Zur Karriere von Dominique Lipinski

What were the major landmarks of your career? I spent the first 18 years of my life in Lebanon, where I graduated from high school. Subsequently I went to France where I studied organic chemistry with the focus on food flavors. I chose this special subject because my family owned a company in the food industry (URA - Utilisation Rationelle d'Agrumes) in Lebanon. In 1988, after having finished my studies, I returned to Lebanon where I worked for three years. Since the economic situation in Lebanon after the war was very depressed, I returned to France in 1991 and started to work for Sidel as a sales manager for the Middle East. The company headquarters was situated in Le Havre, France. In my position I travelled the whole Middle East and the Gulf States, and in 1994 I was promoted to manager of the region Middle East, Central Europe and Russia. In 1997 Africa was added to my responsibility. When Sidel was sold to Tetra Laval in 2002, the whole company was reorganized, and we decided to open a central office in Vienna. I thus moved to Austria in 2003, together with my family. I am now in charge of 36 countries, supported by a full team of sales and services colleagues located in six different countries, and together we manage Central and Eastern Europe. Sidel is one of Tetra Laval's three industry divisions along with Tetra Pak and DeLaval. Tetra Laval is a private industry group of Swedish origins, now headquartered in Switzerland. The Sidel Group designs, manufactures, assembles, supplies and sells complete packaging lines for liquid foods packaged in three main categories: glass bottles (disposable and returnable), plastic (PET, HDPE and PP) and drink cans. Sidel supplies customers with complete bottling solutions consisting of package design, line engineering, packaging machines and related services. Sidel works with the biggest names in the beverage sector, would it be national or international companies. Its equipment can already be found in 191 countries. Consequently, the Group provides extended technical assistance 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Zum Erfolg von Dominique Lipinski

How do you personally define success? To me, success is composed of two aspects: firstly, success is being proud of what you have achieved and built; and secondly, to having gained the trust of your customers as well as your management and colleagues.
Would you regard yourself as successful? Yes, I would.
What were the decisive factors of your success? The drivers of success are many, among them open-mindedness, passion and diligence, another important factor is perseverance. I have been working for Sidel for a long time now, and I consider it very thrilling to contribute to the successful development of our company - from an outsider of the market to the leader we are today. During the last years the business has thrived greatly, so it is very fascinating to be a part of this whole organization. Another important aspect of success is to be found in the personality: As one can conclude from my curriculum vitae, my life is characterized by a multi-cultural experience. Staff management is a very uncertain science, and my target is to take the best out of the people and focus on this part.
Since when do you regard yourself as successful? Since I joined this company as a manager for the Middle East I think of myself as successful. The company has provided me with a lot of opportunities which were highly important for my personal development. I was given independence and freedom, and - untypical for a French company - the chance to explain my results after completing my task and not before.
Which kind of appreciation do you receive? The most important recognition is the customers' appreciation and satisfaction.
Which problem do you consider as unsolved in your profession? The extreme competition is tough, of course. It is easier to become a leader than to stay one. There are a lot of companies trying to catch up on us; however, with the advantage of reliable equipments, motivated salespeople and committed technicians we succeed in keeping our position. After-sales is an extremely important factor for our branch.
How relevant are fellow employees? Our work is always based on teamwork and thus our success is always a shared success of the full team.
Which criteria do you expect your employees to meet? Commitment and dynamism.
How do you motivate your fellow employees? Apart from the financial motivation, all the team members are motivated by the fact that we push and recognize the teamwork compared to the individual work. In addition, we regularly organize events, for example once a year we hold a very big event. A lot of (fun) activities contribute to building and conserving our team spirit.
How are you regarded by your fellow employees? My leadership style is in fact comprised of different styles depending on the individual team member - some people like to work independently, and one has to give them the opportunity to do their own thing, whereas others have to be pushed and be followed very precisely.
Which factors characterize the power of your enterprise? Sidel is a very dynamic company and produces the best equipment in our branch. The focus is on quality and extended service philosophy.
How do you arrange your career with your private life? It remains difficult to manage both parts well - not only because of the planned and unplanned travelling, but also because of the long working hours. The problem with passion is, that when you have it, you don't count the hours...so you do need to be quite well organized in your time schedule to dedicate rich and joyful moments to your loved ones.
Do you have an advice for the next generation? I consider two aspects very important: willingness - which sounds easy, but is not as simple as one might think - and thinking outside the box. The secret of success, however, is to love your job. You cannot be successful if you do not love what you are doing.
What are your goals for the future? I am constantly searching for new objectives - if one is achieved, another one has to be set.
Do you have a motto? Just do it. - You should do whatever you think has to be done. In order to advance, you have to do things, make mistakes and learn from them. This is the only way to advance in life.