25: Stefan Sacre, CEO President of Carl Zeiss Co.,Ltd.

Stefan Sacre, President CEO of Carl ZEISS Japan, originally came
to Japan to pursue research in Tokyo University during the 80s.
Dr. Sacre was fascinated by Japan, an emerging Asian power at the
time, particularly in the semiconductor industry. He even
remembers one of his professors in Germany saying “better watch
out” as he predicted Japan to become the next superpower.


 


By the time he was around 30, Dr. Sacre had lost interest in
research and became an advisor to the European Commission in
metals of industrial corporation towards Japan. His experiencing
working in the “bureaucratic” circle gave him key insights into
the funding structure of projects, which gave him an edge once he
started working at a German optoelectronics company, SICK. There,
Dr. Sacre was hired to turn around the loss-making business as
someone new to a leadership role. Dr. Sacre implemented new work
habits and restructured the business strategy to focus on selling
key products. To have these products accepted by Japanese clients
through meticulous testing and communicating this back to
headquarters was a major challenge he faced. Yet Dr. Sacre
fortunately found like-minded colleagues and stayed persistent.


 


After three years, Dr. Sacre moved back to the company
headquarters in Germany. By that time Dr. Sacre was married to a
Japanese partner and decided to raise their children in Japan, he
returned and became CEO of Bosch Rexroth in Japan. There, he
managed a company of 1000 employees from originally leading 10-15
in his previous position. Dr. Sacre again had the challenge of
communicating between headquarters and Japanese offices, and
persuading those who were resistant to change. In addition, the
organization was struggling from the impact of the 2008 Financial
Crisis.


 


He then moved to Eagleburgman in Germany after 6 years in Bosch,
and returned to Japan to resume the role of CEO at ZEISS Japan.
At ZEISS, Dr. Sacre manages a team of approximately 350 people
and is proud of the company’s reputation for integrity, long-term
thinking and super advanced technology. Yet he has been
confronted with difficulties that come from long-term success
where people are reluctant to change from good to great. Dr.
Sacre has taken on this challenge through constant communication
and building trust, particularly by being transparent and
consistent in his thought process and behaviour. To newcomers
arriving in Japan, Dr. Sacre advises people to be open to
learning without making any quick judgements based on your
previous experiences, and accepting Japan as a well-functioning
society.