If you have looked at the overview of my professional stations, you might have gotten the impression that I have a smooth industrial career behind me. On paper, this is how it looks. You will not find a gap in my resume.

You might also assume that every career move was precisely planned in order to take the next career step. However, this is not the case. My career changes had many different backgrounds. One, for example, was of a purely private nature. Another change was initiated by the fact that my employer at the time replaced the existing management team - and thus my existing career network. Another time, at the end of my employment, my values simply no longer coincided with the values of the company.

So my career in the industry has in no way been without friction. However, it has given me the opportunity to familiarize myself with many topics. I therefore describe myself as a generalist, even though I have very sound specialized knowledge in the area of "After Sales". 

At my various companies, I was allowed to lead international teams worldwide (USA, Europe, Middle East, Asia) - sometimes as a technical supervisor, sometimes as a disciplinary supervisor. I had budget responsibility for various profit centers and also know the pitfalls that have to be navigated as sole managing director. Through my various positions, I understand the language of owner-managed, German companies just as well as that of large, foreign, stock-exchange listed corporations.. In addition, I was able to gain experience in various industries (automotive, medtec, watches / jewelry, pharmaceuticals, PV, PCB, glass, facade construction).

One topic has always accompanied me in all the different positions and fascinated me the most - the topic of Human Resources (HR) with the core topic of Personnel Development. I was very lucky to work in companies with very good HR departments. The topic of Personnel Development was always key and as a result I was able to go through numerous development programs.

However, I also discovered early on that it is not the sole responsibility of the employer to plan and facilitate the employee's career. I observed that many employees leave the career management exclusively to their employer and are then disappointed when this is not done or is done inadequately.

Ideally, it is a clear togetherness. In many companies, this is achieved by establishing a mentor/mentee-relationship.  An older, experienced employee (Mentor) is placed at the side of a younger, inexperienced employee (Mentee). This approach is successful because the mentee can benefit from the mentor's company knowledge and network, among other things. This "in-house" concept ends at the latest when the mentee has reached the C-level of the company in his career. From my own experience, however, I know that there is still a need for mentoring here as well.

I am convinced that every (peaceful) encounter between people brings added value - in whatever form.

Therefore, do not hesitate to Contact me personally. 

I am looking forward to seeing you.

In my opinion, you can't start promoting careers early enough. Therefore, I am happy every day to accompany young academics on their way through life. The SRH University Heidelberg (www.srh.de) offers a wonderful environment for this. Students are trained in small groups according to the CORE-Concept in five-week modules based on competencies.

At first I thought that as a professor I would only pass on knowledge to students, but I quickly learned how much I myself learn every day through the exchange with colleagues from different faculties (business, engineering, law, psychology), with external lecturers and with our motivated students. 

By supervising more than 20 bachelor's and master's theses a year - 95% of which are carried out with industry partners - I also gain a continuous insight into the latest topics from the world of business. I can reflect this in my lectures and thus ensure that the students are trained in an application-oriented manner.

I have been visiting the Mechanical Engineering Forum (www.maschinenbauforum.de) for a good 20 years. I know of no format that better implements the "exchange of experience among practitioners" (Note: This is the slogan of the Maschinenbauforum). For this reason, I have been happy to support the Maschinenbauforum for 5 years by giving Impulse Lectures and Seminars. Before that my colleagues and I were regulary guests and often benefited from this excellent network of experts.