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In the latest of our series profiling the leading figures of the Leeds business scene we meet Dirk Mischendahl, German-born founder of Leeds-based company Logistik, which began life managing events and has grown to be much more
Tell us about your formative years.
I was born in 1968 in Billerbeck, north-western Germany, in the province of North Rhine-Westphalia. I lived in Germany for six years before moving to Newtown in Sydney in 1974 with my parents Heinz and Elizabeth.
My father was in the automotive industry and we moved to Australia so he could set up a business related to brake lining and hydraulics for an American company.
Having always had a passion for cars, at the age of 15 I decided to leave high school and train as a mechanic.
Realising this wasn't my vocation, I ventured into hospitality and worked in the hotel and catering industry before following a woman to the UK in 1989 after falling in love.
In 1992 I started a degree in psychology at Leeds University intending to become a clinical psychologist, but in my final year I realised this was a career that needed more maturity and life experience than I had at that time. I decided my destiny was to be my own boss with my own business, so my focus shifted to make this happen.
Tell us about Logistik and how you founded the firm.
I have always enjoyed meeting and socialising with interesting people and in my earlier years very much enjoyed the social aspect of hedonistic dance events and raves.
I would attend these events worldwide and think "I could do this", so my entrepreneurial side kicked in and I started looking for opportunities to help me launch my new career.
In my third year at the University of Leeds I approached David Small, who organised the end-of-year graduation ball, or Rag Ball as it was once known, to see how I could help.
I worked alongside David to deliver the Rag Ball in 1995 and the following year, after his departure, was offered the opportunity to produce the entire event.
I owe a huge amount of thanks to Brian Hudspeth, financial controller of the Union at the University of Leeds, who negotiated the contract for the delivery of the graduation ball. Over the years it has evolved into a 10,000-capacity Summer Ball for both Leeds universities at Lotherton Hall.
In 1997 I founded design and communications agency Logistik with a team of four and based the company in a tiny office above what was the Town and Country Club in Leeds and is now the Academy.
The business began as a service provider to deliver and manage outdoor green field music events. However, continued success allowed the business to grow and develop our services from event management to graphic and multi-media design, video production, design and build, and communication and brand consultancy.
Over the last 11 years, our success and strength has grown rapidly. We have more than 150 employees, an annual turnover of 20m, retained large corporate clients and well-recognised brands and two offices in Leeds with a 7,000 sq ft design and construction workshop, one in London and one in Hampshire.
Logistik has built and maintained strong partnerships with some of Yorkshire's leading businesses, such as Asda, Yorkshire Water, Leeds University and Leeds Metropolitan University. In 2006 Logistik ranked in the Sunday Times fastest-growing companies as the highest agency of our type in the country and third highest overall in Yorkshire.
In 2007, Logistik founded the Northern Art Prize, in partnership with Leeds City Council, to celebrate artistic talent in the North and retain creativity in the region.
Continuing our relationship with Leeds City Council, in 2007 we opened up the beautiful and unique Tiled Hall Caf, between the library and Leeds City Art Gallery, and the romantic and historic Gatehouse Caf.
The same year we launched Triffid, our communication and brand consultancy, and in 2008 launched BrandNew, our creative multimedia design agency.
Explain your business philosophy.
Simple…great people make great businesses!
I believe if you employ great people then you will ultimately have a great business. A brand is nothing without its people.
If you weren't doing the job you are doing now, where might you be – or where might you like to have been?
I couldn't imagine doing anything else…this is me, this is who I am! I am an entrepreneur and love the diversity that my chosen lifestyle offers. To me there is no other option than what I am now doing.
What are the major business issues which affect Leeds and the country in general?
In Leeds and Yorkshire we need to allow for the new order to come in, build on the region's successes and introduce alternative approaches to the current traditions.
We need to look at what excites people, how to increase tourism and create a city of culture with iconic features or events that can compete with the likes of Manchester, Newcastle and Liverpool.
I also feel that as a city, and as a country, we should be focusing on the positives and on the future right now, rather than on the negative and the current economic climate. When there is a down there is always an up – we should be focusing on the up and how we get there. That is how businesses survive.
If you had to power to tackle the issues listed above, how would you go about it?
Further to our current three-year, 120k investment in the Northern Art Prize, I would continue to invest heavily into the arts and develop a cultural strategy around visual arts to build a reputation similar to Manchester, Newcastle and Liverpool, and also the German city Kassel. Since 1955, Kassel has provided the setting for the world's most important exhibition of cutting-edge modern and contemporary art, Documenta. Through this, the city is brought to life every five years and becomes the focus of the international art world for 100 days, bringing a huge number of visitors and impacting greatly on the country's tourism and local economy.
I would like to encourage stronger links between the arts and business communities in the region and help to strengthen these relationships.
With support from local businesses, art will eventually be taken more seriously, and this will encourage increased funding for the cultural community.
Contemporary art has grown at an unprecedented rate over the last few years, as highlighted in Damien Hirst's diamond and platinum skull worth $100m and Marc Quinn's recently-unveiled 1.5m solid gold sculpture of supermodel Kate Moss.
Identification of the most appropriate route to market is a crucial part of the business development process for any company. I believe art is the route to market as it represents big money and big business.
On my second point, if it was achievable I would control the media to ensure key economic messages were responsibly communicated, helping the country to understand the current situation in depth and offering advice on how to combat the effects.
What challenges face Leeds's media/creative sector, and how will you address them?
I think the major challenge is retaining creative talent in the North. As a city and a region, we need to provide young vibrant talent with a reason to stay in Leeds or Yorkshire, rather than allowing them to believe their only option is moving south to London.
Creative people stay where creativity exists, and I hope that through the Northern Art Prize we can build on this, put Leeds into the spotlight and create a centre of excellence for creativity and imagination in the North. This, I hope, will inspire the next generation of talent.
Who in the world most impresses you in business and in life generally?
In business, I would have to say Allan Leighton (Royal Mail chairman and former Asda chief executive]. He is a great businessman and has true insight and is great at motivating people. In life generally, my friend and colleague Dave Hunter, managing director at Logistik. He inspires me daily.
He is very visionary and has so much insight and still manages to balance work stresses and his personal time to enjoy a fulfilling life.
I have learnt a lot from him over the years…he is a genius!
Away from the office where are we most likely to find you?
If I am not networking, entertaining clients, attending events or speaking at an award ceremony, you will find me relaxing in my house or garden (weather dependent) after a few drinks at Mojo's in town.
You're hosting a dinner party and can invite one person from history, living or dead. Who would you invite.. and why?
That's an easy one. I would invite my mother, who unfortunately passed away four years ago. My reason? To tell her all those things I should have said when she was alive.
MY CV
DIRK MISCHENDAHL
At this stage in my life I do not have a CV, but have detailed below a timeline of my career:
1983 – trained to be a mechanic through an apprenticeship, Sydney.
1987 – ventured into hotel management, Sydney.
1990 - 1991 – travelled the world extensively.
1992 - 1995 – studied psychology at the University of Leeds as a mature student.
1997 – founded Logistik, Leeds
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