FC Bayern recently invited its employees from the New York, Shanghai and Bangkok offices to the club's headquarters for a discussion with their colleagues on the German record champions. As part of "International Week", which was being held for the first time, the aim was to strengthen synergies and get to know each other even better over several days during various joint activities at Säbener Straße and other locations in Munich. In 2014, the German record champions opened the office in New York, followed three years later by the Shanghai office and, last spring, the branch in Bangkok.
Check out our gallery for the best photos of the week:
"In order to keep up with the other top clubs in today's world, FC Bayern has to have an international presence. With our offices in New York, Shanghai and Bangkok, we are close to the pulse of the fans on the ground," explains Andreas Jung, FC Bayern's Marketing Director: "Our 'International Week' was ideal for our colleagues, who are otherwise always separated by thousands of kilometres and different time zones, to get closer to each other. The roots of FC Bayern are in Munich, and at the same time our goal is a sustainable, direct exchange with fans all over the world in order to make our club ever more tangible to millions of international supporters."
„Our 'International Week' was ideal for our colleagues, who are otherwise always separated by thousands of kilometres and different time zones, to get closer to each other.”
Andreas Jung
Some of the 25 employees who travelled from the three offices had never visited the Bavarian capital before. "This 'International Week' was a huge experience and very instructive for all of us," says Michael Diederich, the designated Deputy Chairman of the Board of Management: "Once again, we became aware of how big the FC Bayern family has become over time, how diversely it is lived - and what this entire club has come to mean. Through the many discussions, we were able to filter out more clearly together what challenges our offices in the respective countries have to deal with." After this intensive exchange, "in the future, we will be able to provide even more targeted support from Säbener Straße".
The programme included many workshops and discussion rounds with the various FC Bayern departments, as well as an "After Work Event" with all employees of the club, where colleagues from New York, Shanghai and Bangkok could share their goals, experiences and projects. It started with a Bavarian welcome dinner with the board of directors at Paulaner am Nockherberg, including team-building activities. The week was rounded off with a joint visit to the Allianz Arena for Sunday's 2-0 victory over Hertha BSC Berlin. "Our employees in the three offices are crucial multipliers for everything that FC Bayern embodies," clarifies Moritz Mattes, who organises the coordination of the three offices at Säbener Straße as Chief of Staff. "It is important to us that our work has a common signature: It should be apparent to people all over the world at all times what FC Bayern is all about. The employees should transport the Mia san Mia and live it together with the people in their respective countries."
„Once again, we became aware of how big the FC Bayern family has become over time, how diversely it is lived - and what this entire club has come to mean.”
Michael Diederich
For Dee Kundra, Managing Director Americas, "this time we were able to spend together here as a united international team of FC Bayern was irreplaceable: the visit to Munich gave all our international offices the opportunity to refine processes, address and implement new ideas to drive the global perspective of FC Bayern." Philipp Wunderlich, Head of Asia, concluded that it had been important "for our teams from New York, Shanghai and Bangkok to have had the opportunity to build personal relationships with each other and with their colleagues in Munich. This way we can even better carry the Mia-san-Mia feeling into the world together." Maximilian Haschke, Head of Southeast Asia: "Our colleagues, together with our fans, are our most important representatives in their respective countries." One year after the opening of the Bangkok office, he said, "it was a highlight for the team to meet the entire FC Bayern family in Munich for once and to visit the radiant locations around Säbener Straße, the FC Bayern Campus, FC Bayern World, Allianz Arena, Audi Dome, SAP Garden, as well as the adidas World of Sports in Herzogenaurach. We will take the uniqueness of FC Bayern with us to Southeast Asia."
Interview with marketing director Andreas Jung, chief of staff Moritz Mattes and the office managers Dee Kundra, Philipp Wunderlich and Maximilian Haschke:
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