Deutsche Leasing’s new CEO
sets out his strategies for the global leasing giant. Antonio
Fabrizio reports.
Deutsche Leasing has appointed a
new chief executive. To lead one of Europe’s top five lessors
through the difficult market conditions ahead will be a huge
challenge. Luckily, Kai Ostermann has 18 years’ experience in asset
finance, and has spent two years preparing for the top job.
Although described by his
predecessor Michael Heitmueller, now retired, as a “revolutionary”,
Ostermann’s strategy seems more like evolution, with customer
satisfaction the top priority for the first months of his
tenure.
“Our central goal is to strengthen
our customer focus. We want to do better and better in terms of
speed, processes, and quality of our products. We are listening to
what our customers are saying, and are planning a number of moves
including new customer surveys to see what our customers really
need,” Ostermann said.
The focus on cost reduction will
continue. He said: “It will be very important for us to continue on
that route, because new business volume will no longer go up 20% a
year.”
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By GlobalDataAnd approaches to risk management
will remain unchanged also, Ostermann said: “We did well in the
crisis in terms of risk. We have had a conservative profile there,
so I don’t expect fundamental changes on the risk side. We had some
more risk provisions to do compared to the past, but that was quite
normal in the current market environment.”
Positive
predictions
For the past seven years Ostermann
has been CEO of Deutsche Leasing subsidiary DAL Deutsche
Anlagen-Leasing, Germany’s oldest real estate lessor. It is also a
growing force in renewable energy, intangibles, and large ticket
items like ships and trains. He has been on the board of Deutsche
Leasing for four years, was appointed deputy CEO in October 2008
and named as Heitmueller’s successor last year.
Ostermann is taking over a business
in good shape. Annual new business volumes increased threefold over
a decade, from €2bn in 1999 to €8bn in 2009.
Company results for 2010 are
expected to outperform the market as a whole. Ostermann said that
the results would be “better in the bottom line, so altogether we
have a positive outlook.” He predicted that new business will be
slightly less than last year’s €8.3bn, with a reduction of between
3% and 5%.
For Deutsche Leasing, the sectors
most affected by the financial crisis were those renting machinery
and equipment. IT, office equipment, health care, fleet and car
leasing showed more resilience, and real estate leasing stayed
strong.
Germany is by far Deutsche
Leasing’s largest market with €7bn of new business recorded last
year. New business outside Germany is expected to fall by 9% during
2010, but the overseas leasing subsidiaries in 22 countries will
continue to play a key role in the company’s future strategy.
Shanghai-based Deutsche Leasing
China has been the best performing overseas subsidiary, and the UK
business “is doing well and has a good outlook”. It has attempted
to offset difficulties experienced in the Spanish leasing market by
becoming more involved in renewable energy leasing.
Ostermann said: “Spain remains weak
because some of the country’s central industries, such as
construction and printing, suffered a lot in the crisis.”
Strong
foundations
One important strategic aim is to
look at new sectors such as medical technology and food and drink,
and to support German SMEs in expansion abroad. SMEs offer “big
potential to grow”.
Ostermann said: “Our business is
built on a solid foundation. We are part of the German Savings
Banks Association [Deutscher Sparkassen-und-Giroverband, or DSGV]
which even in the crisis did very well. We have built a strong
international network and a strong position in a competitive
leasing market such as the one we have in Germany. Our aim, with
this background, is to keep our strong position and to further
improve it, but by smaller steps rather than radical changes.”
