Passion as a driving force
From radio engineer to executive
A conversation with Thomas Donato, President of Bosch Power Tools since 2023, about his roots, his values, and the challenges of the present. In this interview, the son of migrant workers provides insights into his personal and professional journey. He emphasizes the importance of listening to one’s gut feelings and following one’s passion in life. He also explains how his love for radio and a job as an entertainer have prepared him for his responsibilities as an executive.
Thomas, you have been president of the Bosch Power Tools division since June 2023. How would you summarize your time in the role so far?
It was an intense time with many challenges and very difficult decisions. At the same time, it was and is an exciting time with many opportunities and possibilities to develop our business and make it fit for the future.
Before we talk about the current challenges and your vision, let’s take a look at your personal background.
My parents came to Germany as migrant workers, guest workers as they’re called here. My father came to Germany from Italy when he was 18 years old. My mother came from Yugoslavia, what is now North Macedonia. They met here in Germany and decided to stay here and start a family. That’s also why I have a German first name.
Your career path has been anything but straight.
That’s true. However, I have always been interested in technical things and it was clear to me at an early stage that I wanted to do something to do with technology. Radio was my great passion and so I decided to become a radio sound engineer. I needed to have completed an occupational training course before studying at a sound engineering school, so I did an apprenticeship as a radio and television technician. My parents and my teachers wanted me to do my “Abitur”, the German university entrance qualification, but I followed my gut feeling and went down this path. It was one of the best decisions of my life.
Why was this occupational training so formative for you?
Back then, I trained in a company that employed around 15 people. We carried out repairs, installed satellite systems and cable TV and sold all kinds of technical equipment, from records and stereo systems to mixers. You learn a lot about people when you’re in the store and selling or when you go into people’s homes, doing customer service. From then on, I found it easier to approach people because I knew how to deal with them. This experience shaped me.
When you do something with passion, you are more motivated, more creative and bolder. In my experience, this ultimately leads to success.
So you listened to your gut feeling and followed your passion. That’s interesting, because nowadays we’re more used to not following our intuition.
Absolutely. The difficult thing is that you often don’t have enough information to weigh things up logically. Our gut feeling, on the other hand, is often very reliable. And I am convinced that it is important to follow your passion in life. If you are passionate about something, you will invest more time and more energy into it. When you do something with passion, you are more motivated, more creative and bolder. In my experience, this ultimately leads to success.
After your apprenticeship, did you decide against becoming a sound engineer and choose to continue your studies?
That’s correct. My passion for all things technical remained, but I had also grown, gained new perspectives and set new goals. To bridge the time until I started university, I did some work: I was an entertainer on Mallorca and worked there for six months in a hotel with around 1,600 beds. During the day, the program included water polo, volleyball and archery with the children, then soccer just before dinner and in the evening there were various events on stage: bingo, mini disco and so on. It was a great experience because I came into contact with guests from the U.K., Ireland, Iceland, Italy, the Netherlands and, of course, Germany. It was like an intensive course in intercultural communication.
From journeyman to entertainer to president at Bosch – that’s an interesting path. Do these experiences still have an influence on the president of Bosch Power Tools Thomas Donato today?
Of course. As a child of migrant workers, I was influenced by different cultures and ways of thinking from an early age. During my time as an apprentice and later as an entertainer, I again consciously thought outside the box. I quickly learned that it is important to see different perspectives and adopt different points of view. It showed me how important it is to talk to people, to learn from others and to continuously develop. There is no one way in life. If you want to grow, you have to be able to listen, you have to be flexible and adaptable. Whenever I changed jobs, I was faced with new challenges. That appeals to me, I find it exciting.
What other values are particularly important to you as an executive?
Trust, openness, honesty and respect. I firmly believe that you can only be successful if you live and exemplify these values. It is important to create a corporate culture in which everyone feels comfortable, can contribute their ideas and develop their talents. An environment like that promotes a culture of innovation and continuous improvement. It is important to me that all associates know that they can talk to me. Why? Well, because I am convinced that you can only be successful together if you communicate openly and learn from each other.
You are talking about a corporate culture that was also close to Robert Bosch’s heart.
Robert Bosch was a pioneer, an innovator and a responsible entrepreneur. With his values and principles, he created a company whose innovative core has endured to this day and which has continued to develop specifically on this basis.
The keyword is ‘future’. The world is currently facing major challenges. How will you lead Bosch Power Tools through these difficult times?
It is no secret that we are all facing major challenges together: Globalization, digitalization, artificial intelligence, the war in Ukraine, and other international conflicts. These are all issues that preoccupy the world. The economic environment is very difficult and many markets are becoming increasingly saturated. We have to accept these facts and adapt. Changes are often painful. But they are also the only chance to assert oneself in this unstable environment. We must therefore become more flexible and be prepared to adapt continuously in order to be successful in the long term.
What does this mean for Bosch Power Tools in concrete terms?
We need to understand our customers even better and ask: What do users need? Why do they need it? When do they need it? We need to understand exactly how our customers work. What are their work steps? What challenges do they face? What is wrong exactly? Sound market research and a good understanding of target groups are fundamental to continuing to produce innovations under the Bosch brand that are not only convincing but also inspiring. It is important to start early and draw the right conclusions. One of our best-selling power tools ever, the IXO, was not developed because the customer already knew that he needed such a tool. Rather, development was preceded by a phase of intensive and comprehensive observation and analysis. A central task is therefore to understand our customers as well as possible, and to implement their needs and requirements quickly and creatively.
The strategy is therefore essentially based on three pillars: Innovation, user centricity and efficiency.
Exactly. We must develop innovative products and solutions that make the lives of those using our products easier or more productive. To do this, we need to understand their needs even better and tailor our offerings accordingly. At the same time, we need to continue to optimize our processes and become more efficient in order to remain competitive in terms of costs.
What role does the Bosch brand play in the future strategy?
A very important one! Our brand has been a byword for quality and reliability for decades. These are two of our key strengths. Bosch Power Tools has more than 18,000 associates. We are represented worldwide with broad-based expertise, decades of experience, passion and enthusiasm, an understanding of our markets, and a broad portfolio. These are all further strengths that make us unique as a collective. In order to remain globally successful in the long term in an increasingly competitive environment, we need to make even better use of these strengths.
Which regions of the world are centrally important for strategic considerations?
We are well positioned globally and systematically adapt the individual markets according to local requirements. Let’s look at Europe first. This is our home market, which is therefore a very high priority for us and nothing is going to change in that regard. We already significantly increased the number of product launches last year, and this year we will once again significantly accelerate the expansion of our portfolio in the power tools business field alone, with around 90 new product launches planned – the vast majority of which will be available in Europe. In this respect, users of our products and our retail partners in Germany, France, the U.K. and beyond can look forward to numerous innovations.
What about the rest of the world?
As in Europe, we already have a very strong market position in the emerging markets in particular, by which I mean economically emerging regions and countries such as India, Latin America, Southeast Asia, and large parts of Africa. From this position, we now want to achieve strong growth in North America, for example. The continent is a strategically important market for us, which we want to gradually develop in the power tools business field. To this end, we launched a comprehensive marketing campaign at the beginning of the year. In addition, we are developing products and solutions specifically for the needs of North American users. Here, too, we can build on an existing basis. For example, we already hold a leading position in the measurement technology segment with the Bosch brand. I would also like to take this opportunity to mention our accessory brand Diablo. This has been an extremely strong, reliable partner for years and is therefore the “first choice” on many construction sites in North America. So we have a lot to offer!
Thomas, thank you very much for the open conversation.
