Meet Mr. Damien Viollet : The New MD Bayer East Africa Ltd.
Damien Viollet, a Frenchman working for a German company doing business in East Africa, is at the coalface of juggling multiple, fundamentally different cultures. While Damien grew up in France, he has also lived in Germany in his adulthood and had to quickly learn that, for better or for worse, many stereotypes of the two nations contain an element of truth. And knowing how to handle them can open many doors. “The business environments in Germany and African countries are also completely different”, explains Mr. Damien.
With a wealth of experience backed with technical knowhow, he had some tough lessons to learn right from the start. He invested himself heavily in getting to know his customers and their needs, in understanding the Bayer team in East Africa and appreciating local cultural dynamics. The 46 year old Genetics and Molecular scientist is a ‘people person’ and has thrived on establishing relationships and building trust across the agricultural sector in his early days. He has also created positive relations with colleagues at Bayer CropScience.
“Slowly and steadily he has made his way up for the last 20 years at Bayer Cropscience, bringing together scientific understanding with business strengths and marketing expertise. Over the years he has held a variety of positions in different parts of the organisation and has worked with a broad range of people with different cultural backgrounds and varying levels of seniority. In doing so he has acquired a deep understanding of the strengths of Bayer CropScience.
This is what he brings to East Africa, Mr. Damien’s roots are scientific. He holds diploma in crop protection from the most prestigious higher education establishment for agriculture in France, the Ecole Nationale Superieur d’Horticulture, and a Masters in Genetics and Molecular Biology. His technical expertise focuses largely on crop protection and seeds. Mr. Damien joined BCS East Africa in May 2012 following a five year assignment at Bayer’s global HQ in Germany where he successfully led the team that launched globally Bayer’s latest cereal fungicide blockbuster. In East Africa, Mr. Damien confronts the unique challenges of six key countries namely; Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Burundi. “It is a good mix of cultures and experiences,” said Mr. Damien who has travelled extensively in his first year in the region.
Bayer’s mission in any market in the world is to provide ‘Science for a Better Life’ and this is his vision. Specifically in Kenya, sustainability is at the top of his agenda to counter the challenges of securing food supply. 80% of the population in Kenya lives in rural areas and draws its income from agriculture but there is limited arable land at their disposal. His priorities are therefore to provide innovative solutions and new ideas that will extend Kenya’s agricultural potential in a sustainable way.
After many years working with Bayer CropScience and in the field of agriculture, he can get to the heart of farmers issues and offer sound advice on specific problems. Through business partnerships, together with his team bring very specific Bayer CropScience values and these can be summed at as competence (we have some of the best products available with good after sales), preparedness (to find ways to deliver solutions to even the most difficult of customer needs) and delivery on time (perhaps this comes from our Germanic origins, but we also recognise today this is an important quality that farmers need to know that they can trust in their business partner of choice).
Excerpts from his earlier interview with Floriculture Magazine