人物專訪：謝孟璋

(English Article Follows)

文/張家嫻攝影/酒文集

駿瀚生化股份有限公司董事長

台東興業股份有限公司副董事長

食品工業發展研究所董事長

全國工業總會理事

臺灣罐頭食品工業同業公會榮譽理事長

CoCo台灣壹番屋董事

印尼Great Giant Food Commissioner

味全公司董事

台光電子材料董事

在看到這樣一連串的頭銜介紹後，會覺得一共有幾個人，答案是同一個人「謝孟璋」

訪談前心中充滿著疑問，一個人有辦法做這麼工作嗎? 難道他的時間跟我們不一樣，他一天的時間是48小時? 還是有瞬間移動的超能力，只要手指一彈馬上就到下一個場景? 終於來到了訪問當天，見到了謝孟璋先生後，讓所有的疑問有了答案。

會議室的門輕輕地被打開，傳來了一句親切的「您好」，站在面前的就是謝孟璋先生本人

如同在接下來訪談中謝孟璋先生所聊到的，一直以來他給兒子們的兩句話

「樸實自我，樂觀進取」

這八個字就是介紹謝孟璋先生最好的描述，親切的笑容，說話溫文儒雅，一直以謙虛態度和我們聊著所有關於這些企業和他自己的故事。

謝孟璋畢業於美國哥倫比亞大學國際事務研究所碩士，身為長子的謝孟璋從小在父母的安排下，從小隻身美國求學，從小學開始到中學、高中都在美國東北部紐英倫念書，之後到了紐約哥倫比亞大學取得碩士學位。在唸碩士的最後一年，暑假期間進入了所羅門兄弟公司實習，在實習的最後一天，老闆會把實習生叫進辦公室並關起門來，告知實習表現結果，並是否有機會轉正職。當下每位實習生都想轉正職，這樣畢業後馬上有工作。「Would you like me to make you an offer for the Asia Pacific?」這是進辦公室時，老闆對他說的第一句話，謝孟璋回憶著說，這份工作也是他人生中最刺激的時期，於是畢業後就在華爾街工作約3~4年的時間，因此也累積了許多的財務經歷。

※所羅門兄弟(Salomon Brothers)，華爾街的著名投資銀行，1910年成立，1990年代末被旅行者集團併購(現屬花旗集團)。

為何進入食品產業並投資相關餐飲事業，而不是繼續在國外從事金融業

財務金融背景的謝孟璋，祖父謝成源是台鳳創辦人，也是開創台灣罐頭外銷產業的功臣，為促進食品產業的永續發展，於1965年與台灣罐頭食品工業同業公會，前行政院國際經濟合作發展委員會暨前中國農村復興聯合委院會共同捐資設立，創辦食品工業發展研究所，建立食品與生技產業之關鍵技術，同時也是台灣食品領域最具規模之研究發展與專業訓練機構，奠定台灣食品科技研發基礎。

父親謝忠弼也是食品界的名人，持續經營食品相關事業時，也跨入電子、生技、化學等領域，眼光獨到的多元化的投資經營，和產業興起的接軌。

謝孟璋聊到1990年正值中國崛起，當時在美國證卷同時會說中文和英文的人並不多，所以在任職的證卷公司派到香港。1995年遇到中國金融風暴，國際金融市場對中國的案子幾乎停擺，雖然薪水照領也不需要再加班出差，但總覺得這樣太浪費人生，所以選擇辭職，那年的謝孟璋才27歲。辭職後謝孟璋為了完成一直以來想學的語文，所以在日本慶應大學習日文一年。因當時家裡公司與日本UCC咖啡有個合作案，加上謝孟璋具備了中、英、日三種語言能力，當時UCC的部長就和謝孟璋的父親商討讓自己去UCC上班，所以在日本工作了一年，一年後由於謝孟璋的父親輕微中風，孝順的謝孟璋聞訊後，立即趕回台灣，並且開始陸續接手家裡的事業。回台灣後由於父親都在休養狀態，所以必須要在很短的時間內立即了解公司運作及管理，無法慢慢從基礎開始學起，這對個性有條有理，不疾不徐的謝孟璋是個很大的挑戰，謙虛的謝孟璋微笑著說，他現在所經營的企業或轉投資都是祖父和父親辛苦所建立的，所以要更加的努力地把公司經營好。

我喜歡科學，喜歡挑戰，我喜歡從困難中獲得成就感

「駿瀚生化股份有限公司是我的心血」，謝孟璋緩緩的道出這段艱辛的過程，駿瀚生化是父親事業其中一個轉投資的項目，主要生產抗生素，一直以來經營的還算不錯，但由於瀚駿生化僅有單一產品，而中國大陸掌握了製造抗生素最大的原料盤尼西林 (青黴素》，逐漸成為世界最大的抗生素生產地，以及原物料進口關稅成本，敵不過這樣的市場競爭，當時台灣許多生產抗生素的公司也陸續關閉，在我回台灣後三年後大約2000年，駿瀚生化也面臨了這樣的倒閉危機，由於老一輩的觀念認為公司不能輕易關掉，當時才33歲的自己，自告奮勇的說我來接!

謝孟璋說，由於曾經有學習過醫療相關學科，加上自己也對科學很有興趣，接手駿瀚生化第一步政策就是停止抗生素生產，第二步則是著手進行開發新產品。那時與台灣生技中心DCB合作共同開發關鍵心血管用藥中間體，這是當時台灣市場較少的技術，同時台灣LCD產業開始起飛，在一次的機會中與日本最大之特用化學品—長瀨株式會社談LCD相關等方面之精密特用化學品合作，當時駿瀚生化設立了新的電子化學部門，並與長瀨株式會社成為長期的合作夥伴。幾乎是打掉重練的過程，是要有多大的勇氣和決心，過程並不是如此的順利，但每遇到難關員工都會和自己一起撐過，經過轉型改革後的第四年，迎來了轉虧為盈的小小成果，在當下所有一切辛苦的過程都值得了。訪談當下看到謝孟璋對於對員工的支持與相挺，表情盡是充滿著感動。

我喜歡看書，特別喜歡關於科學&化學發展相關書籍，從書中能得到很多意想不到的啟發

我最喜歡一本書是拿破崙的鈕釦(Napoleon’s Buttons)，這本書非常精采的描述如何化學與材料學改變了歷史謝孟璋說著並向我們介紹了這本書而書名則是引用書裡其中一個故事將拿破崙會在俄羅斯大潰敗的原因之一歸罪於軍服的釦子! 由於以前的釦子是錫製的，錫在低溫時會崩解成粉末狀，軍衣扣子扣不起來使的士兵在酷寒中生病喪命，導致西元一八一二年拿破崙對俄軍戰役的大潰敗，若當初這些軍衣上的錫製鈕釦能不在低溫時裂解，是否法軍能繼續東征，並將歐洲的演進歷史推往一個完全不同的方向？從一個小小的釦子就有許多科學&化學的知識，甚至影響到整個戰爭的局面，此時謝孟璋繼續和我們分享其他的關於科學&化學相關的小故事，像男孩般開心的和朋友分享著自己喜歡的遊戲。

「樸實自我，樂觀進取」

這是我的人生價值觀，也經常和很多人分享，包含我兒子們，謝孟璋說著。這八個字很簡單，但卻是我一直以來在人事物上的依循，公司經營不只是營利，而是在於是否能給員工安居樂業的環境並與公司一起成長，一家企業也是要社會有價值的。同時在面臨挑戰時，想想能有這樣的挑戰是件好事，樂觀去面對並且認真踏實的作好每個細節在過程中看到問題、面對問題、解決問題，悲觀對於事情不會有任何的幫助，問題還是在那。所以這八個字也給所有的年輕人或在生活中遇到各種困難的人們的分享。

A Versatile Leader of the Food Industry

Synmax Biochemical Co., Ltd Chairman

Taitung Enterprise Co., Ltd. Vice-Chairman

Food Industry Research and Development Institute. – Chairman

Chinese National Federation Of Industries. – Director

Taiwan Canners Association. – Honorary Director

CURRY HOUSE CoCo ICHIBANYA (TAIWAN) – Board Member

Great Giant Food. – Commissioner

Wei Chuan Foods Corp. – Board Member

Elite Material Co.,Ltd.- Board Member

Upon seeing the list of titles above, one would think that there are a number of people being described. However, these various leadership positions are held by only one person – Mr. Mark Hsieh. Prior to our interview with Mr. Hsieh, it was nature to question, “How does Mr. Hsieh hold so many positions at one time? Does he have 48 hours in each of his days? Does he have “super powers”, where he can morph quickly from one project to the next?” On the day of the interview, we received answers to all of our questions.

As the door to the meeting room opens, we receive a friendly greeting from Mark, “Hello, how are you?” We immediately start into our interview. He begins to tell us about his life and businesses.

Mark is the oldest child in his family. From the time he was a boy, his parents arranged for Mark to be educated in the USA. From grade school through high school, he was educated in New England. Mark is a graduate of Columbia University in New York City, and received a Masters degree in International Affairs. During the summer of his last year in graduate school, he went to work for Salomon Brothers as an intern. On the final day of his internship, all of the interns were to meet with the supervisor, with hopes that they would have an opportunity to become full-time employees, upon graduation. Since Mark was an outstanding intern, his supervisor, asked directly, “Would you like me to make you an offer for the Asia Pacific?

Mark recalls that this was the most exciting work of his life, since he had just graduated and was working in a permanent position on Wall Street. In 4 years at Salomon Brothers, Mark gained extensive experience in the field of corporate finance. (Salomon Brothers was established in 1910 on Wall Street and was quite famous. In 1990, Salomon Brothers merged with Travelers Corp., and then was acquired by Citibank in 1998.)

Why did you come back to Taiwan to develop in the Food Industry, instead of remaining in the USA in the financial industry?

Mark returned to Taiwan in 1997. The reasons for his decision were twofold; first, his family was involved in many food-related companies in Taiwan and second, his father had a stroke, the family needed Mark to come home to take over the corporation.

Mark’s grandfather was one of the founders of Taiwan Pineapple in the 1950’s, and was successful in exporting canned pineapple to overseas markets. His grandfather also started the Taiwan Food Industry Research Center, in an effort to improve Taiwan’s food quality. It is also a formal training center for those involved with food research in Taiwan. Mark’s father was also heavily involved with the food industry, but also expanded into other areas such as electronics, biotechnology, and chemicals.

In early 1990’s, when China began to open to the “outside”, Mark remarks that there were not many professionals in the securities industry who had adequate English-Chinese language capabilities, so Mark was assigned by his company to work in Hong Kong. However, in 1995, China experienced an economic downturn, and financial transactions dwindled. While Salomon Brothers continued to pay a lucrative salary, Mark resigned as he had stopped learning . Mark then resigned and went to Japan to attend Keio University to learn Japanese, one of his many interests.

One of the joint ventures between Mark’s family company was with UCC Coffee of Japan. Since Mark had language skills in English, Chinese, and Japanese, the Head of UCC suggested to Mark’s father that that Mark work directly in his Japan office. Mark worked at UCC for 1 year. However, after a year at UCC, Mark’s father became ill, so Mark came back to Taiwan to take care of his father and assume the management of the family’s many businesses.

Considering that Mark is generally a very well-organized person, to accept control of his family’s businesses under these conditions was quite a challenge. However, this was Mark’s duty, and he accepted his responsibilities as a dutiful son, and overseas educated businessman.

“I enjoy science, and challenges. I get a sense of accomplishment when I can overcome adversity.”

Mark, states, “What I achieved with Synmax Chemicals has given me the greatest satisfaction in my professional life. Synmax was established by his father, along with other institutional investors and its primary business was the production of B-lactam antibiotics. However, Mainland China became the leading producer of antibiotics, since there was an abundance of basic materials for their production there. Coupled with the export subsidies placed on these materials being exported globally , in 2000 most of the chemical companies producing antibiotics went out-of-business. However, investors were reluctant to close the company , so at 33, Mark accepted the challenge of taking over this faltering company, which could easily have been closed.

Since Mark has an interest in science and medical chemical products, Mark’s first action was to cease the production of antibiotics and then initiate the development of new products. One of his new products was a Key intermediate for hypertension . Also, stepping “out of the box”, Mark developed a relationship with a large Japanese LCD chemical manufacturer, which required the use of chemicals in the production of LCD. Thereby, the LCD Chemical Division of Synmax was created.

To undertake a “Change Management” exercise, where complete departments and products are abandoned, and new products and departments are created, is not an easy task. It wasn’t until the 4^th year of this new operation that Synmax began to generate a profit and its new operation stabilized. Mark recounts that if it wasn’t for the support and willingness of his employees to share the risk with Mark, this effort would surely have failed.

“Although this was a difficult goal to achieve, and not all “smooth sailing”, the end results justify our effort”. Mark face is smiling, reflecting his accomplishment and gratitude towards his dedicated staff.

“I enjoy reading, especially books about science and particularly science history, because these books inspire creative thinking.”

Mark recalls, “One of my favorite books is called Napoleon’s Buttons, which weaves history with development of chemistry and material science. The title of the book entices readers with one of several anecdotal explanations of how chemistry changed the course of history. In Napoleon’s case, the book attributes the poor quality of the soldier’s’ uniform buttons as one of the contributing factors to Napoleon’s failure to conquer Russia. Their buttons cracked in the frigid Russian winter, causing soldiers’ uniform to fall apart, exposing Napoleon’s army to the deadly Russian winter. As a result, the French army could not properly wage war, and was defeated. The author speculates that if the buttons had been made of a different material, which did not fail in cold weather, perhaps Napoleon would have won this war and expanded France’s geographical “Sphere of Influence”. In this case, Europe’s history could possibly have been changed. The importance of science in even the smallest detail cannot be overlooked.”’ Mark is like a little child, excited and happy to re-tell one of his favorite stories to anyone who is interested.

Postscript

Mark relates, “I often remind my two sons and others around me about my personal Values and Principles in 8 Chinese characters, “Pu Shr, Zhi Wo, Leh Guan, Jing Chur”. The meanings of each of these four ideas are:

“Pu Shr” – “Simplicity” – In Life and in undertaking tasks, try to keep things simple.,

“Zhi Wo” – “Individuality” – Do not follow the crowd but try to accomplish things that you are interested in and can be creative doing.

“Leh Guan” – “Be Positive” – Being positive allows goals to be achieved in a good frame of mind and affects those around you.

“Jing Chur” – “Diligence” – To achieve anything worthwhile, one must be diligent. Each step should be carefully considered, and action taken in proper sequence.

“While these eight characters are quite simple, to live by and take action in accord with these principles is not an easy to do. The purpose of a Company is not only to generate a profit, but to create a secure and harmonious environment for its staff, and to contribute to society. In any business, there will be challenges. However, challenges should not be considered to be a bad thing – rather as an opportunity to learn and grow. Each challenge should be optimistically and carefully assessed, then a strategy developed to overcome the challenge with an action plan, with proper execution of that strategy. Finally, to be pessimistic on any level, does not help to overcome a challenge, or benefit anyone. These are the guiding principles of my Life, which are particularly applicable to young people, and people who may be facing particular difficulties.”