Build on strong values
What does the shareholder family mean for Endress+Hauser? How do family values drive success? An interview with Endress+Hauser Supervisory Board members Sandra Genge and Steven Endress, and CEO Peter Selders.
What makes family-owned companies special?
Peter Selders: Family-owned companies are sustainable in the best sense of the word. Most have a very long-term outlook. They are built on strong values and act responsibly. And they strive for long-standing relationships with employees and customers and leave most of their profits in the business. All of which makes for stability and resilience. Endress+Hauser is a prime example of this.
And what makes Endress+Hauser a special family-owned company?
Steven Endress: When my grandfather, Georg Endress, decided to pass on ownership of the company to his children, he did so in a fair and equal way, which is not always the case with family companies. Many families opt to transfer ownership or control only to those of their children who continue to work in the company. One of the great strengths of our grandfather’s approach is that the ownership structure promotes a deep sense of responsibility for the company and diversity of opinion across the entire family.
Have you noticed this sense of responsibility, Mr Selders?
Peter Selders: I certainly have! The bond between family and company is very close. That’s clear to me from their keen interest in the business, which exceeds the norm for shareholders. The family needs to be kept informed and, occasionally, to take an active role in discussions. They genuinely want to know how the company is doing. And their focus is always on the company as a whole, never just on profits or dividends. Indeed, the family charter states that the family wishes to have an ongoing role in shaping the company.
In what way is the family shaping the company?
Sandra Genge: Our values enable management to concentrate on long-term success, rather than merely on short-term gains. In our family-owned company, we think in terms of generations, not quarters. That engenders stability and trust. As well as shaping the company in this general way, the family has specific input – and here we are in uncharted waters. For over 70 years, there was always at least one family member involved at the operational level. But now, for the first time in the company’s history, that is not the case. We as family members want to continue to play an active role, of course. We can still do that even if we don’t hold any operational roles. There are various institutions available for this purpose, such as the Supervisory Board and numerous committees. And I am very optimistic that we will see family members at the operational level again in the future.
Why is it challenging when no family holds operational responsibility?
Peter Selders: I think we’re in good shape here at Endress+Hauser. While the leadership of the company was in family hands for 60 years, non-family members have been keeping this successful legacy alive for the past 10 or more years. The transition has been successful because the family prepared for precisely this eventuality in their charter. Consequently, the flow of information has not stopped, and the closeness between family and company remains undiminished. It’s actually part of my job as CEO to work with the president of the Supervisory Board to facilitate this transparency. The family has set up institutions that promote dialogue, strengthen ties with the company and familiarize younger family members with the business. It also creates opportunities for family members to get involved in the company.
How does the family engage with the company? In what areas?
Sandra Genge: For one thing, there’s the Supervisory Board, of which Steven and I are members. Our role there is to ensure that important strategic decisions align with our family values. Then there’s the Family Council, which is the primary link between the family and the company. All eight branches of the family have representatives on this body.
Steven Endress: For me, the family’s strong commitment is also reflected in the fact that we dedicate time to the company beyond our work in the committees. Time for formal meetings, obviously, but also for informal family gatherings that strengthen our understanding of one another, always keeping the company as a central focus.
Sandra Genge: For me, the company has always been like another member of the family, even since I was very young. It’s always there somehow!
Steven Endress: True. But it’s also important to have members of the family working in the company. And one day, maybe we’ll even have family members back at the operational level, as I know, firsthand, how that can strengthen the ties between family and company.
What steps are you taking to achieve this?
Peter Selders: Well, for several years now, the family charter has permitted family members to work at all levels of the company – and not just at top management level as previously was the case. That opens up new avenues. But the charter also stipulates that family members are subject to the same rules and requirements as any other employee.
Steven Endress: For young members of the family, we provide internships as an easy, uncomplicated entry into Endress+Hauser. The aim is to give them an insight into the nature of the company’s work. A nephew of mine just completed one such internship in Switzerland, and a niece recently did a stint in the USA. They have both come back with an extremely positive experience, which is great to see!
Sandra Genge: Another example is our annual family camp for everyone aged between 16 and 35. The younger members of the family spend four days together, learning about the company and its history, getting to know their cousins a little better and generally having fun together. The latter is particularly valuable, as unlike siblings, they don’t typically develop such a close bond from early childhood.
As family representatives on the Supervisory Board, how exactly do you go about working with the CEO and the Executive Board?
Steven Endress: We all make time for each other. We maintain open and regular dialogue. And we share the same values, which is a crucial point. As Peter Selders indicated earlier: family-owned companies differ from listed companies in that they have strong family values that their management embraces and models. And that’s how we impart our values to everyone who works for Endress+Hauser.
Sandra Genge: As well as having a lot of scheduled meetings with the CEO and Executive Board, we frequently have informal chats. And the great thing here is that both parties seek out this contact. The same is true of our interactions with the other levels of management. We attach great importance to simply talking to people. That’s how we get a feel for what motivates and drives them, and what their challenges and pain points are.
As members of the Supervisory Board, how do you influence the company’s leadership and direction?
Steven Endress: We actually take great care not to wield that kind of influence. Instead, we see it as our role to offer support and ask questions. Our goal here always is to ensure that our values remain clear. Other than that, we don’t get involved in operational matters. We confine ourselves to decisions that have a bearing on the company’s long-term direction. In any given year there are maybe one or two such decisions. The strategic partnership with SICK in process automation is a good recent example.
Peter Selders: At Endress+Hauser, the roles of the Supervisory Board and the Executive Board are clearly delineated. Responsibility for the operational side of the business rests with the Executive Board and the CEO as its chair. The Supervisory Board, on the other hand, is there to ensure compliance with the rules – and to deliberate on far-reaching decisions that require its approval. Hence, my role as CEO is to raise important issues early on and engage effectively with the members of the Supervisory Board.
As members of the owning family, how do you shape the overall direction of the company without exerting influence? Surely, that’s quite a balancing act?
Sandra Genge: My uncle Klaus Endress once gave this rather tongue-in-cheek summation of our role on the Supervisory Board: “We can stick our nose in, so long as we keep our fingers out.” In other words: as family representatives, we ensure the company’s strategy accords with our values and objectives but leave management’s entrepreneurial freedom intact. I firmly believe that is the way to achieve success as a family-owned company. Endress+Hauser’s corporate culture gives the company a competitive edge. Our job is to preserve and grow that edge. And we can do that only by working in partnership with the company’s leadership team. They are the ones who translate our values into a lived reality for everyone at Endress+Hauser to emulate.
Well-defined roles and relationships
Dr Georg H Endress himself served four decades at the helm of the company he founded. In 1995, he handed over as Group CEO to Dr Klaus Endress, who served in that role until 2014. Since that time, the company has been headed by individuals who are not members of the shareholder family – namely Matthias Altendorf, who took over in 2014, and Dr Peter Selders, who has been CEO since 2024. Despite these changes, the family has maintained close ties with the company, thanks in large measure to the Endress family charter. This key document defines principles and institutions that promote strong family bonds, regulate the family’s involvement in the company and provide pathways into the business for younger generations of the family. The most important institution is the Family Council, which serves as the link between the family and the company and deliberates on matters of strategic importance.
Does it take any particular personal qualities to be the CEO of a family-owned company?
Peter Selders: Anyone wanting to lead a family-owned company needs to understand that the owners have a special relationship with that company. The business is part of their life, so discussions about it can be intense at times. Hence, while the CEO of a family-owned company needs to be selfassured, they also need to know when to step back. I would also say that such a CEO must be especially good at reaching out to people where they are and getting them on board.
Sandra Genge: The CEO of a family-owned company must be able to demonstrate both a rational and an emotional connection to the company. Peter Selders attends many of our family get-togethers – where we have animated discussions, share experiences and tell stories. And sometimes things get emotional. It’s nothing like a normal business meeting, where usually everything is rational and analytical.
Steven Endress: You need a high level of emotional intelligence in this role. The CEO must be accepting of the feelings that the family expresses – and that are all part and parcel of a business steeped in family traditions stretching back more than 70 years. They must be someone who enjoys listening and taking part in the conversation. And that means taking the time to engage. Not out of a sense of duty, but willingly, out of the knowledge that this regular dialogue with the family continually strengthens and renews the company’s culture. That is the foundation on which sustainability is built.
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