Singapore-Switzerland Connection Article Series #4: Interview with Andreas Enderlin

Introduction

For the fourth interview in our article series, my colleague Ricky and I have invited Andreas Enderlin, a Swiss executive who is living in Singapore since 2016. He has been working in the Private Equity Business since many years and runs his own company, where he channels his private investments. For the last three years, he was the Regional Director Industrial ASEAN for Schaeffler Technologies AG in South East Asia, managing ten different country organizations and two production sites in South East Asia. Andreas is also engaged in the Swiss Chamber of Commerce Singapore (SwissCham). Being in the chamber he initiated the Digital Transformation Award for Singapore with many different partners. By doing that, they want to reinforce the connections between Switzerland and Singapore to connect the SMEs in both countries and help Asian Start-up Companies to move into the European Markets. In addition, Andreas is engaged in the German Accelerator Southeast Asia as a Startup Mentor.

Excerpts from the interview

Daniel: Understanding that you have lived in both Singapore and Switzerland, how do you compare both cities in terms of quality of living? 

Andreas: In both "rather small" countries, the quality of the infrastructure is very high. Both countries are a hub for travelling due to the great geographical location the countries have. The possibilities to travel by plane is just great in both countries and the respective airlines are considered the be one of the best in the world. Switzerland offers more options by car, train and bike.

You just need to leave your ("expatriate") bubble and you will discover a huge cultural variety.

Culturally, both countries have a lot to offer. You just need to leave your ("expatriate") bubble and you will discover a huge cultural variety. Both countries are multi-ethnic and heterogenic, as we have different backgrounds, cultures and religions living in these countries. So, integration is key for success, as everything is contained into a very little space.

In Singapore, integration is driven by a classic top-down approach with quotas. Switzerland has a longer experience on integration and applies a bottom-up approach. Today, many families with Italian or Portuguese ancestors live in the 3rd or 4th generation in Switzerland and are very well connected to Switzerland and the Swiss culture. In many cases, people say that these integrated people are “better Swiss than the original ones”. One key success factor is the fact that the foreigners are connected from the beginning and one cannot see a cut between Swiss and non-Swiss people. Examples are schools, the military service and municipal districts.

Photo: Map of the official languages in Switzerland (source)

The political system is considered to be very stable in both countries. The Swiss system is even more stable, as it is much older and more mature. Finally, both countries are very safe and clean, compared to most other countries. The economies in Singapore and Switzerland are not based on raw materials and don’t have a resource heavy heritage. The economies are mainly built on the capabilities of people, are multi-ethnic and multi linguistic. Hence, knowledge and services are critical. In both countries, the legal environment is very stable and reliable, and export of goods and services plays a major role.

Ricky: What's your perspective on foreign talent in Singapore?

Andreas: To answer the question about foreign talent, different layers need to be considered. The discussion intensified toward being against foreigners. A discussion around “protecting” the jobs for the Singaporeans just intensified within the last month, also due to the Covid-19 crisis.

That development was also seen in Switzerland during the last crisis, when the right-wing parties become more popular. However, the prime minister of Singapore mentioned that they still need all the talents from abroad to sustain the development of the country. Most of the foreign workers in Singapore are not from Europe or the USA, they are from the neighbouring country.

At the same time, there are also many difficulties around the different backgrounds of the Singaporeans within the companies, as there are many different cultures. There are still conflicts and misconceptions, which are not coming up to the surface. In the crisis these differences are coming more to the surface, but people need to understand that there are different opinions.

My advice is that the companies need to stay open to the world and open-minded. I feel that this will be a tricky task for the Singaporean government in the coming years. Singapore was considered to be cherry picking, when it comes to migration. That also applies for Switzerland, as both countries focus on the migration of very well-educated people. Switzerland is maybe a bit more open, as they have bilateral agreements with the European Union and negotiate regularly with the EU. If you are an EU passport holder and have a job offer, you will get your visa.

Ricky: How do you see Singapore as the hub for APAC and what is the impact of Covid-19 to that role? 

Andreas: Having that role as the hub for APAC is absolute critical for Singapore and needs to be defended. Therefore, being open to foreigners, having a superior education system and creating jobs in the knowledge industry are crucial factors to the success of Singapore.

In Singapore there are many Regional Headquarters and they rely on the advantage of Singapore such as low taxes, a strong educational system, legal stability and a very well-connected airport.

Photo: Jewel Changi Airport

One of the cornerstones of the Singaporean attractiveness is the ease to travel and the great connection to the rest of the world from Changi Airport. Therefore, Singapore is very attractive as a regional hub. At the same time, there are not so many global HQs and global giants that are based in Singapore.

Within the last years, we’ve seen more and more Chinese dominance in Singapore and competition from Bangkok and Hong Kong as attractive cities. Among the ASEAN countries Singapore still has a leading position. I don’t believe that Singapore will lose their leading position, but they will scale down.

Photo: 17 planes that are parked at a facility in Australia's Alice Springs (source)

As the identity of Singapore is defined by travelling, the Covid-19 crisis has an enormous impact on Singapore. The situation is dramatic, because Singapore Airlines literally grounded and had to reduce the fleet heavily. Changi Airport had expansion plans, but they are stopped due to the crisis. As travelling is not so important at the moment, the role as hub is not so relevant anymore these days.

Also, the hiring activities adapted during the crisis. Companies are now going for more local specialists and salespeople, compared to having regional employees previously. One part of Singapore’s talent strategy was to attract the best talents from South East Asia. If you have the best qualified people in your country, you attract international companies automatically.

If we think of Switzerland again, the hub discussion is different there. In the Swiss market there are many global companies dominating their industries on a global scale. These companies have their global headquarter in Switzerland. On top of that, many US companies are moving their European Headquarter into Switzerland. So, the hub function is different, as the export industry is much more stable and bigger. 

Daniel: What is your perspective on the role of Switzerland and Singapore with regards to Innovation?

Andreas: Both countries have leading institutions which innovate in many different industries like pharmaceutical, banking, engineering and so on. In Switzerland, innovation is part of the culture and has always been the engine for the fast development since the early days. It is considered to happen from bottom up.

The education system is built around innovation and to foster innovation. One important pillar is the system of apprenticeships and the close collaboration between schools, universities and companies. People start to think at a very early part of their career, as they are exposed to practical work very early. Education is a very important part of innovation. You need to have a risk culture and you need to be allowed to fail. Switzerland has a higher risk culture and has more a trial and error approach to innovation. Therefore, many jobs have been generated out of innovation in Switzerland.

Both countries’ education systems is based on diversity and foreign talent. If you consider the start-up companies, you have around seven or eight unicorns in Singapore. Except one, all of them are not invented from Singaporeans. Approximately half of them are from Indonesia. The Singaporean government wants to push the deep tech sector. In my opinion, you can not engineer it from a government perspective and create it overnight. Innovation is not something you can engineer, like a big infrastructure project. 

Daniel: What advice do you have for Europeans who want to do business in Singapore? 

Before you build your opinion, you should listen, learn and expose yourself to the Singaporean culture and the people. Built your network with people out of your comfort zone, try to connect with local coworkers and try to connect it with your private life. Learning a local language, Mandarin for example, also would help a lot, at least if you try it. Don’t stay in your bubble, be humble and be respectful of the differences. Things are done differently here!

Daniel: Thank you Andreas for taking the time to share your insights!

About the Authors 

Ricky Foo is an international executive search and talent advisory consultant, based in Singapore. He comes from Malaysia and he relocated to Singapore since 1999. Today, he drives the Asia Pacific business for Mercuri Urval and his core focus is to help European companies to expand their business and grow their teams in the region. You can reach him at [email protected].

Daniel Müller, based in Zurich, is a member of Mercuri Urval’s Industrial Sector (including Automotive, Manufacturing and Logistics) and Professional Service Sector. Daniel focuses on Executive Search, Succession Planning and Leadership Advisory. In addition, Daniel serves as member of Mercuri Urval’s Management Team in Switzerland as well as Deputy Global Head Automotive & Mobility. You can reach him at [email protected].