Zürich Metropolitan Area
Julian thrives at the intersection of industrial strategy, technology transformation, and entrepreneurship. His focus is helping industrial companies navigate major technological shifts—from electrification and sustainability to artificial intelligence and digitalization. Growing up in his family’s third-generation automotive repair business, Julian developed a hands-on “fix-it” mindset that continues to shape his approach to solving complex business challenges today. Over the course of his career, he has lived, studied, and worked across Germany, Russia, South Africa, the United States, Scotland, China, and Australia. These international experiences shaped a global perspective grounded in adaptability, curiosity, and the ability to work effectively across cultures and industries. Julian has led and supported multi-billion-euro initiatives spanning corporate transformation, M&A, public funding, manufacturing greenfields, sustainability, and digital value creation. Throughout his career, he has worked with high-performing international teams to transform organizations, build strategic partnerships, and create long-term competitive advantage in rapidly changing markets. In addition to his executive responsibilities, Julian brings board-level experience from both industry and research organizations. He currently serves on the Advisory Board of Fraunhofer’s AI Governance Institute (HNFIZ) and previously held supervisory board responsibilities at Iomoto (a ZF subsidiary), contributing expertise in strategy, innovation, technology, and organizational transformation. As a passionate educator, Adjunct Professor, and Lecturer, Julian has taught more than 1,000 Executive MBA and executive education participants at leading institutions including WHU (DE), HSG (CH), and HWZ (CH). His teaching focuses on helping leaders make better decisions with AI, navigate uncertainty, and drive successful transformation in an increasingly complex world. Julian has been recognized among CAPITAL’s Top 40 Under 40, Handelsblatt’s Top 30 Young Leaders Shaping Germany, Automotive News Europe’s Rising Stars, and the Future/io Institute’s Top 100 Chief Sustainability Officers in Europe. Outside of work, Julian is a passionate sailor and certified captain. The lessons learned on the water, navigating uncertainty, adapting to changing conditions, and making decisions under pressure, continue to shape his leadership philosophy. He believes that the future belongs to organizations that combine technological excellence with the ability to continuously learn, adapt, and reinvent themselves.
Bringing industrial leadership perspective & research experience to applied research on transformation, governance, and AI sovereignty — at the heart of Germany's leading AI ecosystem „IPAI Heilbronn“ at the Fraunhofer Innovation Center for Transformation & Governance.
▫️Direct report to the CEO of ZF Group ▫️ Acting member of the divisional leadership team as VP / Head of Strategy, Transformation, Sustainability & Digitalization for ZF’s Electrified Powertrain Technology Division (≈€11bn revenue, ≈35,000 employees) ▫️Led the merger of ZF Powertrain (€7.5bn) and ZF E-Mobility (€2.5bn), realizing significant synergies and shaping a new global Top-3 E-Mobility Tier-1 ▫️Owned strategic steering of the division together with the Board, incl. portfolio management and strategy-to-execution governance ▫️Designed and delivered a division-wide turnaround plan in close alignment with Board & Supervisory Board & Workers Representation/Unions ▫️Initiated and led M&A and partnership projects to drive growth and strategic repositioning (e.g., divestiture of a €400m revenue non-core asset, €100m revenue technology-based JV for China market access, power module & semiconductor partnerships) ▫️Built a Digital Transformation function from scratch to 30 FTE, delivering >€10m annual bottom-line digital savings within 2 years; led digital transformation & savings programs across the division ▫️Built the Sustainability function and governance from scratch to 25 FTE incl. in-house LCA capabilities; drove sustainability transformation, reporting, and customer target fulfillment on the 2040 net-zero trajectory ▫️Established a digital steering solution for integrated portfolio and planning management (transparency, decision cadence, performance tracking) ▫️Led negotiations with employee representatives within the “Bündnis Wettbewerbsfähigkeit & Beschäftigung”, incl. interest balancing, collective agreement and company-wide works agreement ▫️In parallel: Chair of the Advisory Board of ZF iOmoto GmbH (Berlin); accountable for the orderly wind-down/closure of the entity (2024) aligned with ZF’s strategic priorities
▫️ Led global sales force of 200 FTE to convert 24bn € sales pipeline into profitable wins ▫️ Secured several E-Mobility business wins with European and Chinese customers, incl. Board level negotiations (lifetime value >2bn EUR) ▫️Successfully rolled out complete new Commercial Management governance landscape incl. quoting process, digital CRM, forecasting w/ significant improvements in “time to quote” & forecast reliability ▫️Restructured global sales team, installed product focused “growth leads” and realized 10% SG&A efficiencies despite growing topline
▫️Introduced digital database & process for product and market planning, reducing time to e.g. conduct market share simulations ▫️Built up a 360 degree Benchmarking team, bringing together experts from various functions. Outcomes influenced pricing strategies ▫️Developed long term roadmap for semiconductor strategy including research partnership with Formula E& Universities ▫️Acted as project lead for selection of new E-Mobility production location incl. subsidy negotiations (today ZF Serbia w/ >1000 FTE)
Course Director and Lecturer of the CAS Strategic Leadership and Transformation (HWZ Zurich). I designed the program as a practice-driven, executive-level course for senior leaders navigating large-scale transformation in complex, technology-driven environments. The faculty brings together high-caliber practitioners, including the Chief Digital Officer of the EU Space Agency, the Lead for Russia and Eurasia at Chatham House and many senior executives from industry, and former senior military leadership from Switzerland and Germany. This mix ensures participants gain perspectives spanning corporate strategy, digital transformation, public leadership, and high-stakes decision-making. Content focus: • Corporate & business strategy in dynamic markets • Transformation governance and execution at scale • Organizational psychology and change commitment • Decision-making under uncertainty and AI augmentation • Leadership in high-intensity and crisis environments Participants work on real transformation cases from their own organizations and leave with a structured, board-ready transformation roadmap.