Ruhr Region
Born in 1964, he studied civil engineering and business administration at the Aachen University of Technology (RWTH Aachen), Germany. He specialized in hydraulic engineering, water resources management, soil mechanics and environmental management. For 21 years he had been working for the German utility company RWE. As Senior Manager he had been coordinator of occupational safety of the RWE Group for more than 1,000 companies and up to more than 130,000 employees, and responsible for the coordination of environmental issues for several hundred companies of the RWE Group. In the fields of renewable power generation, he has been active for more than 30 years in setting up multi-national projects, project management structures, site development, authorization procedures, plant operations, and joint implementation projects with a focus on hydropower, wind power and solar energy. In parallel he founded DB Sediments in 2009 and has established and developed the global business. In 2012 he published his doctor thesis on “trust of employees in their management” and how that is affecting economical success of the company. After leaving the global utility business in 2013, he has been focusing his life on the Water-Energy-Food – Nexus, giving special attention to water in the anthropocene. His business achievement resulted in the nomination for the prestigious Innovation Award of German Industry in 2015 and receiving the price as being 2nd best startup in Germany. Lecturing at the Hochschule Osnabrück for years and through his advisory job for the GIWEH in Geneva, since early 2016 he has been widened his focus to the food and health sector. His vision: Reaching sustainability holistically! Using water efficiently as drinking water, for irrigation and for hydropower generation; get rivers in balance with flood protection; furthermore, eliminating antibiotics from feed and food, in order to improve human and animal health. Contributing to food waste reduction and improving climate change. The development of a circular economy is currently at his heart with the target of resource efficiency and the creation of new applications and sustainable products of the next generations.
The Mission of GIWEH - The Global Institute for Water, Environment and Health is to provide "Leadership for Positive Change". In this context the institute wants "To provide societies, individuals and institutions with educational. research, technical, financial, and scientific support to realize the effective and sustainable use and management of water."
Holistic Consulting emphasizes the importance of the whole and the interdependence of its parts. It is concerned with the whole rather than analysis or separation into parts. Having had a wide range of experiences in very different fields of private, scientific and working life, in a great variety of positions and different roles, and in different company settings - from Start-up to SMEs and global holding company, it has been important to look at things from a holistic point of view. May it be by changing flight levels from going into depth with looking at very small details, up to analyzing satellite images and use them for the operation of equipment. The areas of interest comprise the Water-Energy-Food - Nexus, as well as the Water-Environment-Health - Sectors.
Together with a former colleague within the RWE Group, Dietrich founded DB Sediments in 2009. In April 2013, he left the RWE Group after 21 years having held various management positions in HR, sales, renewables and environmental management. DB Sediments is a global project developer and knowledge provider for sustainable sediment management and sustainable river management. Dietrich has been occupied with setting up the strategy, structures of the group, as well as the planning, realization, commercial and technical management. For the past years, he has furthermore been involved in global research in river rehabilitation and in consultancy of large entities, non-governmental national and global organizations, development banks and governments. In the most recent years he has been active in Europe (Austria, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom), the MENA Region (Algeria), in Central Asia (Tadzhikistan), in Asia (India, Pakistan), in the Arabic Region (Oman), in North America (Canada, USA), in Central America (Mexico), as well as several the markets of South America (Brasil, Chile, Colombia, and Peru) and the Caribbean Islands (St. Lucia). He is following his vision to develop "SECO - Social, Environmental, Commercial and Operational" solutions with holistic benefits for individuals and the ecosystem.
Ferrostaal DB Sediments GmbH is a joint venture of DB Sediments GmbH, German technology experts in sustainable and system-sensitive approaches for the de-sedimentation of reservoirs , and Ferrostaal GmbH, as leading German industrial service provider. The joint venture provides cost-efficient, sustainable solutions to sustainably achieve maximum performance for hydroelectric, potable and non-potable water reservoirs. Current focus of Ferrostaal DB Sediments are the markets of Colombia, Peru and Chile.
Licht holding is a private equity group operating mainly in venture capital in the European region and focused on international projects in modern technologies. The group has representation in Bratislava, Prague, London, Germany and Liechtenstein. This placement gives it room for the maximum use of international know-how when assessing investment opportunities. The Licht Holding team has gained the reputation of a dynamic and innovative investment entity that respects and adheres to investment principles and ethical principles in business. Within the framework of individual investment projects, Licht Holding implements the so-called "hands-on" approach focused on achieving the desired return on investment, which allows it maximum flexibility and an individual approach to various investment opportunities.
The focus on human resources is the most important necessity of companies, but neglected in many cases. Real controlling of companies starts with the knowledge about the mayor value drivers. Identifying those factors for strategic HR was my visional task.