Excellent guest speakers add practice perspectives to Prof. Henkel’s lecture series, Advanced Technology and Innovation Management. We are glad to welcome Sébastien Schikora (Konux), Dr. Alfred Hauenstein (Siemens), Florian Kraus und Philipp Zörner (etventure/EY), Dr. Daniel Kirchleitner (Next47), Dr. Christopher Haug (Bosch), and Dr. Christian Hackl (TUM-Tech).
Dr. Sébastien Schikora, Konux (15.11.2021): Innovation in a Start-up
Dr. Schikora is the CTO at Konux. After his studies of informatics in Stuttgart he joined Hewlett-Packard as a Senior Software Architect in 1996. After eleven years at HP, he moved to California where he worked for several tech companies in San Jose and Palo Alto. At Tesla, he was responsible for the product direction and development of on-grid and microgrid controls, communications, web-based user interfaces, and the lauded mobile app for Tesla energy storage systems. After his time at Tesla, he returned to Germany and holds the position of CTO at Konux since 2018.
Dr. Alfred Hauenstein, Siemens (22.11.2021): Product and Technology Portfolios
Dr. Hauenstein heads the Siemens-wide programs Product Lifecycle Management and Innovation Excellence as well as the Siemens Development System, the Siemens approach for a customer-driven and agile company. Dr. Hauenstein holds a Dipl-Ing. EE and a Ph.D. in automated speech recognition, both from Technical University of Munich. During his 25 years at Siemens, he held various positions including research and project management positions in automated speech recognition, Director New Businesses, Co-Initiator of two internal Start-ups, and others. He is also heading the RDPM@Siemens program to develop agility in project management and coaches managers within Siemens and start-ups for UnternehmerTUM, in particular testify GmbH.
Florian Kraus and Philipp Zörner, etventure/EY (20.12.2021): Design Thinking in Practice
At etventure, Mr. Kraus aims at driving digital change with his clients to address today's economic, technological, and social challenges. Florian Kraus graduated from University of Würzburg (M.Sc. in Business Management) in 2015 and earned a B.Sc. from the University of Augsburg in Information-oriented Business Administration in 2012. Throughout his studies, he gained experience in consulting and in an E-Health start-up. Among his clients are globally operating industrial companies in China and India.
Philipp Zörner recently started working at etventure as Junior Project Manager. He holds a Master’s degree in International Management from Nova SBE in Lisbon. Before his graduate studies, he was working for DWS group, Simon-Kucher & Partners, and Celonis.
Dr. Florian Kirchleitner, Next 47 (21.12.2021): Corporate Venture Capital
Dr. Kirchleitner is a partner at Siemens’ Next47 where he leads the firm’s European investments. Dr. Kirchleitner holds a Ph.D. in Engineering and is passionate about how technology changes entire industry sectors, generates impact, and opens up new opportunities. He joined Next47 in 2016 as one of the founding members of the global Venture Capital firm. Based in Europe, his focus is on B2B technology and software. His areas of interest include automation, robotics, global logistic, and enterprise software. He led the firm’s investments in cargo.one, Wandelbots, sennder and Scoutbee, among others. Prior to joining Next47, he founded, scaled, and successfully exited two B2B startups, and worked as a management consultant.
Dr. Christopher Haug, Bosch (24.01.2022): Project Management
Dr. Haug heads the R&D department Bosch Security and Safety Systems. He studied physics at TUM and received a Ph.D. in solid-state physics, also from TUM. After a postdoc stage at the Walter Schottky Institute he joined Bosch, where he worked many years in project management in the field of telecommunications and automotive. Since 2005, he focuses on security technology and leads the Bosch Security and Safety System department, while continuing his long-time passion as a project manager.
Dr. Christian Hackl, TUM-Tech (31.01.2022, 01.02.2022): Innovation Consultancy
Dr. Hackl is the Managing Director at TUM-Tech GmbH, a technology transfer firm. The firm is specialized in finding and acquiring the perfect German partner for technological research, commercialization, or business projects. TUM-Tech further helps its clients in identifying the right contact within universities or a company research department. At TUM, Dr. Hackl supports the seminar “Lead User Project” as a Lehrbeauftragter. He is also a Managing Director at Hydroshaft GmbH, a spin-off from the chair for Hydraulic and Water Resources Engineering at TUM.