You’ve moved to the Oelde area – won’t you miss the Ruhr region?
No, I haven’t regretted the move for a single day so far. Quite the opposite, in fact. I used to commute, which meant I spent at least two hours of my free time in the car every day. Now I’m at work in 15 minutes.  

But surely the range of opportunities in a big city is greater – and perhaps more interesting too?
True, at first glance the city seems to offer more opportunities. But on closer inspection, you realise that life is concentrated in the neighbourhood where you live. And in a direct comparison, I don’t miss a thing here. On the contrary, my quality of life has actually improved.

Because you gain an hour and a half of free time every day?
Not just that. There are many reasons. Do you know where I often spend my lunch break? In the woods. There’s a lovely forest path just a stone’s throw away. It’s like a spa treatment; you can really switch off there. Or another example: in the city, everything is anonymous; I’ve only ever caught a fleeting glimpse of the tenant next door at the letterbox twice a year. Here, I’ve got to know more people in a short space of time than I did in all those years in the Ruhr. You don’t have to be friends with everyone, but you know each other. I find that much more pleasant. Especially as I’m now the father of a little girl. I don’t want my child to grow up in a grey, anonymous city.
 

So you’d rather grow up in the ‘backwoods’?
(Laughs) No, you’ve got that wrong. This definitely isn’t the backwoods. We’re in a great location with excellent motorway links. I can be in the Ruhr region or the Sauerland within an hour, and even Holland is close by and well worth a visit. The area is brilliant; there’s a wide range of leisure activities, and everything you need is here. It’s a really good place to live. Especially for families.

That almost sounds as if you work at the local tourist office. But what do you actually do?
I work at Venti as a sector manager for the chemical industry.

What does that involve?
Well, to put it simply, I’m responsible for the sales of our products and services within the chemical industry. That ranges from responding to enquiries, through preparing quotations and handling follow-ups, to managing projects as they move into implementation.

For the European market?
For the international market.
 

Does that involve travelling, or can it all be done from a desk these days?
No, it’s not possible to do it from a desk alone. Especially when a project enters its crucial phase, you have to sit down with the clients and discuss every detail. That happens face-to-face around a table.

And where is that table?
(Laughs) Wherever the client puts it. Most recently, I’ve been to Japan, Korea and Thailand.

So, first of all, you have to enjoy travelling, and secondly, be able to adapt well to other cultures?
That’s right, and it certainly applies to me. It’s an exciting role that I really enjoy. And by that I don’t just mean the travelling, but every aspect of my job. I have to say that I genuinely look forward to coming to work every day. I’ve

already heard this unusual admission today in conversation with one of your colleagues. Did you two agree on that?
I reckon you’d hear that from quite a few of our colleagues. It’s simply the whole package that works. We have flat hierarchies, so if you take on responsibility and deliver results, you can achieve a lot here. That’s quite different from a large corporation, where you’re just a number among many. With us, everything is more direct and friendly.