to achieve with it.

? How do you define diversity for Henkel?

Meier: We want the best teams, independent of the members’ age, gender, or nationality. The basic idea of diversity is anchored in Henkel’s Corporate Values: We develop and foster our employees’ varied talents. We value each other and have respect for each other. In this way, we create an attractive work environment for talented and motivated employees. Our mission at Diversity Management is to assemble teams consciously in such a manner so that they contribute a variety of talents, perspectives, and cultures to a better solution to a given problem. If people think the same way over and over, then nothing new can arise.

? Why is diversity so important for Henkel?

Meier: We are a global corporation with activities in more than 125 countries, and more than 50 percent of our employees work outside of Germany. We want to participate successfully in the growth of markets relevant to us. To this end, we need the best teams in the right place. Consequently, we want to be perceived as an attractive employer, internally as well as externally.

? What are your primary responsibilities?

Meier: First, I conducted a survey of Henkel’s diversity activities. The transparency of structures is one of the most important components for deriving concrete recommendations for action. The Diversity Cockpit provides me with important information on personnel structures at Henkel around the world with regard to gender, age, and nationality. In addition, I have held a great number of discussions – mostly with colleagues but also with other companies that also have Diversity Management – in order to become better acquainted with the relevant issues and various approaches to diversity. Then I reviewed the various diversity activities of the Human Resources department, where several diversity topics have already been addressed. In operative terms, I will be taking over the Family & Career workgroup in Germany and I will remain in constant contact with those colleagues who are involved with health issues and demography. This provides me with vital impulses that I can exploit in a global context. My initial impression is that Henkel’s diversity is recognized and appreciated by many of us but the real benefits of this important resource have not found their way into day-to-day business yet.

? What do you hope to accomplish as Diversity Manager in the medium term?

Meier: We have potential for improvement with respect to women in management positions as well as to the international character of the management teams. There has already been a positive development with regard to women in leading positions. The proportion of women in Management Circles I to III has climbed from 20 percent in 2001 to approximately 26 percent in 2007. With this figure, Henkel is above the average for German industrial companies, but we are not satisfied with that. We have to attract more female applicants to Henkel. Women account for approximately 50 percent of the college graduates in business, for example, but we hire a lower proportion than that. The internationality of the management teams does not yet reflect the sales shares of the various regions. We analyze our age structure with the help of a so-called demography radar and are able to project future developments and derive recommendations for action from that. On the whole, we have to make sure that any obstacles that might stand in the way of career development (such as a lack of child care, care for older dependents or the medically dependent, the integration of different cultures) are removed as far as possible – expressly without any quotas. We want to give just consideration to our employees’ varied lifestyles. Within the company, we want to reflect the structure of the societies, in which we are operating. This is also part of our social responsibility. Above all, the awareness has to be generated that diversity at Henkel is to our advantage and that we have to exploit it in a positive sense. Differing viewpoints, knowledge, and experiences help us to deal with challenges better and to be successful in the face of global competition over the long term.

Corporate Senior Vice President, Strategic Business Unit Hair/Skin/Oral Care

“We are well on track at Henkel (…): The issue of diversity has become a state of mind rather than a short-term measure imposed upon us.”

“Only through the exchange of experience can we hope to further improve our current systems and maintain the already high degree of internationalization in cosmetics management over the long-term.”