Basel Metropolitan Area
With over 15 years of professional experience, I have the ability to effectively navigate challenges within corporate structures and dynamic entrepreneurial environments. In leadership roles I have led agile transformations, scaled teams and skilfully overseen the entire product lifecycle. I have also supported over 350 high tech companies, led technology scouting projects and gained extensive hands-on experience in innovation methodologies and issues.
Lead of the Innovation & Entrepreneurship (I&E) team, responsible for Basel Area’s activities for innovation and start-up promotion. - Leading a cross-functional team - Represent the I&E team in the management board - Define the I&E strategy and implement the corresponding activities - Develop and maintain relationships with multipliers and key industries
Responsible for product development for the Workspaces & Public Seating business unit, leading cross-functional teams of product managers, development engineers and designers. - Leading cross-functional teams - Managing the existing product portfolio - Launch new products and develop product pipeline - Liaise closely with global sales organisation and designers
Responsible for the smart garden range which is sold in 19 European countries and includes all the components for fully automatic lawn care and efficient water management. - Head of the Gardena Digital Hub in Zurich - Member of the Management Board of Husqvarna Schweiz AG - Leading cross-functional teams in four global locations - Scaled the team from 25 to 65 people, agile transformation - End-to-end responsibility from development to launch - Responsible for the developed of an open source-based Gardena IoT stack - Introduced localization of robotic mowers using GPS, sensor fusion and cloud processing - Doubling the number of users every year
Development, coordination and global rollout of an ecosystem strategy for a more comprehensive smart gardening experience in collaboration with manufacturers of connected devices and smart home platforms. - Strategy development and product ownership - Partner selection, contract negotiation and onboarding - Relationship management - Integration with all leading smart home platforms (Apple, Amazon, Google, etc.) Gardena is the leading brand for high-quality gardening tools in Europe, is represented in more than 80 countries around the world and is part of the Husqvarna Group. The parent company, headquartered in Stockholm, generates annual sales of approximately CHF 4.5 billion (2022) with 14,000 employees. The business unit was created through the acquisition of a spin-off from ETH Zurich.
Coaching of start-ups seeking seed or growth capital, selection of promising start-ups for the BayStartUP investment network and matching of start-ups and investors (approx. 200 business angels and 100 institutional investors). - Focus on strategic positioning and business model development - Responsible for technology scouting projects - Lecturer for Entrepreneurship at OTH Amberg-Weiden
Development of an international life science funding network that connects medical and biotech companies seeking capital with venture capital investors across Europe. Previously responsible for coordinating the North Bavarian Business Plan Contest. - Coaching of (nascent) entrepreneurs - Regular keynote speeches and workshops in German and English - Responsible for technology scouting projects BayStartUP is the Bavarian start-up network for start-ups, investors and industry with 22 employees (2024). The supported companies are currently active in the market with more than 13,100 employees and generate a turnover of almost CHF 1.3 billion (2017). BayStartUP was founded in 2014 from the predecessor organisations f.u.n netzwerk nordbayern GmbH and Evobis GmbH.