Life & Style | People
Werner Baumgartner: crystal clear
When Suchitra Bajpai Chaudhary meets Werner Baumgartner - the traveller, musician, tour guide, sportsman, family man and the managing director of Swarovski Middle East - she discovers the many brilliant facets to his personality.
- By Suchitra Bajpai Chaudhary
- Published: 00:04 August 1, 2008
- Music has been one of the most crucial influences in Werner's life, aside from his school education that added another rich dimension to his personality.
- Image Credit: Asghar Khan/ANM
When Suchitra Bajpai Chaudhary meets Werner Baumgartner – the traveller, musician, tour guide, sportsman, family man and the managing director of Swarovski Middle East – she discovers the many brilliant facets to his personality.
The hills come alive with the sound of music in the picturesque town of Salzburg in Austria. And the same rhythm holds true not only in the film version of the musical The Sound of Music, but for every home in Salzburg.
One such home is that of Werner Baumgartner, the managing director of Swarovski Middle East, who has such a musical family that when they meet they joke that they don't need an orchestra.
Music has been one of the most crucial influences in Werner's life, aside from his school education that added another rich dimension to his personality.
The pioneering school, Akademishches Gymnasium Salzburg, shaped Werner into a person with humility and respect for every culture. His value system was further reinforced when he undertook a solo-backpacking trip to South America at 21.
The unwavering optimism of the natives in the face of dire poverty and their warm hospitality swept him off his feet and proved to be a life-changing turn in his life. Crystals spell optimism and reflect light in their geometric edges.
It was only natural that a person like him would gradually gravitate towards it. A Masters in law and business administration helped him get his first job as a marketing trainee with Nestlé Austria. But soon Werner's wanderlust made him accept a job that would take him places.
He joined the chandelier crystal department of Swarovski in Wattens and his work took him to handle sales in South America, the Middle East and Portugal. Just the kind of thing his bohemian heart craved.
He first came to Dubai as a regional sales manager for the crystal component division but with his dynamism, innovative approach and inimitable team spirit, he rose to become the managing director of Swarovski Middle East.
Today he handles the additional responsibilities of handling the regional sales directorship for the organisation's contemporary lighting and project business for Africa, the Middle East and South Asia.
Werner always takes a leaf from the memoirs of his past journeys to understand new cultures and meet new challenges. Every memory is a chapter in itself, he says, with the hallmark enthusiasm of an explorer unravelling the pleasures of life.
I
I am touched by people's warmth. There is nothing more fascinating than watching people around the world. Every culture is about love and compassion.
I am touched by people who have little to call their own and yet throw open their homes and their hearts to complete strangers. People like this truly humble you. If one believes in another life I must have been born in South America once; I'm really at home with those people.
I had an eye-opening experience when I embarked on a backpacking journey through South America – Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia. It was like coming of age. I met a few South Americans in Austria and had liked them.
After my graduation
I wanted to reward myself. It was a trip to break away from all that I knew and thought to be the way of life. Until then I was brought up in a very protected manner.
I wanted to get out alone, experience the world for myself. It was about me being alone to be able to understand the language, the body language of total strangers, to be able to respect another culture, another lifestyle and the openness of people.
Before I took this trip, I was very shy. I have followed my heart and chosen work that will help me see the world.
I chose to join Swarovski in Austria to be able to travel abroad. I loved travelling. During my student days, I had taken up a part-time assignment of a tour guide, showing tourists Europe on bicycles. I learnt so much from that job about people, cultures, communication and so on.
I have been a great lover of culture, sports and music and love being outdoors all the time. During my tour operator days, I got an opportunity to meet many business leaders and highly educated people, mostly CEOs and COOs. I learnt a lot.
After having spent four years in the head office, when I expressed my willingness at Swarovski to travel abroad, they posted me in Dubai.
I loved Spanish culture and had been to Andalusia and loved the beautiful architecture and culture there. I had a feeling the Arabs were similar to the Spanish and I was right. That was 11 years ago.
I love the thought of nurturing my kids and imbuing them with values. I have two sons Markus, six, and Lukas, two.
I treasure every moment with them. I firmly believe in the saying that when kids are small, give them roots and when they grow up, give them wings.
I believe in serendipity. Some things that are meant for you do fall in your lap. I met my wife Barbara at the Swarovski office in Salzburg, Austria.
I was at the assessment centre and she was at the HR department motivating all of us. Then on another day, I just met her twice by coincidence and I took it as a sign. And here we are in Dubai, raising our family.
I look at travelling as a profound education where you learn something new every minute. When I am at work I am very focused, but after office hours, I love sport and adventure. I jog, go kayaking and play squash.
I love to read a lot. I am fond of authors like John Grisham and Dan Brown. I am hooked on suspense thrillers with archaeological backgrounds.
I love reading titles like The Economist and other business weeklies. I am generally interested in what goes on in the world around me.
I think honesty and straightforwardness are rare qualities to come by in people today. Most people love to brag or make tall orders. When they fail to deliver, then they actually discredit themselves. I dislike unreliability in a person. I think sentences like "consider it done" are very untrue.
I dislike dishonesty especially when people think they can take me for granted.
I can't live without music. Music adds a melodious verve to life. When I was a kid, I learnt to play the piano and the guitar. It became such an obsession that I used to play in a rock band in Austria. During my Boy Scouts days, I would play the guitar for hours around the bonfire, during our camps.
If I do sing today, it is only music of the '60s, '70s and '80s. My favourite styles are salsa and meringue. I love dancing. My entire family is so active in music. My sister and brother-in-law are trained musicians. My brother-in-law is a famous accordion player in Austria.
My wife's family is very music oriented. When we get together we play everything from folk to classical. We don't really need an orchestra during Christmas! My son Markus is now learning to play the piano.
I often dream about taking a short break of three to six months and travelling abroad with my wife and kids. I am aching to see something new; learn something new.
When I went to Peru I was most impressed by the simplicity and honesty of the people; they had a sparkle in their eyes despite their hardship.
They were literally ready to sell the clothes off their back, so dire was their poverty, but they would welcome any guest or stranger.
I was thinking of our lives in Austria where we complain so much despite such high standards of living and here people were literally struggling for their survival.
ME
Me and true happiness
Many people ask me what is it that truly brings a spark to my eyes.
I thought about it a lot and I think it's when I am talking or thinking about my family. Happiness to me is to sit down and do something very nice and calming, without any disturbing thoughts.
In my most recent memories I dreamt of familiar places. When I go home, I revive childhood memories of places I grew up in. I show the kids what I did, my playground, my tree house and so on.
Our family is quite close and I enjoy a very beautiful family life. When my son says, "Papa, come hold me tight", I feel thrilled. It gives me a strong reason for why I exist, what really drives me and the fact that I have to take care of somebody else warms my heart.
Me and my achievements
I am a typical Leo who takes pride in my achievements. I am proud of my home. I see a beautiful world around me. I usually wake up in the morning with happy thoughts.
We live in a fast-paced, challenging environment where anything unwarranted can happen – accidents, tornados… Humanity could be dead with most of the troubles we have, but we live in spite of all that and that is the real joy.
MYSELF
What do you think has been your greatest achievement after having come to this region?
My best achievement was when we were able to turn the abaya into a fashion statement with the use of Swarovski crystals.
I felt I understood the minds and hearts of the women in this culture and wanted to develop a segment or line in keeping with the cultural sentiments of the region and I must say I was really satisfied.
Recently I was in Kuwait and women who didn't wear the abaya came to say they began wearing it because it was so much fun to wear. I felt I had revived a tradition.
What are your strengths?
My strength is my quality of being able to get the best out of my team. I am a strategic thinker who has the force to think out a lot of things in detail. I was told that I am able to utilise the capacity of people quite well.
How have you earmarked the growth of Swarovski in the Middle East and Africa region?
We are expanding our company. We are getting into interiors and architectural projects. We are talking to interior designers and looking at ways to embellish people's homes. We recently bought a chandelier manufacturing company and are integrating their products in our lines.
It's a personal honour for me to be associated with this pilot project of integration of another company's line with ours. I give myself five years in this region. After that I would love to travel back to Europe. I would like my sons to have an European upbringing.
Is there anything that you might want to relive in life?
The most overwhelming memories are of my marriage and the day I became a father for the first time. These two days were the most amazing and touching days of my life and changed my outlook forever.
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