Consulting and interim in project, program and line management
More than 30 years of international experience in the automotive industry
Consulting and interim in project, program and line management
Since 2022, Automotive Business Consultant and Interim Manager with mandates from the automotive industry.
Before that 30 years of management in the automotive industry, in leading positions on different continents, businesses and companies, including President & CEO, Managing Director, head of Business Units, Joint Ventures, projects and programs as well as head of a Production Plant and as head of a Retail Branch.
As a consultant and interim manager, I support your strategy and operations with an approach that is customized to your individual needs. With a focus on people, processes, performance and profitability, I work with my clients as equal partners and help them achieve success by relying on field tested and sustainable solutions.
More than 30 years of international management and consulting experience - automotive industry
Since 2022
Automotive Business Consultant and Interim Manager
Businss Consulting and Interim Management for automotive OEM, Tier1 suppliers and equipment manufacturers
Current and previous mandates:
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Interim head of an OEM taskforce for the business support of a global Tier 1 supplier, main scope on parts, tools, equipment (2024)
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Consulting a global automotive equipment manufacturer on a new OEM e-motor assembly line (2024)
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Consulting a global automotive Tier 1 supplier on production localization in China (2023)
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Consulting a global automotive Tier 1 software engineering provider on internationalization (2022/23)
President & CEO - Executive Board Member Daimler Greater China
Fujian Benz Automotive Co., Ltd.- Fuzhou (China)
Production, purchasing, supply chain and sales of vans in China; development of components
Turnover EUR 1.6 billion, 3,200 employees
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China Executive Mercedes-Benz Vans and Executive Board Member Daimler Greater China
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President & CEO of the company, a majority-owned joint venture between BAIC (China) and Daimler
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Outsourcing and restructuring of sales, marketing, product and program management
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Further development of the production system and CIP to increase efficiency and quality
2016 - 2021
2012 - 2015
Executive Member Product Group Compact Cars
Mercedes Benz - Sindelfingen
Budget > EUR 100 million, 50 employees
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Head of global compact car production planning
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Head of global e-Drive production planning, joint ventures with various industrial groups
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Production relocation of a compact car model to a contract manufacturer (Finland)
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Development of a joint venture with a Japanese OEM to construct a compact car factory (Mexico)
2007 - 2011
Director Automotive Foundries and Forge
Mercedes-Benz - Untertürkheim, Head of Foundries and Forge
Budget > EUR 100 million, 3,200 employees
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Strategy process to determine the future product portfolio
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Entry into cast steel (turbocharger) and cast magnesium (body parts)
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Exit from iron casting, outsourcing of the brake disc business
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Programs and projects to increase efficiency and quality
2005 - 2007
Director Divisional Program Office
Mercedes Car Group - Untertürkheim and Sindelfinge - worldwide turnaround program CORE
Budget > EUR 200 million, 15 office employees, 70 consultants, 150 full-time, 2.800 part-time project workers
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40 work packages, entire value chain; improvement from 0 to 7% ROS
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Introduction of vehicle platforms and module strategy in development and purchase
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Plant efficiencies through the introduction of the harbor logic (“hours per vehicle”)
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Purchasing offensive and realignment of the administrative areas
2003 - 2005
Managing Director and Plant Manager
MDC Power GmbH - Koelleda (Thuringia), Tier 1 supplier
Turnover > EUR 500 million, 600 employees
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Installation of a joint venture between Daimler and a Japanese OEM
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Construction, commissioning and series operation of a greenfield engine plant in Thuringia
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Set up of flat hierarchies, outsourcing of operations (e.g. maintenance and logistics)
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Design, installation und operation of a lean production system
2001 - 2003
Head of Passenger Car Assembly
Mercedes-Benz, head of assembly passenger cars (interior), Bremen plant
Budget > EUR 50 million, 1,200 employees
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Assembly - interior installation and pre-assembly (cockpit, doors), 250,000 vehicles per year
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Management of 4 team leaders, 60 foremen and 1,200 employees in three-shift operation
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Installation of a CIP under the direction of temporarily released team leaders and foremen
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Projects for process stabilization, efficiency increase, quality improvement
1998 - 2001
Head of Company Owned Retail Branch
Mercedes-Benz, Magdeburg branch
Turnover > EUR 300 million, 400 employees
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Sales of new and used vehicles (cars, vans, trucks) and aftersales (service and parts)
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Management of three regional contractual partners (aftersales and customer brokerage)
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Parallel project manager for strategic realignment of sales in Germany
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Parallel project manager for strategic realignment of global sales
1996 - 1998
Head of Marketing - South American Subsidiary
Mercedes-Benz Argentina, Buenos Aires
Budget > EUR 15 million, 30 employees
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Market launch of the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter in Argentina
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Restructuring of the sales areas, introduction of new dealer management tools
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Know-how transfer from Germany and USA to Argentina
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Implementation of a sales-wide change process ("Proyecto Comercial")
1994 - 1996
Executive Assistant to a Board Member
Mercedes-Benz (MB) and Daimler-Benz AG, Stuttgart
Budget > EUR 20 million
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Assistant to the Executive Board, initially in MB car development, then in Daimler-Benz sales
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Pick up, coordinate and follow up on topics relevant to the board of management
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Collaboration in the MB car development TQM change process (for 8,000 employees)
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Office management, travel escort, mail processing, meeting management, minutes
1993 - 1994
International Management Associate Program
Daimler-Benz AG, Stuttgart and Vitoria (Spain)
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Pre-development passenger cars - collaboration in driving tests with 100 battery-electric cars
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Pre-development passenger cars - collaboration in the strategy development of a directorate
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Van plant Vitoria - study on the outsourcing of IT activities to external service providers
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Van plant Vitoria - collaboration in the implementation of a new production control system
Education
1989 - 1993
RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau, doctorate in business administration, Dr. rer. pol.
1982 - 1988
TU Darmstadt, studies in business administration and mechanical engineering, Dipl.-Wirtsch.-Ing. (MB)
Internships
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Post graduate: Procter & Gamble, Spain (Barcelona): Intralogistics project in a detergent production plant (1992)
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Post graduate: BASF Belgium (Brussels): TQM concept for a national wholesale organisation (1991)
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Graduate: Philips Lighting, UK (London), technical concept for cleaning cycle optimization of motor-way road lamping (1987)
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Graduate: Oliver Wyman, Germany (Munich), industrial consulting project at VOEST Alpine, Austria (1987)
Languages
German: native
English, Spanish: business fluent
Honorary positions
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Guest Professor Fuzhou University (China), MBA program, School of Economics and Management (2017 to 2021)
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Guest lecturer, OneMBA program, an executive program of five international business schools (2018 to 2021)
Awards/Prizes
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Konrad Mellerowicz Prize for Business Administration, TU Berlin (1993). The prize shall commemorate Konrad Mellerowicz (1891-1984), a German professor of business administration. Since 1991, it is bi-yearly awarded to outstanding academic publications in the field of business administration.
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Max Weber Prize for Business Ethics, Institute of German Economy, Cologne (1994). Awarded are outstanding academic publications addressing potential conflicts between profit orientation and social responsibility.