South African business leaders and companies are most suited to internationalise their businesses, due to their experience in inter-cultural management, says a well-travelled business executive.
Dr Karsten Wellner, a guest lecturer at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, was addressing an audience at the Rhodes Business School last Thursday.
South African business leaders and companies are most suited to internationalise their businesses, due to their experience in inter-cultural management, says a well-travelled business executive.
Dr Karsten Wellner, a guest lecturer at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, was addressing an audience at the Rhodes Business School last Thursday.
Wellner argued that because of their heightened legal, political and cultural awareness, South Africans were likely to make the best international managers anywhere in the world.
He said because of their experience in dealing with different cultures, South African companies would more easily adapt to other cultures. For the same reason, entrepreneurs from other cultures might also find it easy to also change their behaviour towards South African nationals.
The result of this, Wellner submitted, was the creation of a new hybrid culture, which accommodated various cultures.
Wellner was in Grahamstown last week, teaching the university's Master in Business Administration students about certain aspects of entrepreneurship.
Born and educated in Germany, Wellner has extensive experience in the pharmaceutical industry.
He was formerly with Fresenius Kabi (a listed German Health Care Company), in which he held various positions including Managing Director, General Manager in South Africa and Switzerland and Executive Vice President: Africa and the Middle East.
He is a regular guest lecturer at the University of Stellenbosch Business School, and has been at guest lecturer at the NMMU Business School in Port Elizabeth.
Wellner is a keen sportsman, who won the Fittest CEO of Africa title during the Ironman South Africa contest in 2006, and went on to participate in the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii.
