We are pleased to announce Daniel Kutschenko is the new Business Unit Manager for IT Services & Operations at Horton International Germany.
Daniel began his professional career in brand management in the consumer goods industry. There he learned one thing above all in countless market research projects: to understand people and their personal motivations.
After that, he worked for another four years in a strategy consultancy and supported companies in the development of new, digital business models.
In September 2016, he joined Horton International Germany as an executive search consultant, where he was promoted to senior consultant just under a year later and to manager in 2019.
Since 1 January 2022, Daniel has been responsible for the IT Services & Operations business unit.
In the following interview, we asked him 7 personal questions to find out more about him as a person.
How do you start the day?
As a family man – our two boys are one and five years old – I have discovered the morning hours for myself.
My “me time” starts Monday to Friday at 6 a.m. – when everyone else is still slumbering peacefully – with meditation, journaling and jogging, alternating with fitness. This gets me into a positive frame of mind and ready for whatever the day brings.
Then an oat milk shake, get the kids ready and walk to the nearby daycare centre.
Then it’s off by car to the office 20 minutes away – for the first calls or podcasts, such as IT News or Steingart’s Morning Briefing – where the first espresso and the morning team meeting are waiting.
What would your colleagues say about you?
That I’m usually in a good mood, genuinely interested in them and “on the pitch”.
Where the light is, there is also shadow. What can annoy others about you?
That I always prefer to tackle problems and to-dos immediately, if only to get them out of my head. My follow-ups can be annoying.
What is your favourite question in interviews that you ask candidates for clients?
I consider it a great privilege to be able to enter the world of my interview partners with confidence.
Accordingly, in interviews, I like to ask about my counterpart’s personal recipe for success.
This also enables me to better assess whether the person and the company on whose behalf I am looking for talent can be successful together…. …and I always learn something new along the way.
Why are you a personnel consultant?
I see my role as a “marriage counsellor for managers”.
At its core, it’s about understanding people and organisations and it fulfils me to literally “bring together what belongs together”.
Do you have a quirk in your private life?
I always meticulously stock the fridge (whether at home or at work) according to a special system: according to categories, best-before date and with the packaging facing forward.
My professional background is in consumer goods marketing and certainly can’t be completely denied….
Which three things would you not want to do without?
My family, my running shoes and my smartphone – just because of the podcasts!
Tell us one more thing about you..
I see myself as a truly global citizen. Since my childhood I have lived in the USA, Denmark and Austria. I have worked in France and studied in Ireland where I fell in love -not only with the Irish pub culture- but most importantly, with my wife who has Polish roots.
