Taking responsibility, bringing different perspectives together and making change understandable: for Felix Pant, who holds a management role at Rewe West in the areas of Category Management Support and the sales department, leadership is, above all, a question of attitude. The recipient of the ‘Goldener Zuckerhut’ award from the Lebensmittelzeitung foundation combines analytical thinking with a keen understanding of people.
Anyone who speaks to Felix Pant quickly realises that he is not driven solely by figures, processes or product ranges. What interests him most is the interaction between the people behind them. “As a team leader, it’s important to me to bring everyone on board,” is one of his guiding principles.
In his role at REWE West, he operates at the interface between strategic product range management, the sales department and operational implementation. He sees himself as a bridge-builder between different worlds: between IT and retail, between concept and practice, between management and the market.
The Cologne native describes his path into the food retail sector as a conscious decision to focus on practical experience. After completing his A-levels and spending an extended period abroad, he decided against studying law and opted instead for a dual study programme at REWE. Today, he leads teams comprising staff from different generations and sees his most important task as bringing people on board, simplifying complexity and providing direction. For him, trust and commitment are the key prerequisites for successful collaboration.
© Reinhard Rosendahl (LZ)
In his spare time, Felix Pant (29) practises martial arts. In his professional life, he works on optimising the product ranges for sports nutrition and organic products.
His line manager, Lina Kruse, also highlights precisely these qualities. “What sets Felix apart is not only his professional expertise, but above all his attitude,” she says. She adds that he is self-reflective, open to feedback and consistently works on his personal and professional development. At the same time, he remains authentic and treats people as equals – regardless of whether they are retailers, staff members, colleagues or senior managers.
For Felix Pant, people are always at the heart of things. He regards technological developments such as artificial intelligence as important support, but not as an end in themselves. “What we’re doing with AI in product sorting is just the icing on the cake. The cake is the people,” he says in the interview. Only when those who work in the shops every day develop confidence in change can sustainability be achieved.
This conviction is also reflected in his approach to leadership. Regular dialogue, empathy and a willingness to understand different perspectives characterise the 29-year-old’s day-to-day work. For him, the food retail sector thrives on its diversity: from the people in the shops, the retailers and the customers, to the wide variety of challenges that each day brings.
The fact that Felix takes on responsibility and actively shapes change is also evident in his plans for the future. As a recipient of the Foundation’s award, he intends to use his prize money to fund the Strategy & Finance programme at the Management School St. Gallen. His aim is to gain an even deeper understanding of economic interrelationships and to develop new perspectives for the future of the retail sector.
For Lina Kruse, this is no coincidence: „We need people who can recognise the bigger picture, take responsibility and inspire others to explore new avenues.“Lina Kruse “We need people who can recognise interconnections, take responsibility and inspire others to explore new paths.”
These are qualities that not only set the young senior manager apart, but have also shaped his career to date.