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Frank Appel drives to his office in the Post Tower in Bonn almost every day.
"For me, not much has fundamentally changed in my work," says the Post boss.
Due to the pandemic, he flies much less and is therefore less likely to be jet lagged.
But if he calls the national company of the Post subsidiary DHL in South Korea at four o'clock in the morning according to German time, then he will feel a virtual jet lag afterwards.
In his private life he does more sport than usual, for example on a mountain bike through the Siebengebirge.
In a telephone interview, the doctor of neurobiology describes everything that is positive for him during this time, when the post employees are vaccinated and what he thinks of the free choice of the candidates for chancellor.
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WORLD:
Mr. Appel, 80,000 mail carriers and parcel drivers are out and about for the post every day.
Many of them will be waiting for a vaccination against the Covid-19 virus.
What can Swiss Post do?
Frank Appel:
In coordination with the government, we will vaccinate our employees as soon as we are allowed to and the vaccine is available.
There is no exact date for this yet.
Our company doctors are well prepared so that we can start at any time with less than a week's lead time.
We would also offer a vaccination to all 570,000 employees worldwide, and for our own account, if necessary.
That will cost a lot, but the safety of our employees is our top priority.
In addition, the current protective measures also cost us a lot of money.
With us that's already well over 100 million euros.
WORLD:
In what order will the Post vaccinate?
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Appel:
If the vaccination prioritization has been lifted nationwide by then, we will first vaccinate the employees at particularly large locations.
We want to be as pragmatic and therefore as quick as possible.
The vaccination offer will of course be voluntary.
WORLD:
Have you already been vaccinated and if so, with which vaccine?
Appel:
No, I haven't been vaccinated yet.
I am still under 60 years old, but have already registered online.
I would immediately be vaccinated with any of the approved vaccines, including AstraZeneca, of course.
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WORLD:
Do you have no concerns because you are a scientist?
Appel:
I like to deal with the original data for such questions.
My scientific training helps me with this.
The risk of dying in a car accident - perhaps on the way to the vaccination center - is dramatically greater than dying from side effects such as thrombosis after vaccination.
You have to put the orders of magnitude in relation.
WORLD:
You once did research as a neurobiologist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich.
Can the new mRNA vaccines also help in other areas?
Appel:
This new technology is a breakthrough for mankind.
I am convinced that in five or ten years we will judge this pandemic very differently, even if it will still keep its horror.
What the manufacturers Biontech, Curevac or Moderna have developed brings medicine much closer to a vaccine against cancer.
The startups are in the process of finding a way to immunize the body against cancer cells.
This is ingenious and comparable to the discovery of antibiotics 100 years ago.
WORLD:
Then why does it take so long to be able to stop the virus?
Appel:
I disagree. I find it sensational how far we have already made progress with vaccinations in Europe, while at the same time showing solidarity and exporting vaccines from the EU. One percent of the population in Germany is vaccinated every day. We have the chance to be through with the topic in the summer. Eighteen months after the outbreak of the pandemic, wealthy Western countries around the world will have protected their people. Then at the latest it is our obligation to help the poorer regions to do the same. The European Union should be committed to helping Africa with the vaccinations and, if necessary, to pay for the vaccine. The EU should be able to afford this perhaps 50 billion euros.The US would have to do that for Latin and South America and the better-off countries in Asia for this continent. A commitment to finance would be the very best development aid.
WORLD:
The Post is one of the largest carriers for the vaccine in the world.
Does the company make a lot of money from it?
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Appel:
For us it is crucial that we can make a contribution to society.
The impact on our sales and our earnings is manageable.
We are talking about very small, valuable goods, often there are a few pallets with the vaccine.
We are an important carrier for this in many countries in Europe and around the world.
We distribute to Argentina, Bahrain, Chile, Costa Rica, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Croatia, Lithuania, Norway, Austria, Romania and Sweden, among others.
We win all of these orders in tough competition with other companies.
WORLD:
Recently there has been an obligation for companies to test their employees.
Is this the right way?
Appel:
I think most employers have a natural interest in protecting their employees.
Additional bureaucracy is certainly difficult, especially for small and medium-sized companies.
To date, we have distributed over a million rapid tests to our operations.
We can also cope with a regulation.
Apart from the documentation, not much has changed for us.
But that's not that easy in a company with maybe five employees.
WORLD:
Swiss Post has benefited significantly from the pandemic by sending parcels.
What economic development do you expect afterwards?
Appel:
In contrast to other crises, this is an economic slump driven purely by demand.
In addition, politics has stabilized a lot so that the rise in unemployment figures is limited.
The savings rate among Germans has risen significantly.
I expect we will see a very quick recovery.
WORLD:
At the post office, the parcel volumes are likely to collapse when people go shopping again in stores and no longer just online.
Appel:
The key question for us is how developments in e-commerce will continue.
Studies by McKinsey, for example, expect the volumes to continue to rise in the future.
We are also confident that we will continue to see growth, albeit at a normalized level.
After all, the last year has accelerated online trading significantly.
Over many years we have built an excellent basis for this business.
This will help ensure that we in the Group will achieve a result of well over 5.6 billion euros this year.
WORLD:
And what do you expect for the global economy?
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Appel:
I am optimistic.
Thanks to government aid programs such as those in Europe and the USA, fewer people had to go into debt during this crisis than in the financial crisis of 2008. That is why I am assuming that demand will rise worldwide and that unemployment will decrease over the next few quarters.
We'll get back to the front quickly.
WORLD:
Since 2012, Swiss Post has increased the postage from 55 cents to 80 cents today.
The valid postage expires at the end of the year - what comes after that?
Appel:
That will be decided by the responsible Federal Network Agency.
The fact is that the volume of letters has decreased dramatically in the past year and that we have concluded a collective agreement with rising wage costs.
Instead of the usual two to three percent, the volume decline in letter mail was ten percent.
The lockdown, which has been extended several times, has resulted in companies sending significantly less advertising mail.
In autumn we will see what the network agency decides.
WORLD:
Your board contract expires next year.
Do you want to stop?
Appel:
I really enjoy my work.
I am happy to be able to make a contribution to society.
We will decide on the options for an extension with the right amount of advance notice.
WORLD:
You are the highest earning Dax CEO.
Is ten million euros an appropriate remuneration?
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Appel: It
is up to others to decide whether my salary is appropriate.
I am not participating in this discussion.
My remuneration is essentially linked to the long-term increase in the company's value.
It is important to me that the reporting creates a connection with performance, employee satisfaction, the record result and the share price.
WORLD:
Even if you rarely comment on current politics: How do you look at the most recent freestyle of a candidate for chancellor?
Appel:
The founding fathers of our republic made a conscious decision in favor of representative party democracy.
In it, elected party bodies decide on candidates.
For this reason, we have never had a populist in government responsibility either in the federal or in the federal states.
That is a huge win for the country.
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