Digital Excellence Forum 2025

With a background spanning early AI and distributed ledger technology, John Abel brings a wealth of experience to his role as a technical director at Google Cloud. He’s all about finding creative ways to blend cutting-edge tech with real-world solutions, especially where sustainability is concerned. In his role, John leads a team of engineers and scientists focused on developing innovative solutions using AI, blockchain, and IoT to address critical sustainability challenges.

Dr. Kai Beckmann joined the Executive Board of Merck in April 2011. He is responsible for the Electronics business sector (formerly Performance Materials), which he has been leading as CEO since September 2017. In October 2018, he also took over the responsibility for the Darmstadt site and Inhouse Consulting. Dr. Beckmann studied computer science at the Technical University of Darmstadt from 1984 to 1989. In 1998, he earned a doctorate in Economics while working.

Jürgen Brunner is Head of Group IT at Hochland SE. The graduate computer scientist has held various leading positions in IT, including CTO at BayWa AG, CTO at RI-Solution GmbH, Director IS/IT at Wittur Holding GmbH and CIO at Grenzebach Maschinenbau GmbH.

Achim Denninger is Head of Strategy & Corporate Development at NetCom BW, where he focuses on driving digitalization and enhancing customer-centric omnichannel experiences. His professional background includes significant experience at Telefónica Germany, and he is actively engaged in expanding and innovating NetCom BW’s infrastructure to continue its success story. Achim Denninger values re-thinking the status quo and is committed to defining future strategies that break conventional boundaries.

Prof. Dr. Gabrijela (Gabi) Dreo Rodosek is a highly regarded expert in cybersecurity, holding the Chair for Communication Systems and Network Security at the Universität der Bundeswehr München. She is the Founding Director of the university’s Research Institute for Cyber Defence (CODE), a leading center for cybersecurity research in Germany. Prof. Dreo Rodosek is deeply involved in both academic and policy-related cybersecurity work, serving on the advisory boards of key organizations such as Giesecke & Devrient and BWI GmbH, and as part of the German Ministry of Defense’s Digital Council.

Karen Funk is a freelance IT journalist and author. Until May 2024, she was an editor at CIO-Magazin and COMPUTERWOCHE (from Foundry/IDG). She also ran the renowned IT competition CIO of the Year for 17 years. Funk has been campaigning for more women in IT and digital education for many years.

In 2024, she published her book “Hack the world a better place: How companies are shaping the future”, which she wrote together with Julia Freudenberg, Managing Director of the Hacker School, on the topic of corporate volunteering.

Dr. Jan Goetz is a quantum physicist and co-founding CEO of IQM, building next-generation quantum computers. IQM has raised €128 million in Series A2 funding (2022), largest ever funding round raised by a European quantum computing company. Dr. Jan Goetz did his doctorate on superconducting quantum circuits at TU Munich, is in the European Quantum Industry Consortium QuIC, and member of the German Federal Economic Senate as well as a Digital Leader and Global Innovator at the WEF.

Uffe Bjørn Heilskov Aller is Head of Data & Analytics at Bestseller A/S. Prior to joining Bestseller, he has developed his expertise in positions such as Consultant, Senior Consultant, AI Community Manager and Principal Consultant at Inspari A/S. Uffe Bjørn Heilskov Aller is eager to lead Bestseller’s data-driven initiatives with a focus on creating a future data ecosystem.

Anders Indset is the author of four international bestsellers: “Wild Knowledge”, “Philosophy@Work”, “The Quantum Economy”, and “Das infizierte Denken”, and has been translated into over 10 languages to date. His forthcoming books “The Viking Code” and “Singularity Paradox – Bridging Humanity and AI” (Co-Authored with Dr. Florian Neukart) will both be published in 2024. Anders is also the founder of the The Quantum Economy Institute (TQEI), a co-founder of the Njordis Group and the Global Institute of Leadership & Technology (GILT) and an occasional tech-investor. Thinkers50 has ranked Anders as one of the most influential thinkers in leadership and business in the years to come. His philosophical work focuses on the ongoing search for better explanations and their practical implementation.

Dr. Karsten Kemeter has been CTO communications engineering Deutsche Bahn AG at Deutsche Bahn since 2019. From 2014 to 2019, he established product management and digital customer products at DB Fernverkehr AG. Before that, Dr. Kemeter was a General Management Consultant at Booz&Company and spent 11 years in management positions for telecommunications at Siemens and daughter companies.

During a masterpiece session, Dr Karsten Kemeter will give us insights on “5G on the track: digital innovation between politics and the railway/mobile sectors”.

Dr. Friederike (Fritzi) Köhler-Geib, currently a member of the Executive Board of the Deutsche Bundesbank, brings extensive expertise in national and international finance. Prior to her appointment, Dr. Köhler-Geib served as the Chief Economist and Head of Research at KfW, one of Germany’s largest development banks, where she played a key role in analyzing economic trends and providing policy advice. She has a robust background in economic research and policy development, having worked at the World Bank and in various academic roles before joining KfW.

Dr. Patrick Lechner has been with the BMW Group since 2012, most recently as Product Owner “Process Intelligence” and Line Manager “Process Platforms”. He holds a doctorate in mathematics and has also completed an MBA at Mannheim Business School.

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Wolfgang Maaß is Professor and Chair of the Department of Business Administration with a focus on business informatics in the service sector at Saarland University. He is Scientific Director of the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), co-opted Professor of Computer Science at Saarland University and Adjunct Professor at the University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine, Stony Brook University, NY. He studied computer science at RWTH Aachen University and Saarland University. At the University of St. Gallen (HSG) he habilitated in business administration and worked at the Institute for Technology Management (ITEM) and the Institute for Media and Communication Management (MCM). In his research, he investigates digital transformation using artificial intelligence applications.

Michael has more than 25 years of experience spearheading digital business innovation & transformations at the intersection of technology and industrial, including digital business transformations of multi-billion industrial and consumer businesses as CDO/CIO; building new digital businesses as CEO Digital; building large-scale digital commerce & marketplace platforms for D2C, B2C and B2B as CTO; large-scale deployment of GenAI/AI and related Data Platforms as CDO/CTO; building Corporate Venture arms as CDO; extensive Board of Directors’ experience with Fortune500, SME and start-up boards, both publicly-listed and PE/VC/private-backed.

Dr. Ralf Schneider has been Senior Fellow and Head of Cybersecurity and NextGenIT Think Tank at Allianz SE since November 2023. Prior to that, he held the position of Group CIO at Allianz SE from 2010-2023. After studying mathematics and obtaining a doctorate in computer science, he joined Allianz in 1995. He has held leading positions in IT for over 29 years and has always been the youngest in his position.

As Chief Digital Officer at BAUHAUS, Dr. Johannes Wechsler is responsible for e-commerce and digitization. Previously, he was Managing Director of MediaMarktSaturn Technology, where he drove the international standardization of the IT infrastructure, the migration to the cloud, as well as the evolution towards becoming a data-driven retail company. As Chief Information Officer of ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE, Dr. Johannes Wechsler was responsible for Group Operations & IT. In this role, he supported the Group’s transformation from a traditional TV company to an omnichannel entertainment company. For this achievement, the CIO magazine named him one of the top 10 CIOs in Germany in 2018. Prior to this, Dr. Johannes Wechsler worked for ten years for the Digital Practice of McKinsey & Company, most recently as an Associate Partner.

Laura Winterling taught spacecraft systems to international and European astronauts for over a decade. With a background in physics she became an Astronaut Instructor for the European Space Agency in the field of spacecraft systems and spacecraft sensors. As a member of two of ESAs main Astronaut Training Teams she was responsible for the training of the dynamic phases of ESAs Cargo Vessel ATV and the Lift Support System of ESA’s space laboratory Columbus.

The International Space Station (ISS) Program also gave her the chance to teach flight controllers in various Mission Control Centers around the globe. She spent time in Toulouse, France, Moscow and Houston, and sat in during real-time operations on board the ISS and observed 3 manned Sojuz launches in Kazakhstan.