Germany
When I was a child it was my dream to become an inventor. My parents told me in the early 70ies that this was no profession. 1988 I started my journey by studying at the Cleveland Institute of Art in Ohio, USA. I felt that I missed out on engineering and picked a small, crazily inventive engineering company in Germany and got my engineering degree with them after three years of lathing, milling, welding, forging metal. After this hands-on experience I studied Industrial Design at the FH Munich. After graduation I opened up my first company, called NEULAND Industriedesign. Industrial Design was the closest to my dream of professionally inventing. But still I was missing the deeper and holistic view on the matter. I created an ecosystem for my "non-profession". I quit at NEULAND and gave the company to two fellow designers and founded FORMAZZO right the next day. Business picked up. My experience with customers such as Porsche, Conrac, Bioptron helped me to pinpoint what I felt was missing. In March 2000 I discussed new ways of innovating with a friend of mine during lunch. Johann Füller, at that time consultant at PWC shared, enhanced and completed my view on innovation. We wanted to redefine how companies would innovate successfully. We founded a company called HYVE. It was meant to be a frontrunner and pioneer in innovation methodology and invention. A full-stack service provider to all industries. Providing the service of targeted innovation to customers came as close to professional inventing as I ever could have hoped for. We started open innovation in 2000 with progressive customers like Adidas and Siemens. We were pushing the limits for 23 years. One key goal of HYVE was to generate spin-offs which would evolve next to our service business. Out of experience we knew that to generate successful offspring companies each company had to be led closely by at least one of us. Founding ICAROS in 2015 and TAWNY in 2016 our focus was to develop these companies into successful gamechangers. With ICAROS we reinvented exercising. We used the feedback from our customers and patients to establish ICAROS as a truly new solution provider for modern rehabilitation in the health market. It is very rewarding to be part of an amazing team and to create something which is loved by our customers and patients. We have been revolutionizing neuro-rehabilitation, are working with scientists all over the world and our mission is to make patients athletes. I am very thankful to all who shared their talent and time with me on my journey. Inventing is a profession now.
I founded the ICAROS GmbH together with my colleges Johann Füller, Michael Bartl and Johannes Scholl in 2015. We are working on establishing ICAROS as a major player in therapy and rehabilitation.
I founded Hyve together with my friend and colleague Prof. Dr. Johann Fueller in 2000. In 2002 Dr. Michael Bartl completed the management team as the third CEO of HYVE. Together we three were able to significantly improve innovation processes, to establish open innovation methodologies and grew the company organically until we successfully exited in 2023. Hyve is now a well-established innovation consultancy and offers a rich portfolio of innovation services to a variety of industries.
Digitization offers higher levels of inclusion, fun and self expression in sports.
With FORMAZZO, I set up an industrial design office in the Westend, an area in Munich where artists and new business companies found cheap office space. It was meant to be the center for likeminded and inspirational people to work together on innovative projects. We were doing well and after teaming up with Johann Fueller it led to altering into a new company called HYVE.
Founder and Designer of the industrial design company Neuland ID.