Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
With substantial technical and commercial experience across the steel, polymer, and cement industries, I pursued a PhD to deepen my expertise, fuel my passion for tech, and contribute to innovation by applying science in a start-up. I thrive at the interface of technology and business, where I have the greatest impact leading multidisciplinary teams and bridging gaps between fields.
My responsibilities include leading R&D efforts across electrochemical stack development, advanced degassing technologies, and CO₂ utilization pathways. I oversee the strategic direction and execution of these research activities, ensuring alignment with the overall technology roadmap. In addition, I am responsible for conducting detailed techno-economic analyses to guide decision-making and validate process concepts. I manage patenting activities to protect the company’s intellectual property and actively secure non-dilutive funding to support ongoing technology development and scale-up efforts.
I was responsible for the technology transfer of a direct ocean CO₂ capture technology based on electrochemical pH-swing processes. I led a team of engineers and scientists in developing a pilot plant designed to capture 25 tonnes of CO₂ per year. My responsibilities spanned conceptual through detailed engineering, component selection and procurement, HAZOP, MSAT, HSE, modelling, and techno-economic analysis. I also served as the primary interface between the business and technology functions.
The initial focus was on indirect mineral carbonation (IMC), a method that fixes CO2 to mineral wastes while producing value-added materials; a key effort was acting as project manager in the team designing, constructing, and operating a pilot plant handling 100 kg/h of input. later research was on investigating the strategic aspects of carbon capture installations applied to cement and waste-to-energy plants. Other directions of research was assessment of new CCUS strategies, e.g., integrating oxyfuel and hydrogen production.
Responsible for the development of off-take agreements for the bio-based polymer PEF (a sustainable alternative to PET), and its precursor FDCA. Developed several customer products and organized long-term joint development agreements with both blue chip customers and start-ups/scale-ups. As secondary activity, I was responsible for developing the recycling value chain for PEF in Europe, setting up two pilot projects.
Wrote the company strategy for a €100 million factory investment by combining techno-economic assessments with market analysis, which redirected internal R&D efforts toward high-value applications such as ultra-high barrier packaging. I also initiated collaborative developments with key strategic partners to support this shift.
i Business partner pricing team, Europe; implemented a new central pricing policy. ii Improvement consultant supply chain, Europe; developed a tool for supply chain optimization. iii Implementation Agent in Port Talbot, UK; oversaw ~100 projects alongside McKinsey. iv Improvement consultant in IJmuiden, The Netherlands; implemented 6σ project worth 200 k€.