Christian Zaum has been Düsseldorf's Head of Economic Affairs since August 2023, having previously spent six years as the city's Head of Public Order. VIVID spoke to the 46-year-old about how he intends to tackle some of his most important new tasks, such as maintaining economic strength in times of crisis, promoting start-ups and attracting foreign skilled workers.

What has your start as Head of Economic Affairs been like?
The start has been as varied as Düsseldorf's economy. I had many appointments and inaugural visits across all sectors. This included a visit to the Expo Real property fair in Munich. For me, it was a good indicator of the current situation, because the building and construction industry is a driving force behind the economy. And I can now say that although the general conditions are difficult at the moment, Düsseldorf is doing well in this crisis situation! At all these meetings, I was also repeatedly reminded of how excellently the business development team is looking after the companies in Düsseldorf. That also makes me a little proud and is in line with what I personally perceive.

Previously, you were head of public order and campaigned for public safety in Düsseldorf. What do you take with you from this time into your new job?
There are three main things that I benefit from in my new position: experience, knowledge and the necessary network. The public order office has a whole range of points of contact with the business world. For example, as a supervisory or licensing authority for the catering, hotel and security industries or for the planning, approval and implementation of all major events Unternehmen. in public spaces. If I receive an idea or request from the business sector in my new position, I know the challenges that can be involved, how something can be achieved and who needs to be involved. And of course, the issue of security in general is a very important location factor for the economy, especially when it comes to attracting foreign companies. Business owners were also very concerned when we experienced the implications of the pandemic during COVID-19 and afterwards in Düsseldorf's historic city centre, where many people felt that their personal safety was impaired. We have managed to get this under control again through various measures.

The current crises are having an impact on companies across all sectors. How do you intend to maintain Düsseldorf's economic strength and support companies in the future?
The fact that we have everything from a lively start-up scene to a diverse service sector and industrial production in this city has got us through the crises well in recent decades. We need to maintain this extremely broad and diverse economic structure. That is why it is especially important to support sectors that are having a particularly hard time, such as manufacturing - or small and medium-sized craft businesses. Where we as a city have no scope for action ourselves, we try to use our influence to create a clear framework that business can use as a guide - for example at the Association of Cities and Towns. Of course, we are also doing everything we can to further improve our own framework conditions in the city administration to help companies, especially in the areas of digitalisation, internationalisation and networking between companies. We are also continuing to attract companies from abroad that complement our location well - because demand remains steady - for example through delegation trips.

Speaking of digitalisation - according to the latest Smart City Index, the annual digital ranking of major German cities, Düsseldorf has now slipped from the top 10 last year to 21st place. Why is that and how can we return to the top?
First of all: Düsseldorf is better than this ranking result may suggest. The administration is in third place. As part of the modernisation of schools, for example, we are pushing ahead with digitalisation and thus investing in our future. Yet, the situation is not satisfactory and we are not currently fulfilling our claim that Düsseldorf is one of the top cities in Germany when it comes to digitalisation. This starts with the administration's digital processes, especially the services for our citizens. We also have some catching up to do when it comes to expanding the digital infrastructure, for example. My new colleague Olaf Wagner is now tackling this head on: Just yesterday (25 October, editor's note), the Lord Mayor wrote a letter of intent for the further expansion of fibre optics. So, at the moment, a lot is being done to close this gap. Projects such as Smart City in Friedrichstadt now also need to be rolled out and established throughout the city.

A lot has happened in the startup scene in recent years, including the Startup Week, the Digi-Hub and the founding of K67. What plans do you have to further expand this attractive ecosystem?
It is now recognised on a national and indeed international level that Düsseldorf is still a small but very fine location for startups and that the things we do for the scene really have a solid foundation. This status must be secured and further expanded. For example, the state has already clearly signalled that it will continue to support the Digihub success story. We also want to further establish the K67 tech hub, for example. This is not something that can be taken for granted, and it involves a lot of hard work, as we have to keep finding sponsors who are also willing to get involved in terms of content and provide financial support.

I am convinced that there is still a lot of potential in terms of how we can bring the new and old economy closer together. This also applies to us as a city administration. For example, if we want to further develop our services for citizens, the smart ideas of dynamic start-ups could help us along the way. In my opinion, this is still not happening enough and I would like to change this in the coming years.

The visit to EXPO REAL was one of Christian Zaum's first important appointments - and a good opportunity to determine Düsseldorf's position.

In our current issue we are also dealing with the major topic of skilled labour. As an international business centre, Düsseldorf is particularly dependent on skilled workers from abroad. What is being done to ensure that the city can continue to compete internationally?
What we can do as a city, we are already doing quite well. One example is the Expat Service Desk, an absolute flagship project that has now been copied by many other cities. We have created a great service to help employees coming from abroad get off to a good start here in Düsseldorf. Incidentally, expats are the main reason why Düsseldorf has been growing organically for years! We will continue to develop our services for this important target group. Within the business development organisation, we also have specific services for these very large groups, such as the Japan Desk or the China Desk, in order to be able to deal with concerns on a very individual basis. The biggest challenge, as in other cities, is dealing with the administrative processes in the immigration office due to the large number of asylum seekers in recent years. It is precisely in these areas that we struggled internally with a shortage of skilled labour and staff. We now have got this under control. So, we are working rigorously to make all these framework conditions

PEOPLE

ABOUT CHRISTIAN ZAUM

•Born 1977 in Wuppertal

• Studied law at the Universities of Passau and Würzburg. Legal clerkship and second state examination in Düsseldorf

• Subsequently held a management position in the insurance industry

• Managing Director of the CDU parliamentary group in Düsseldorf since 2010

• From June 2017 to July 2023 Head of the Department of Public Order of the state capital Düsseldorf

• Since August 2023 Head of Economic Affairs of the state capital Düsseldorf with the following departments: Office for Economic Development, Legal Department, Fire Department, Rescue Service and Civil Protection, Health, Office for Statistics and Elections, Specialist Department of Compliance

•Married, father of 2 children 44

TEXT TOM CORRINTH
PICTURES MICHAEL LÜBKE, MESSE MÜNCHEN

"We are working hard to create the best possible Framework conditions for business"