Pursuing Progress:
Change Starts on the Inside
Pursuing
Progress:
Change Starts
on the Inside
What is important when we talk about successful change?
Besides being confident, we also need to foster an inclusive (work) space and an open mindset to new and diverse ideas. In this issue, we thus want to shine a light on the incredible efforts taking place all across NKG and what we can learn from them. We show and explore where colleagues, teams and companies already use their openness to change and think differently, going on new paths, and where it has already had a positive impact. We also showcase how we can strengthen our ability to gain and embrace new perspectives further, engage with transformation confidently and develop our mindset to be more open. Currently, we are for example amidst our transformation from a rather holding-centric approach in our leadership and group structure to more responsibility in the regions. Through streamlining leadership, empowering the new established Regional CEOs and Operations Management, and enhancing decision-making processes, we strive for quicker actions and stronger regional integration. Where beneficial, global standards will of course continue to be provided from the holding level to support local entities in their respective contexts. As one example, the performance reviews have been piloted on a global level, technically enabled by Workday since Q1 this year. The process is open to use for all companies while retaining the flexibility to decide on the concrete usage and timing of the implementation on a local level.
“Finding the right balance between local, regional, and global perspectives and responsibilities in our path towards the three NKG regions is essential. Our business thrives on the diversity of those involved, their unique viewpoints, and a shared openness and trust that guides everything we do. While regionalization and global standards play a more crucial role in our operations, it is vital to maintain a transparency that embraces and supports local solutions. At the same time, the times we live in make it imperative to strongly centralize some few but key functions for efficiency and risk management. For this, we have the holding company NG Hamburg, which is not a part of any of the regions. In combination of these perspectives, we ensure that innovation and collaboration flourish across all levels of our organization.”
David M. Neumann
Group CEO, Regional CEO EMEA
Examples from real NKG life
This issue is filled with inspiring stories that showcase how we can integrate new perspectives and find creative solutions – which helps us be more flexible and adjust to changes a lot more easily. To gain external perspectives, involve independent voices and thus generate thinking outside the box, we introduce you to the Coffee Council in our 3 x 3 Questions (which are actually this time 5 x 3 Questions, to be precise). In our First half of 2025 @NKG: Success stories, we highlight success stories where fresh ideas challenged traditional approaches and collaboration lead to enhanced results that would not have been possible without working together. Discover how we can challenge ourselves to foster greater openness and awareness in our interactions and the way we work together in our article Accelerate Action: Why Gender Equity in Coffee Matters. Do you remember that Regionalization is quite a huge topic at NKG at the moment? Perfect, this will definitely be very helpful for this issue’s Quiz! We also share exciting insights from our group companies and guest authors again: This time, Rachel Neoh from Bero Coffee Singapore takes us on a trip behind the scenes at the World of Coffee in Jakarta! Elena Gramatica talked to Deborah Righeschi about the new Coffee Culture Institute from Bero Italia, and Chelsey Walker-Watson from Atlas Coffee Importers takes us on another trip behind the scenes: with a tour through their premises!
We hope this issue inspires you! Maybe you can use some of the articles and the input to reflect upon your own capacity to see change as an opportunity to grow rather than a threat or a challenge – both personally and as part of our global team. We are convinced that we can create a culture that values new perspectives and drives progress – because meaningful change always begins with us. Enjoy reading!
For the past 16 years, Dominique has been an integral part of the NKG family, taking on roles as first Finance Officer and then Chief Financial Officer at Maison Jobin since 2007. Her coffee journey, however, started even earlier as an accountant at Sté Raoul-Duval, a company trading coffee and cocoa.
Valentina Molano Paredes started working in coffee as an International Marketing Analyst at Juan Valdez. Before her first day there, she had never even tasted coffee! It was there that she fell in love with the diversity of coffee-based recipes and began to appreciate how a single plant can transform so many lives. Valentina has been with NKG for three years. Starting in the Sustainability Department as a Communications and Social Media Manager, she then moved on to organizing events with coffee-growing families.
Joeri Kalwij found his way into the coffee world in 2008, when a commodity trader approached him to establish a sustainability and certification department in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Eleven years later, he joined NKG and as General Manager at New Guniea Highland Coffee.
