There, he rose the ranks rather quickly by his telling. Carro said he was placed into a management role just five months into his tenure before eventually departing for his dream job as the CEO of a professional soccer team. Last season Bayer Leverkusen won its first-ever league titleβa momentous occasion for a club that was always a bridesmaid but never a bride.
Just as important as the win itself was how it happened. And they did it without losing a game, going undefeated over 34 games. Bayer Leverkusen fans had a long history of coming within inches of glory only to fall short. It finished as Bundesliga runners up five times without ever taking home a winners medal.
That meant three silver medals in the span of 11 days. That reputation earned Bayer Leverkusen the unflattering sobriquet Bayer Neverkusenβwhich explains itself. When Carro took over the top job in he leaned on his corporate experience from Bertelsmann. In his most recent role there he had overseen 70, employees as CEO of its subsidiary, logistics company Arvato.
You need to have a long term plan. One of the first things Carro did was change personnel. I sometimes change one, two, three people.
Carro said he shook up the marketing, sales, and communications department in his early days. Rolfes would go on to build the title-winning team, recruiting little-known players from across the world, and in hiring legendary Spanish midfielder Xabi Alonso as coach.
