As Global celebrates its Silver Jubilee we take a look over the multinational unit’s past 25 years with someone who has seen it grow from its birth to today, Global Director, Martie van Velsen
We invite Martie to take a look back at the last 25 years.
Why was Atradius Global launched?
Global was set up to fulfil a customer need. One of our multinational customers came to us and said: “We have a number of policies with you, spread across our subsidiaries in our different locations in Europe, but we want alignment. Would it be possible to have a single policy wording, so that we don’t have to manage all the variations across locations?” This was clearly a customer need, both for this multinational, and possibly for many others that could benefit from international cohesion.
At the same time, the Management Board of NCM (which became Atradius in 2004) was refining their strategy, moving from a product orientation to look more closely at market segments and how we delivered solutions to our customers. It made sense to create a new business unit with an international reach, single team and single P&L focused on creating bespoke solutions for multinational customers.
And so, in 1997, Atradius Global was created under the leadership of Gil Black. Tommie Sjodahl took on the baton from Gil and rolled out the Global concept to all Atradius locations. Tommie had his inclusive way of work and spirit can still be felt throughout the unit. He built a very solid foundation, with people and human connections at the heart. He always said, if something is not clear, don’t send an email, pick up the phone. Even today I still think ‘how would Tommie have dealt with this?’ before I do something.
At the time, I was working in America and was invited to head up the Global Unit team there. To begin with, the US team was very small. It was just me! As a unit we have grown from a small team, mainly based in Europe to a ‘Global family’ with people on the ground close to our customers in over 50 countries.
What makes Global successful?
Global is successful because we care. We put our customers first and work in partnership with them, their brokers, and we work in partnership with each other. The launch of Global is really an example of the Atradius customer focus, and how Atradius is making sure we can deliver a seamless service across countries and continents for our multinational customers.
In fact, we can say that the reasons for launching Global have not changed even today. The focus has been customer need and here we are 25 years later, it’s still the driving force. We still value our customer relationships and promote customer intimacy as our operating model.
Our customers like being able to call us in Germany to say they have an issue in Singapore and have the confidence that we’ll sort it out for them. They appreciate the fact that we have a single IT platform and that through tools such as Insights and Atrium, they have one place to manage their account (and not a different system for each market). They like the consistency we provide and value our knowledge and opinions. All of these things combined together help make us successful.
You mentioned the ‘Global family’ earlier, what does that mean?
We work as a single team across borders, we sometimes feel like one extended family. We kept this in place despite the growth in numbers of people that we have seen over the years. The ethos of inclusivity and building strong relationships with a family of colleagues, customers and brokers is not unique to Global. This is Atradius. Partnership working and relationship building is the very essence of Atradius.
That said, the nature of our portfolio means we have customers with broad and complex accounts. Global colleagues work together to support our customers, there is a shared responsibility for creating and servicing wrap-around solutions. Because our colleagues work together so much, and even travel together sometimes, we get to know each other well and care about each other. It feels like we are in family and because we get together regularly, we are not even distant relatives!
How does your leadership style guide Global?
I don’t know if this is my leadership ‘style’ exactly, but I think the relationships we talked about earlier are really important. I consciously encourage our teams to build relationships with each other and with their customers. I believe we can continue to be professional, while not being afraid to find out what matters to the other person, to learn more about them and show we are interested, that we care on a personal level.
I also want everyone to feel ownership over their work, their careers and to feel a sense of responsibility for that. I try to encourage people to think about their role and how they can make a positive difference. I think there is also a dynamic culture within Global which, combined with our size which allows some agility, helps us to push boundaries and explore innovations. Insights is an example of this. Ultimately, I am very proud of the Global team. I hope they feel that and also pride in themselves.
Who are your customers?
Our customers are all multinationals. We have large ones, Fortune 500 companies, and smaller ones that tend to have a regional footprint, usually in Europe or Asia. They come from all sectors. But the thing they all have in common is that they have chosen credit insurance. This has not been forced on to them by their bank or lender; but is a strategic choice.
The other common denominator we find with the majority of our Global customers is that they actively want to work with us and don’t see us as just an insurance company. They value our input and like working with us as equals, as partners. Our customers don’t just want an insurance product, they want to leverage our expertise and opinion. They value our way of working.
What are your fondest memories over the last 25 years?
I have many fond memories of Global gatherings. Every five years we celebrate our anniversaries, and all come together from around the world to meet up. I especially enjoy it when we bring together the smaller offices, often just a team of one, to meet with everyone in person.
I really enjoy hearing positive feedback from our customers too. For example, one longstanding Europe-based customer recently told me that he had visited Atradius in Australia for the first time and that he could tell it was Atradius from the moment he stepped through the door because of the warm welcome he received. I was happy to hear that.
I also have good memories of some low times. This is because what often starts out as a low for us ends up being a high because people come together, roll up their sleeves and get solving issues. We can be at our best in a crisis and that brings some good memories for me. In fact, the nature of our work means that our customers need us most when there is a crisis. It is really satisfying to be able to support them.
What will the next 25 years look like?
We will continue with our geographical expansion, especially into Latin America and will grow the strategic value we provide our customers. We will continue to deliver on the operational day to day tasks, but we will grow the strategic insight and support we offer.
We won’t sit and wait for things to come to us, but we will be proactive and will talk to our customers to find how we can better support them. I expect over the next few years much of this will include issues concerning environmental and social governance and how ESG factors may impact reputations and even ratings.
We will continue to place customer intimacy at the forefront of our practice and seek ways to build those connections on a human level while remaining professional. And of course, at some point in the next few years it will be my turn to hand the baton to someone else.