When you started at Congatec, did you notice any differences between how things are done in Germany and in the USA?

Jason Carlson: I immediately realized that I had not become the CEO of a German company, but of a Bavarian one. Congatec has a strong culture and is proud of its origins. That reminds me of my time in Austin, Texas, because people there are also very proud of their origins. Congatec also has a lot of experience in embedded computing and is very customer-oriented. There is a very familiar atmosphere within Congatec. On the one hand, the company is very different from those in the USA, but there are also many similarities.

You joined Congatec to make the business more international. Why did Congatec recruit you as CEO and not simply for sales?

At first I thought I would have to move to Germany to become CEO. During the negotiations, however, it quickly became clear that Congatec has always seen itself as a global company. The business was already doing very well and there was no need for someone directly on site, but someone who lives in the USA and has already worked in Asia to strengthen the position in these markets. I have now been the Managing Director of the company for nine months, but I work and live in another country and it works. The main reason I joined Congatec is that we are planning an IPO on the NASDAQ. That has been my main task over the last nine months. However, as long as everything was still up in the air, I couldn't talk about it.

And now the IPO is a done deal?

Yes, to the extent that we have submitted all the necessary documents to the stock exchange supervisory authority and have now been approved for the IPO. We had actually planned this step for the fall, but as the stock markets are in a global downturn this year, we will postpone it until later. The good thing is that Congatec is a healthy company and we are not dependent on the additional capital.

What would you do with the additional capital?

As you know, Congatec has always grown organically. Over the last few years, we have grown by an average of 18 percent. We will see whether we can make smaller acquisitions that complement our product range. That is my main intention: to take Congatec to the next level of development.

What changes in the company - apart from the IPO - do you think are still necessary to drive the international business forward?

Congatec is doing a very good job, but there is still room for improvement. This includes standardizing our business processes. Until now, we have perceived the world in three parts: Europe, America, Asia-Pacific. We need to set up a global account program so that we can address customers all over the world in the same way. To this end, I also hired Fred Barden as Vice President Worldwide Sales. He has been with us since December and he will take us towards global trade markets - the global account program is part of that.