Magazine: Dr Ágnes Fábián: Specialised knowledge and individual characteristics are needed to make a career

– You are Henkel’s managing director, president of Joint Venture Association, president of Branded Goods Association Hungary, member of the presidency in the German-Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and you are the mother of two boys… How can you manage this many roles and tasks?

– It helps a lot that I love what I am doing and I really appreciate everyone’s work. There are three things that drive people: love, humility and knowledge. It doesn’t matter what I am doing, I always give 200 percent!

Dr. Ágnes Fábián, Henkel’s managing director, president of the Joint Venture Association and that of Branded Goods Association Hungary

– There are only 24 hours in your day too. What is your trick?

– I am good at prioritising and I think I am very efficient. It is needless to say that I work much more than 8 hours a day, but I am also there when the boys participate in a swimming competition, because I am a mother as well. Sometimes I give 90 percent to my work and 110 to my family, sometimes it is the other way round.

– Are you satisfied with the 90 percent too then?

– I had to learn this. I always want to give 100 percent everywhere, but it is impossible, so I had to learn shifting the proportions.

– How could you reach positions like these as a woman?

– I have a few problems with this question. First of all, I think it should be worded as follows: ‘How can a person become a leader?’

– My question still has some relevance, as the media is full of the topic of making a career as a woman.

– Yes, this is true. We should definitely talk about what is worth doing to reach your goals. Women have to do things differently than men. We must support each other, this is the reason why I participate in debates about this topic at universities and various organisations.

– How long do you make plans for in advance? Just the other day Imre Porkoláb has said: technological development is so fast that NATO only makes plans for seven-year periods.

– My view is that seven years is too much. At the company we make 4-year plans at the maximum. I reckon that 3-4 years is what is realistic.

– Four years also sounds good because with this time frame you don’t have to be afraid whether there is any point in doing what you are doing or not.

– I always say that I am not doing my job well if I am not minimum 2 years ahead of my team. I always make decisions based on where I would like to see my company in 2, 3 or 4 years’ time.

– How many different plans do you have at your company?

– I always have minimum two, but more and more often three plans. What I always say to my team is that there is a plan we are expected to realise, and then there is my plan because I know what we have in us; plus there is a third, extra plan that comes with a great reward.

– How did the pandemic change your planning practices?

– Besides having a 2-3 year plan, I also plan actions for shorter periods of time. I have learnt how important small steps can be. During the pandemic it was important to reassure workers, so I communicated a lot.

Dr. Ágnes Fábián: „ I always make decisions based on where I would like to see my company in 2, 3 or 4 years’ time.”

– What would be your advice to young people, what should they learn if they want to be successful 8 or 12 years from now?

– The best is if they try themselves in several special areas and acquire different kinds of knowledge – be it speaking two other languages than English, working for a charity organisation or spending time with children. Individual characteristics are very important!

– How do you see the future of retail?

– This is a very exciting question. I think the market will go in the direction of smaller store size and this will be bad for hypermarkets. Premium products and personalisation will gain ground, together with the importance of offering consumers a real experience. //