Philip Kastrup

Head of Personnel Development | Philip Kastrup

Typical Ruhrpott?

Philip Kastrup started as a trainee at thyssenkrupp years ago. Today he is Head of HR Development at thyssenkrupp Camshafts - and responsible for 3,200 employees. 

Children of the Ruhr area – “Ruhrpottkinder” – are renowned for being open and direct. They laugh a lot, also at crude jokes, are sociable and love soccer. Philip Kastrup is one of them. He was born in 1983 in Duisburg and – untypically for someone from the Ruhr – is a member of FC Cologne football club. But it’s not just his support for a non-Ruhr team that sets him apart – his career has also taken an unusual turn. Today Kastrup is Head of HR Development for BU Camshafts at thyssenkrupp in Ilsenburg, having started as a trainee in Essen in 2009.

From strategy to a career in HR development

It took a little time for him to discover that his real passion was not for strategy and market development, as he had long assumed, but for human resources. As a competitive athlete and rowing coach Philip Kastrup had already gathered experience of coaching. At the beginning of 2017 he took the plunge and moved from Essen to Ilsenburg, switching from strategy development to operational HR work. As Head of HR Development for thyssenkrupp Camshafts he is now responsible for over 3,200 employees at ten plants around the world. Kastrup has just returned from a business trip to China, where he discussed the future of HR recruitment with local colleagues and perfected the art of eating with chopsticks, as he reports with a laugh. Despite the jetlag, Philip is happy to undertake such long trips; although a great deal can be achieved in video conferences these days, they are no substitute for personal contacts.

Philip Kastrup particularly enjoys the variety of his work, from health and safety, bonus structures and talent development to reinforcing an open and honest corporate culture. He also puts in great efforts to position thyssenkrupp internationally as an attractive employer so as to counteract the imminent shortage of skilled workers at the earliest possible stage. He cannot imagine a time when he is surrounded only by robots – for him, human interactions and emotions will always be an essential part of day-to-day collaboration.

Philip Kastrup is married with a young daughter and feels a strong attachment to his home city of Duisburg. He is still a member of FC Cologne and goes to watch them play in the Bundesliga whenever he can. Sport is an important factor in his life. Even though he no longer has time for competitive sports he likes to work out on his rowing machine to keep fit and switch off for a little while.