Klaus Zumwinkel likes to show visitors the spectacular view from his corner office on the 40th floor. The chief executive of Deutsche Post for the past 14 years points out the sweeping vista from the end of the Rhine valley to the church spires of Cologne.

The 62-year-old also likes to concentrate on the sights nearer to home in the former capital of West Germany. “There is our former building, which we sold to build this skyscraper. And there is Deutsche Telekom, where I am the supervisory board chairman. And next door is Postbank, in which we own a majority stake,” he says.