I am really honored, that the title of “Outstanding Contributor” was granted to me. This fills my heart with meek and proud at the same time. I like to thank everyone who was supporting this, especially the shareholders and the board, that put trust in me, and the colleagues that work with me every day. Without such a great and high motivated team, it never would be possible to achieve such a great honor. Thank you so much for this!

When I first time traveled to China and met with the CTG team in Bejing, this was a complete new experience. I had no idea about Chinese culture and what it would mean for the daily work and the collaboration with our new friends and colleagues. And indeed, it was a different culture and I learned other ways how to value and manage issues, than we were used to from the past six years I have been in the company. Honestly, it was a challenge in the beginning, but challenges makes life interesting.

The first round about two years of collaboration therefore can be seen as a process of learning. We learned a lot about the Chinese way and our colleague learned a lot what it means to have a German company in the portfolio. Different understanding made it not always easy, but from today’s perspective looking back, I gained so much more understanding of how the culture and the organization works. Being open to understand and accept other ways of looking at things, makes life so much more easy, and I am really happy about it.

Now, what did we do, how was it possible to form a family out of two different worlds.

First of all, I think that it requires some kind of open heart and open mind, to be eager to learn from friends all over the world, and I am grateful, that my parents always taught me that kind of openess.

In reality, that means that I really participated in cultural achievements. I was blessed to be invited to hot pot that was created in our company rooms by our Chinese friends and I invited our friends to a German Barbeque to my house and introduced my family. We visited sport games and concerts together and tried to learn each others’ language (and I have to admit, our Chinese friends have a great skill of learning our language, my Chinese still is very poor, I apologize for this). We shared the food and the drinks and this was not just among colleagues, this was among friends!

I was welcomed to China to participate in a song contest and be the European candidate to represent CTGE. This was a great honor and experience as well, and I really tried to learn and sing the CTG song together with all of our Chinese Friends.

Not to forget that we celebrated Chinese and German holidays like Chinese New Year or Christmas, together.

But also during the darkest hour, there was great support. I was able to do a small contribution of writing a song against the pandemic, to bolster up our friends in China when the pandemic started, and there was a support by one of our Chinese colleagues from CTGI who send us a song when we needed it.

There are many more examples, I could talk so much more about all of this but I think the key message is clear. All of this bind us together and allowed me to become a real member of the big CTG family. I am always proud of the statement: “I am CTGer”.

Now, today, our company is a CTG member since more than 5 years, and it always filled my heart with pride to know, that I am a small piece of the biggest renewable energy player in this world. We know environmental pollution and climatic change are huge challenges for all of us, maybe the biggest challenge in mankind in the last centuries. We just have one world and one planet, and to have the opportunity to take part in providing clean energy to save the planet for our children and their children is awesome!

Same as in the past, I will do what I can to build bridges and overcome differences, to find opportunities and help as good as I can.

I am happy and thankful that I was allowed to contribute and further will contribute on future development and growing of CTG.

Let me raise a toast on CTGI and state Happy Birthday, looking forward to many more years to come and to partner with this world class excellent company.

Many thanks!