The state of Bavaria has always been home to world-renowned companies like BMW, Siemens, Allianz, MAN and others. Over the last couple of decades, hundreds of smaller ventures and global leaders across various industries have joined. While the mention of Bavaria may still conjure up images of beautiful countryside with folk in dirndl and lederhosen, traditional music, and of course the Oktoberfest, the state with its capital, Munich, is Germany’s answer to the Silicon Valley. Historically a region known for agriculture, Bavaria developed into a manufacturing powerhouse and is now home to a high-tech economy and is amongst Europe’s top tech-hubs. 

The Bavarian U.S Offices for Economic Development is calling on industry experts and thought leaders in Bavaria to get their view on the “Present & Future of Germany’s Economic Powerhouse: Bavaria.”

Cybersecurity: Insights from Nils Gerhardt, Group VP & Head of Product & Solutions @Giesecke + Devrient Mobile Security

This time, Daniel Grassinger, Senior Manager for Investment & Expansion, talks to Nils Gerhardt. Nils is a Senior VP at Giesecke + Devrient Mobile Security. Through the pandemic the amount of security preaches rose drastically, that is why we want to learn more about the ‘present & future of cybersecurity’, an emerging sector which gained lots of attention over the last couple of months. How did one of the global leaders in cybersecurity perceive the pandemic, what challenges did they face during these difficult times, and what new business opportunities have been created. All those questions will be answered in our Podcast.

Nils Gerhardt works as Senior VP for Giesecke + Devrient Mobile Security, one of the global leaders in payments, connectivity, digital identities and security. Nils currently works in the US and has held various management positions at G+D in Germany (Headquarters) and Canada before, such as heading global product and project management, certification and product marketing for financial institutions. Nils is also GlobalPlatform’s Chairman and serves as the Co-Chair of the IoT Task Force. GlobalPlatform is a leading industry organization with more than 90 members focusing on standardizing security for digital services and devices.  

Deeptech: Insights from Herbert Mangesius, Founding Partner @ Vsquared Ventures & Co-Founder of the 1E9 think tank

Today, Daniel Grassinger, Senior Manager for Investment & Expansion, calls Herbert Mangesius. Herbert is Founding Partner of Vsquared Ventures and Co-Founder of the 1E9 think tank in Munich. We want to learn more about his view as a venture capitalist on the ‘present & future of deeptech in Bavaria’. Vsquared Ventures is a venture capital fund, that invests in early stage deeptech startups. One of their flagship portfolio companies is Isar Aerospace. In July 2020 Isar Aerospace got awarded as Munich’s fastest growing Startup. As a founder of the 1E9 think tank, Herbert created a platform and community, that aims for a better future by leveraging technology. ‘A New Humanity’ is the title of this years 1E9 Conference in Munich. With more than 80 speakers and 900 attendees the conference brings together technology leaders from various sectors like AI, quantum computing, 3D printing and many more, to foster collaborations and synergies for a better world.  

Herbert joined Vito Ventures after finishing his doctoral studies on mathematical systems and network theory at the Technical University Munich and at the Université Catholique de Louvain. He contributed to state-of-the-art knowledge in smart grid and multi-agent consensus problems and lectured on dynamical systems and control theory. He gained further work experience with Siemens, Deutsche Telekom Laboratories and E.On Energy. Herbert studied engineering science at the Technical University Munich and at the École Polytechnique, Paris. Additionally, he was awarded an MA honors degree from the Center for Digital Technology and Management (CDTM) in Munich. He served in the German army as an alpinist, is an active sportsman, and passionate about cybernetics and information-enabled innovation in science, society and technology.

Mobility: Insights from Kirstin Hegner, Managing Director @ Digital Hub Mobility

This time Daniel Grassinger, Senior Manager for Investment & Expansion, talks to Kirstin Hegner, the Managing Director of the Digital Hub Mobility at UnternehmerTUM in Munich. We want to learn more about her view on the ‘present & future of mobility’. The Digital Hub Mobility is part of the Germany-wide Digital Hub Initiative, launched by the country’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. At twelve interconnected locations, established companies work together with innovation partners from the scientific world and the startup scene. The Digital Hub Mobility is located in the UnternehmerTUM Center for Innovation and Business Creation and makes use of the unique UnternehmerTUM ecosystem to create the digital mobility innovations of the future.

Kirstin Hegner is an international economist and started her career at the international consulting firm Bain & Co. She held various management positions at Daimler AG and served for several years on the Supervisory Board at automotive supplier SHW AG. Her passion is to bring corporates, scientists and startups together to create sustainable solutions for today’s urban traffic problems.

Additive Manufacturing: Insights from Marie Langer, CEO @ EOS

Daniel Grassinger, Senior Manager for Investment & Expansion, talks to Marie Langer, second-generation CEO at EOS GmbH – the leading technology provider worldwide for industrial 3D printing. We want to learn more about her view on the ‘present & future of additive manufacturing’, an emerging industry that revolutionizes supply chains, production, and engineering processes as we know them today.  Thanks to EOS GmbH, other 3D printing companies headquartered in Bavaria and a government that is investing in this technology, this region is a hotbed for the development, investment, and adoption of additive manufacturing.

As the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of EOS GmbH, Marie Langer, the daughter of EOS founder Dr. Hans J. Langer, is responsible for the strategic direction of EOS and its subsidiaries. In this capacity, she focuses on strategy, marketing, corporate communication, corporate culture and organization, and HR development. She has previously held various leadership positions at EOS and on the EOS supervisory board, including management of the social venture program and corporate and business development within the EOS GROUP.
Marie Langer is a qualified psychologist specializing in organizational and educational psychology. She also has a degree in corporate leadership from the IESE Business School and founded ELEMENT A, an initiative to promote innovations in education.