Kunst trifft Theresa Winkels
VIVID recently celebrated its 25th edition. From the very first issue, the VIVID team has worked closely with the Office of Economic Development Düsseldorf. In this 26th issue, its director Theresa Winkels looks back on this successful magazine collaboration in an interview with VIVID editor Rainer Kunst, provides insights into her work and the development processes involved, and describes her close ties to the city.
VIVID and you - you have a shared history, you might say.
Yes, that's true. The first issue of VIVID was published in spring 2018. On the 7th of March 2018, coinciding with my birthday, I was appointed deputy head of the Düsseldorf Office of Economic Development. At the same time, we launched the location marketing department, which is now headed by Stephanie Kranen. I set up the department back then. As a result, I was able to help shape the magazine cooperation that my predecessor started with you from the very beginning and initiate many important things, such as the bilingual version of VIVID, which was introduced a little later.
"Passion for Business" is the motto of our magazine. Where does your "Passion for Business" come from?
I'm an incredibly curious person in general. That means I've tried a lot of things in my life. For example, I have two degrees - a traditional business degree and a degree in literature and cultural studies (see CV info box). I've also had a taste of many professions and industries. At the same time, I'm very quick to recognise when I don't like something - and it's relatively easy for me to decide where I fit in. And for me, that's quite simply business - today in a more interface and service-oriented position.
How did you come to work in business development?
By chance. After various studies, living abroad and working in the agency and media world, as well as for a foundation and as a freelancer, I was motivated to do something where I could help shape things and see how they were implemented in reality on the one hand, and do something meaningful on the other. One of the things I did was to send an unsolicited application to the cultural department of Düsseldorf City Hall. As there was no suitable vacancy at the time, I was offered a position as a consultant for economic development, tourism and real estate - and I took it. That's how my journey through the administration began. I was able to gain an in-depth insight into many specialist areas, particularly through the project management of the Tour de France. After that, it was clear to me that Business Development was the place in the administration where I could see myself working in the long term. When the Tour de France project came to an end in autumn 2017 - and that was also a coincidence! - the deputy head of economic development was appointed to the city of Essen, I seized the unique opportunity and applied. And it worked out.
What are the key roles of economic development?
Our role in economic development is to look at the needs of local businesses, how they are changing and how we can attract new businesses to the area. We need to have answers to questions such as what kind of framework conditions can we provide as a local authority? Where can we activate networks or players that make the location attractive to third parties so that the local economy can flourish? It's all about investment and jobs.
Since you took over as director, you and your team have initiated many processes and created new structures at the Office of Economic Development Düsseldorf. Can you describe the most important developments?
Above all, we have made our structures more efficient in recent years. We used to feel that we were involved in so many different issues that we were more reactive than proactive in what we offered. We have changed that and are now well focused. On the one hand, we have the big issues. This is 'connectivity', which stems from the strong mobile and ICT cluster and now extends to technologies such as 6G, AI and autonomous systems. The second big theme, which cuts across many industries, is 'Greentech', which relates to industrial restructuring between the Rhine and Ruhr areas. And the third major focus is "Life Sciences and Healthcare", a very strong sector along the Rhine. With exciting players and startup stories from Düsseldorf, such as the now DAX-listed company Qiagen. There are also major Düsseldorf themes, such as the fashion/beauty/lifestyle cluster, which we serve.
And in all these fields, it is not a question of looking back or status, but of innovation and future viability on the one hand, and internationality as an important feature of our business location on the other. If you define these two things in a regional context and realise that we have around 560,000 companies and 13.5 million people within a radius of 50 kilometres, then you can get an idea of the economic potential for our future viability.
What are the key issues facing companies today?
In addition to the big issues such as energy costs, political stability and predictability, we have particular bureaucratic challenges in the relocation business. We need translation for companies from other countries and specific service packages consisting of speed and reliability. The second major issue is the skills situation. How do companies get hold of qualified people, or how can they directly reach certain target groups, such as local graduates? As a business development organisation, unlike the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, we do not deal with the issue of education, but we are making our contribution by specifically addressing the issue of HR tech. In other words, we promote digital HR business models that can help companies increase the efficiency of their recruitment. TechHub K67 has very quickly built up a wealth of expertise in this area. The third big issue at the moment is the impending greening of the economy. To this end, we have set up the Climate Pact as a network together with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the District Association of Craftsmen and the Chamber of Craftsmen. Together we want to create a programme in which networking and mutual learning can take place.
What does internationality mean in the local relocation business?
Around 6,000 of the 38,000 companies in the area are of international origin, i.e. around one sixth! In a globalised world, this is obviously a very important success model. Düsseldorf is the perfect location for established companies as well as growing startups from abroad to enter the German or European market. As a business development organisation, our International Affairs department provides the necessary services and materials to help them arrive. This includes a VIVID magazine, which is not only available in German.
Startup Week is taking place as we speak. What distinguishes Düsseldorf as a startup location from other German cities such as Berlin, Munich or Hamburg?
The scene in Düsseldorf is still very young compared to other locations like Berlin, but it is incredibly dynamic and growing fast. What's more, we don't have a technical faculty here - that's what sets us apart from Munich or Aachen, for example. Instead, we have technical excellence in the region. And many founders do not come directly from university, but from corporate structures, with several years of experience in product management, for example. We don't think just locally, but with our ecosystem we are instead a platform for many local and regional players, which is also reflected in the shareholder and partner structure of our Digihub Düsseldorf/Rhineland. We also still have gaps, for example in the area of venture capital. But this is changing, thanks to the commitment of individual players who have just organised an event like "Day One" . And there is another important difference to other locations: Düsseldorf is primarily about B2B business. This is the main reason why we have made such a great leap forward in recent years. Every startup needs medium-sized or corporate clients to be successful. Whereas in 2016 the Düsseldorf scene still had around 130 start-ups, we have now grown to over 500 players at very different stages of development.
When you started in administration in 2013, the world was a different place. Now we talk about remote working, four-day weeks and flexible working hours. How has working in administration changed?
I am a very young head of department. This means that I come from a different generation when it comes to understanding leadership, new ways of working and flexible working. On the other hand, we have a job that takes place all over the world. I don't have static working hours. When I talk to Japanese companies or US companies, these are simply slots that cannot be modelled in the normal flexitime model. In other words, we've already moved away from that to some extent anyway, and we made the change very early on, before the pandemic. We had an offer from the administration to try out mobile working. Also, all employees have a personal life that needs to fit in with their professional life, and the 9 to 5 doesn't apply here these days - at least not for our work and our role. Flexibility is the name of the game these days, and every manager has to learn it with their own staff. For example, we have a lot of part-time employees. Our part-time volumes are not fixed for one year, but are in principle negotiated throughout the year. This also applies to the distribution of mobile work and physical presence. Of course, we also have the requirement that we need to be physically together as a team at certain times and exchange information with each other. This has to be clearly defined for everyone so that flexibility can develop around these times.
What makes the city of Düsseldorf so special to you?
For me, Düsseldorf is the world in pocket size. You can really experience everything here in a very small space. And you can create a lot here. The opportunities that this compact city offers - for living AND working - are outstanding. And it's convenient: For example, I don't own a car. I always travel by bike or, now that I'm pregnant, sometimes by train or on foot. You can't do that in many places in the world. At the same time, you have an incredibly broad horizon of different topics in the business world, but also culturally. Where else can you experience that than here? •
ABOUT Theresa Winkels
• Since 2019 Head of the Office of Economic Development Düsseldorf and Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board of the Digital Innovation Hub Düsseldorf/Rheinland GmbH and the Düsseldorf Innovation and Technology Centre DITEC GmbH.
• 2018-2019 Deputy Head of the Office of Economic Development and Head of the Location Marketing Department
• 2016-2017 Project management Grand Depart Düsseldorf 2017
• 2013-2016 Consultant in the office of the Lord Mayor
• Degree in Media Management with focus on Marketing at the University of Applied Sciences for SMEs in Bielefeld and M.A. in Literature, Cultural and Media Studies at the University of Siegen
• Initiator and board member of TechHub.K67 since 2022
Interview: Rainer Kunst, Words: Tom Corrinth
Pictures: Anderas Endermann