Dr Alexander Paselk

Dr. Alexander Paselk is a German national whose life and work stretch across continents and, really, across different worlds of thought. He lives in North America now, though much of his work takes him to the Middle East. That mix, the contrast, the constant switching of environments, it’s shaped the way he leads and how he sees people. Over time, it’s become something of a personal compass: learning to read context, to adjust, and to listen first.

He didn’t actually start in safety. His early career was in environmental process optimization, where systems and efficiency were the main focus. That’s where he learned the language of performance, such as numbers, flowcharts, and outcomes. Later, he began shifting toward Occupational Health and Safety, drawn by something a little less measurable: the human side of how systems succeed or fail. Since then, his work has expanded across multiple sites and operations at once. He’s led diverse teams, HSE representatives, and contractors spread across complex projects, sometimes hundreds of people moving in different directions, yet expected to perform as one. What ties it all together, at least for him, is balance between compliance and care, data and dialogue, and structure and trust.

These days, Dr. Paselk moves between three overlapping spheres: academic research, field operations, and what he calls executive safety leadership. In simpler terms, it means he connects ideas to practice. He takes what’s studied and what’s learned and tries to make it real in the field systems that actually help people, not just look good in reports. As a keynote speaker, doctoral mentor, and published researcher, he often explores emotional intelligence, culture, and human factors, how people’s behavior and their sense of belonging affect safety in high-risk, multicultural environments.

He likes to say that safety is less about avoiding failure and more about designing for trust. It’s not a checklist; it’s a relationship between people and systems, always in motion. Maybe that’s what defines his approach: rigorous, yes, but also empathetic. In a way, he stands between two worlds, the measurable and the human, and tries to make them work together, one decision, one conversation at a time.