Herr Kwintmeyer blickt auf mehr als 25 Jahre Einkaufs- und SCM-Erfahrung zurück; 19 Jahre davon in Führungspositionen im In- und Ausland. Ein Manager im Einkauf, der sich auch gerne mit Themen außerhalb des Tellerrands befasst. Nach Stationen bei der Siemens AG und in der Automobilzulieferindustrie wechselte der Einkaufs- und Verhandlungsexperte 2019 zum Medizintechnikunternehmen Ottobock. Dort verantwortet er als Chief Procurement Officer das Category Management für Directs und Indirects inklusive der Einkäufe für die firmeneigenen Sanitätshäuser (Patient Care Betriebe), ebenso wie den Projekteinkauf und die Lieferantenentwicklung für den Konzern.

Ford of Europe, Supplier Technical Assistance Manager Electronics, Six Sigma Black BeltProviding leadership and management for developing and maintaining manufacturing quality of Electronic Suppliers to Ford European Operation. Focused on executing commodity strategies, utilizing human resources at the maximum level and mobilizing supplier’s leadership for Continuous Improvement and engaging cross-functional teams.
The Pop in Your Job: Look for new ways of doing things, - Celebrating success, - When you see people engaged that unleashes your Energy to reach higher

Harald Kirsch can be described as dynamic, entrepreneurial business strategist with over 30 years of professional experience in organizational and business development. His professional career, to date, has mainly been defined by the topics - Securing the Future Viability of Companies, Developing New Business Models, Digital Transformation, IIoT, Artificial Intelligence, Cyber Security, Automation of Enterprise respectively Production Processes, Product Management for innovative SW Solutions and Services, Portfolio Management, Strategy Consulting as well as Business Transformation, Change Management, Employee Development and Coaching

His current area of responsibility includes in particular the topics:
- Establishment and further development of a Modern Organizational Structure
- Implementation of Agile Methods
- Management of the Automation and Industrial IT division
- Continuous further development of the company's digital strategy
- Structuring and advancing the Industrie 4.0/ IIoT platform strategy
- Optimization, digitalization and further development of manufacturing and production processes

The Pop in your Job:

Creating a future-oriented, start-up-like organisation in a traditional industrial environment is both a special task and an opportunity for me. My biggest motivator is to get young people to create something extraordinary; to inspire them to work together in a way that makes each individual count with their own unique talents and perspectives.

My passion is to work with the young generation on the future prospects of digitalisation and to support sustainable action. I think that is the highest good for shaping the future.

Marco Schlimpert has been creating resonance in organizations and designing sustainable business models in the industry for more than 23 years.

The core of his work always has been to build on the identity of people and organizations to explore the purpose as the framework for successful strategy definition and implementation with ambitious targets to achieve sustainability in B2B and B2C companies.

Marco Schlimpert studied at University of Technology Vienna and INSA Rouen and graduated as Master Industrial and Mechanical Engineer.

His professional background is from different industries:
11/2012 - present: Lenzing Group: Vice President, Performance Improvement & Technology
10/2017 - 09/2020: Lenzing Group: Senior Vice President, Europe & Americas
11/2012 - 02/2016: Lenzing Group: Vice President, Global Purchasing:
10/2004 - 03/2007: Demag Plastics: Director, Global Purchasing
04/2003 - 09/2010: mannesmann plastics machinery: Strategic Cost Manager
09/1999 - 03/2003: GCI Management: Business Consultant, Project Manager

Marco Schlimpert is certified Integral Systemic and Constellation Coach. He is academic lecturer at the University of Applied Sciences in Steyr and at the University of Techology in Vienna. Marco Schlimpert is co-founder and shareholder of hill TRANSform® GmbH, a consulting company specializing in business transformation applying industrial proven intuitive methods.

The Pop in My Job:

I empower complex teams to deliver high levels of performance by driving purpose in organizations and applying a radical human approach in leadership to achieve sustainability and ambitious targets.

Adrian Rüedy is a Lecturer of Industry 4.0 at the University of Applied Sciences OST (Switzerland) and Co-founder of the SFN AG. With his practical experience in special machinery and plant engineering as a design engineer, he has a deep understanding of the processes and challenges in manufacturing. In various industry- and government-funded research projects, he uses his experience in digital transformation to advise companies on the path to digitization.

The Pop in Your Job:
Combining applied research and consulting experience with knowledge of dealing with complexity and change management, I love to empower students on their future path in industry.

André Ziemke is CEO at nextLAP Inc. and chairman of the board of directors at SFN AG. Until 2014, André Ziemke worked as an IT manager at Volkswagen for the Group CIO for two years, then for the Audi CIO for six years. At Audi AG, André Ziemke was responsible for the car manufacturer's production IT. Among other things, he was responsible for the introduction of SAP in the Audi press shops in Neckarsulm and Ingolstadt, the implementation of paperless production at the Ingolstadt site and the introduction of an SAP-based parts list in the Volkswagen Group. Before joining VW, André Ziemke had already successfully set up an e-business company and gained several years of experience in IT consulting. He graduated with a degree in industrial engineering from the University of Karlsruhe.

The Pop in your Job:
I love my job the most when it has once again worked out to advance a customer in the digitization of their processes and to give innovative processes and solutions a chance.

Dabei setzt das Medizintechnikunternehmen immer wieder neue Standards in der Prothetik und Orthetik. 1997 haben wir mit dem C-Leg die weltweit erste komplett mikroprozessorgesteuerte Beinprothese auf den Markt gebracht. Unsere mechatronische Lähmungsorthese C-Brace, die Personen mit neurologischen Krankheitsbildern wie Multipler Sklerose und Schlaganfall beim Stehen und Laufen unterstützt, ist technologisch nach wie vor einzigartig. Zu unserem Portfolio zählen außerdem Rollstühle und Exoskelette. Letztere entlasten Menschen mit körperlich anspruchsvollen Tätigkeiten und gestalten Arbeitsplätze in Industrie, Logistik und Handwerk ergonomischer. Tech, digital, human – Ottobock verbindet innovative Produkte und individuelle Versorgung zu einem ganzheitlichen Ansatz. Mehr als 240 eigene Versorgungszentren weltweit sorgen für eine enge Beziehung zu den AnwenderInnen und liefern wertvolle Impulse für die Verbesserung bestehender und die Entwicklung neuer Lösungen. Mit der Digitalisierung des Versorgungsprozesses erhöhen wir die Effizienz und den Komfort von Behandlungen – auch für externe Orthopädietechnikbetriebe und Sanitätshäuser. Wir verzeichnen seit Jahren einen stabilen Wachstumskurs: 2019 übersprang der Umsatz erstmals die Marke von einer Milliarde Euro. Dazu tragen mehr als 8.000 MitarbeiterInnen weltweit bei. Unsere internationalen Aktivitäten koordinieren wir in der Zentrale in Duderstadt. Mit einem globalen Netzwerk aus Forschungs-, Produktions- und Logistikstandorten sowie Vertriebs- und Servicegesellschaften in mehr als 50 Ländern verbinden wir gelebte Internationalität mit lokaler Präsenz vor Ort.

Ford Motor Co. engages in the manufacture, distribution, and sale of automobiles. It operates through the following segments: Automotive and Financial Services. The Automotive segment engages in designing, manufacturing, marketing and servicing of Ford cars, trucks, SUVs, and electrified vehicles, as well as Lincoln luxury vehicles. The Financial Services segment consists of Ford Credit, which offers automotive financing products to and through automotive dealers. The company was founded by Henry Ford on June 16, 1903 and is headquartered in Dearborn, MI.

ALD Vacuum Technologies is a subsidiary of AMG Advanced Metallurgical Group N.V. and the world's leading manufacturer of vacuum technology systems in the field of metallurgy and heat treatment. The company's focus areas currently also include solar and battery technology, future and high-tech topics. In this structure, Harald Kirsch is responsible for the digitalisation strategy and future viability in the area of plant manufacturing and maintenance. The company currently has to deal with the two poles of old plants and new plant production. Where new plants already have the necessary digital components and interfaces, the older plants are still tied to special knowledge, possibly even requiring a retrofit. Regardless of age and condition, however, there is a service offer to the customer that must be covered by Field Service. At ALD Vacuum Technologies, the after-sales department operates the field service for the customer. Here, the field service organisation benefits from the integration platform ALD Expert, a self-contained, autonomous, self-optimising system that includes a variety of intelligent solutions. ALD Expert not only makes it possible to supply the field service with information by means of digital twins or intelligent assistants for maintenance technicians. Rather, the platform can be used as a control tool to optimise maintenance cycles, to better design detailed scheduling and ultimately to create added value for the company and the customer.

Fibers for life For 80 years now, we have been looking beyond fiber. With wood as our natural resource, Lenzing’s solutions are as inventive as they are effective when it comes to caring for our partners’ success, our planet’s protection and people’s needs in everyday life. Dedicating our ability, ambition and passion to the development of fibers for industry, brands and retailers - in sectors like fashion, beauty care, cleaning and hygiene - we provide more than just the best products. The trust that so many partners and consumers put in Lenzing is earned by our stunningly innovative, exciting solutions that bring sustainable improvement to people’s lives.

Ford Motor Co. engages in the manufacture, distribution, and sale of automobiles. It operates through the following segments: Automotive and Financial Services. The Automotive segment engages in designing, manufacturing, marketing and servicing of Ford cars, trucks, SUVs, and electrified vehicles, as well as Lincoln luxury vehicles. The Financial Services segment consists of Ford Credit, which offers automotive financing products to and through automotive dealers. The company was founded by Henry Ford on June 16, 1903 and is headquartered in Dearborn, MI.

SFN AG, based in St. Gallen, was founded in December 2022 as a spin-off of the University of St. Gallen (HSG) and the University of Applied Sciences of Eastern Switzerland (OST). In over 5 years of research, 44 generic use cases were scientifically derived and defined from more than 800 industrial companies, forming the "Smart Factory Navigator Framework". Using the Smart Factory Navigator Framework, SFN AG develops the appropriate individual Smart Factory strategy for industrial companies and identifies the use cases with the highest business value for the customer. From the individually matching use cases, the Smart Factory Navigator matches the optimal IT solutions and IT solution providers for the customer. In this way, industrial companies gain investment security, implementation speed and transparency in a previously largely confusing IT market. In addition, SFN AG offers neutral and scientifically based consulting services for the selection of solutions and their implementation. The founding team of SFN AG consists of Adrian Rüedy (CEO), André Ziemke (COB), Dr. Thomas Stöckel (CTO) and Dr. Lukas Budde (COO). SFN AG is supported scientifically by Prof. Dr. Roman Hänggi (Ostschweizer Fachhochschule OST), on the Scientific Advisory Board.

Die Universität St.Gallen (HSG) wurde 1898 – in der Hochblüte der St.Galler Stickereiindustrie – als Handelsakademie gegründet und ist heute eine Hochschule für Wirtschafts-, Rechts- und Sozialwissenschaften, Internationale Beziehungen und Informatik. 1899 fanden die ersten Vorlesungen statt. Praxisnähe und eine integrative Sicht zeichnen unsere Ausbildung seit jenen Gründungstagen aus. Wir gehören zu den führenden Wirtschaftsuniversitäten in Europa und sind EQUIS-, AACSB- und AMBA-akkreditiert.