Dr. Christoph Koltermann is Head of Operations Electronics at FORVIA HELLA and a member of the GE Board. In the interview he explains why Operations is absolutely not just about key figures for him, how there are always many irons in the fire, and how his first assistant at FORVIA HELLA unexpectedly taught him the value of order.

^{Tuesday 2025-10-21}

Imagine you have an information booth on the FORVIA HELLA premises and have to explain your job. What would your booth look like?

First of all, I would say: In my job, I deal a lot with employees as well as with products. That’s what makes Operations so exciting: you’re not just working on a small detail, but you can always see in production how ideas and concepts based on customer requirements are turned into tangible products. At an information booth, I would also display products and their individual components - simply to illustrate a concrete assembly process. By the way, our extremely well-functioning global production network is one of our strengths, which has developed over time and of which I am proud. And we get better every day.

What do you particularly like about your job?

Definitely: internationality and communication. I enjoy being at the sites and exchanging ideas with colleagues. Many people think Operations is always just driven by key figures. Of course, that’s true: we have a metric for every topic. The metrics allow us to measure the effectiveness of processes and to derive improvements from the potential we have.
But on the other hand, it’s people who implement these topics. People you have to reach and work with. What I also particularly like about my job is that it’s very entrepreneurial: profitability is always at the forefront. This special mix of entrepreneurship, international exchange with different people, and also processes is what makes the job.

If you could swap your job with another employee for a day, which job would you choose?

I could imagine a job in development. That’s a role where many requirements come together: customer requirements, design guidelines and also product strategies. In Operations, we’re not in a silo - we’re well connected. Nevertheless, we don’t always see the boundary conditions that may have led to a particular solution.
That’s why I find it very exciting to see and understand why some things are the way they are.

What information about you can’t be found on your CV?

I am totally unmusical, but I love rock music and heavy metal. My sons now play guitar, but I never managed to do that myself. But I love listening to music.

How can you unmistakably tell: this is Dr. Christoph Koltermann’s desk?

If you come into my home office: chaos! If you come into my office at the plant, it’s tidy. There’s a little story about that: When I had just started at FORVIA HELLA in 2008, my former assistant came up to me and said, “Mr. Koltermann, here we tidy up our desks at the end of the day.” That was actually a completely new realization for me at the time. It was new to me from my previous job and also from the chaos at home. In the meantime, I’ve internalized the order. Of course, in Operations we have 5S standards, and for confidentiality reasons, it’s absolutely unthinkable to leave any documents on the desk. Moreover, the question doesn’t really arise anymore, since work is now mostly digital.

What was your personal best FORVIA HELLA moment?

Honestly, I can’t decide on a specific moment. The good thing about Operations is: you always have many irons in the fire! And: the bigger and more global the task, the more ups and downs there are. Good moments never get lost.
Specific highlights for me are when we receive positive customer feedback after an escalation. When you admit your own mistakes, learn from them, and then rise again - and the customer respects you for it.
Occasionally, there’s also unexpected employee feedback that you didn’t see coming. Recently, I was in Recklinghausen - that’s where I started. There, a specialist approached me who was a young Avitea employee at the site back then and still remembered our time together - I was the plant manager. We had a joyful exchange. During the conversation, it turned out that he had been following my career ever since. These individual conversations, from which you can also take something personally, I find very enriching.
Another special moment was when I realized: for the first time in our history, we haven’t had a workplace accident worldwide for two months! Occupational safety has now become an absolute focus topic for us. Honestly, we neglected it a bit in recent years, which I regret. All the more we are now pleased with this good news.

Your personal hobby?

Cycling is my passion. So far, it’s been road cycling, but my kids have now got me into mountain biking as well. Unlike road cycling, I still have a lot to learn in mountain biking - it’s a nice new challenge. Endurance sports are generally my thing.
When I’m not on the bike, I also like to read a book - most recently, I read “Diary of a Would-Be Loser” by Luc Blanvillain with my son. Highly recommended. Other hobbies are gardening to relax or vacations with my family - whether active or just cool and relaxed.

What have you always wanted to do but haven’t gotten around to yet?

A trip around the world without time pressure. But not as a backpacker. I like to explore foreign cultures with my family, get to know the local people, and exchange ideas with them. Internationality and communication are not only an essential and valued part of my job, but also of my private life.