Tropicana Jul-Aug 2018 #119 Hot Stuff

DOMINIK FRUTH
“I love to surround
myself with dreamers
and thinkers.”
“ I’m not a documenter,” he reveals. “ I’m a doer. However, I
realised during my career how important it is to put a vision and
mission to things as well as throwing in a few measurables. That
way everyone gets a bit more focussed on the direction we need to
move towards.”
Dominik credits a fellow colleague who manages the Thailand
operations – Faulkner Hachdell – as his inspiration. “ He has
an internal drive like a fire constantly burning in him, and his
unwavering passion for the business is inspiring. I may not totally
agree with some of his management decisions but that drive, well,
that’s something else!”
PHOTOGRAPHY BRIAN FANG, M8 STUDIO
TEXT & ART DIRECTION SHARMINI M.RETHINASAMY
STYLIST BOSCO LIM
MAKE UP WAN NING LER
HAIR ANGELINE LOW
HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS
Dominik’s work has him travelling quite a bit, and if it weren’t
for his early days in Singapore, much of where he travels to these
days would have been very foreign. Work takes him on frequent
commutes between his home base in Vietnam to Malaysia
and Singapore.
He has settled down with a wife – of Vietnamese descent – and
two children. Yet, it is imperative that his family understands their
German roots.
“ Both my children speak fluent German to me and their
grandparents. They speak fluent Vietnamese to their mother.
But when we are all together, we speak in English. We instil some
German and Vietnamese traditions by celebrating the Lunar New
Year, Christmas and Easter.”
“ It’s been 24 years since I left Germany,” he smiles. “ I’m 41 years
old now and I’ve been away for more than half my life. While I love
Asia, somehow the longer I am abroad, the more I realise where my
roots are and how important it is to me.”
Dominik’s parents have gone back to Germany after their
teaching stint in Singapore came to an end in 2000. Dominik makes
it a point to visit as often as he can, and he doesn’t consider the
distance between them to be detrimental to their relationship and
to their relationship with his children. He speaks about his father
with much admiration.
“ Personally I like to work with people who are different from
me, so that I’m able to learn from them. I love to surround myself
with dreamers and thinkers. My father, well, you can ask him any
history question or date in history and he’ll be able to answer you
at a snap of a finger. He speaks many different languages; all the
things I can’t or don’t know how to do. I admire him for that. But I
don’t aspire to be like him because I know my limits!” he laughs.
While Dominik knows his limits, he is a strong advocate of the
‘can do’ attitude. “After all, I did it,” he says triumphantly. “ I am
still on my first job since I graduated. I have been with Häfele for
20 years and not many people can say that.”
“ I believe that you have to take your fate in your own hands,”
he says. “ You shouldn’t have to wait for people to tell you what to
do. You should anticipate where you want to go and take action;
make it happen.”
29 JULY/AUGUST 2018 | TM