Simpsonville, South Carolina, United States
“The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.” – Jack London I am an engineer by education, an innovator by instinct, and an entrepreneur by conviction. For most of my career, I operated with a CEO’s mindset inside technology-driven organizations — building breakthrough products, leading high-performance teams, and pushing the state of the art forward. My journey began in aviation. During my PhD work at Airbus, I invented and conceptually developed the secondary flight control system for the Airbus A350 — fulfilling a childhood dream of contributing to the launch of a new aircraft. That experience shaped how I think: combine bold vision with disciplined execution. Four years ago, I transitioned fully into entrepreneurship. Since then, I have focused on building businesses that create measurable impact — for customers, employees, and the environment. As President of Koala Insulation of Greenville & Spartanburg, I apply engineering thinking to the built environment, improving energy efficiency, comfort, and sustainability one structure at a time. But this is only the beginning. I am actively expanding into new ventures, driven by curiosity, opportunity, and the desire to build enduring value. My entrepreneurial path includes innovative franchises, real estate investments, and strategic partnerships — with several additional businesses in development. Having lived in the United States since 2012 and calling Greenville, South Carolina home, I combine German engineering rigor with American entrepreneurial drive. I believe excellence is engineered, culture is intentional, and growth is designed. I build teams that win. I pursue opportunities that matter. And I use my time with purpose. The future is built by those willing to shape it.
Koala Insulation of Greenville is the area's certified insulation expert providing high-quality insulation services to builders, general contractors, and homeowners. We work with new construction, commercial projects, and retrofit applications. We are a one-stop-shop insulation contractor and provide all types of insulation including blown-in cellulose and fiberglass, spray foam, and batt-insulation. Furthermore, we offer a number of energy efficiency upgrades such as attic solar fans, air sealing, hatch and can light covers. If it involves insulating or improving energy efficiency within a building envelope, we can handle it. Our customers always come first. Excellence in our work, the highest quality of service and keeping our prices competitive are our top priorities and differentiate us from other insulation companies. We work hard to deliver efficiency and improve comfort. We’re a family, with 200 years total of specialized experience, exceptional customer focus and an unstoppable work ethic. It is because of our love for the business that we’ve come so far so quickly. ■ Achieved #1 rated insulation contractor in Up-State South Carolina with > 200 5-star reviews across Google, Angi, and Duke Energy. ■ Fully accredited by BBB since 2022 ■ Awarded Home Service Industry’s coveted Angi Super Service since 2023
Bain Capital-owned (private equity) global leader of professional hand and power tools, serving the industrial, automotive, aerospace, electronics, construction, and serious do-it-yourself markets. Brands: Cleco, Weller, Crescent, APEX, SATA, and GEARWRENCH Recruited to increase market share, brand recognition and profitability through innovative product launches. Primary objectives included shortening time-to-market, elevating product quality standards, and increasing vitality rate. ■ Introduced innovative products to market, leading to a remarkable increase in market share, strengthening of brand recognition, and a substantial improvement in profitability. Products include: – Weller WX Smart, the most connected, smartest, controlled, and safest hand soldering platform in the market. – Crescent’s NailSlicer, a circular saw blade recognized as best-in-class by “Pro Tool Review” ahead of Diablo, Makita, and Milwaukee. – Cleco BD Fixtured Spindles, most reliable and accurate tightening system. – Comprehensive cordless assembly tool program from CellTek to mPro X, a global & connected controller platform. ■ Improved time-to-market by establishing an aligned global R&D organization with over 100 professionals across engineering centers in China, Germany, the USA, and Mexico ■ Achieved goal of flawless product launches through the establishment of a cross-functional, simultaneous, and gated NPD process with a focus on up-front designs.
A once-in-a-lifetime experience to live life to the fullest as I navigated a career transition. I approached this time as a sabbatical, satisfying my engineer heart with days spent in learning and exploring business opportunities, while enjoying precious time with my family. I embraced the label of “Pirate” as it connotates a life of freedom: I distilled delicious rum, traveled the Caribbean, and achieved my scuba diving certification to explore underwater worlds. You can read more about my transition in my linked article below. The deep fulfillment and rejuvenation gained from this time off was transformative and I’m thankful for every self-determined minute I was given. I learned more about myself and got to do things I’d never have done before. This has left an amazing trace in my life, and I will never totally walk away from my pirate life. “The problem is not the problem. The problem is your attitude about the problem.” ― Jack Sparrow.
$30 billion global leader of agricultural and construction equipment, trucks, buses, and powertrains. Brands: Case, Steyr, New Holland, Iveco, Heuliez, Magirus, Fiat Power Train Recruited to update, transform, and execute future vehicle concepts, technologies, and innovations at the enterprise level. Led 250+, global engineering organization including vehicle innovation, advanced drivetrain, electrification, autonomous, design analysis and simulation. - Launched electrical and autonomous/automated tractors, backhoe loaders, skid steer loaders, excavators, trucks, busses. - Led futuristic agronomics, vehicle designs, and virtual/augmented reality HMIs projects - Improved customer experience (UX) and reduced time-to-market by using digital mockups/twins for entire life cycle - Incorporated artificial intelligence (AI) including machine learning into product offering
Charged with increasing revenue and profitability by identifying, developing, and launching a U.S. specific product roadmap for pumps/motors, controls, electronics, SW, IoT and electrical drives. - More than doubled revenue and improved EBIT by 10% through increased cost competitiveness and technological unique selling points. - Increased collaboration, focus and reduced costs through restructure and consolidation of US R&D landscape and established R&D center with 100+ associates for platform development, customer application projects and product validation. - Won new business of $55M in 2020 with locally developed products enabled through a significant cost reduction of 35%. - Created high performance and continuous improvement culture, simultaneous and cross-functional thinking, excellent and agile processes, and advanced engineering methods.
Charged with oversight of effective launch of hydraulic hybrids in class 3 and 4 trucks from development through manufacturing, sourcing to sales. Led business unit of 60 engineering, operations and sales personnel. Global P&L responsibility. - Achieved market leadership through wining major bids for trucks in multiple municipalities including New York City. - In reaction to market-disruptive electrical drive technologies, drove sustainable turnaround restructuring initiatives and transformed business unit towards more business relevant technologies.
Led the technology change towards electronically controlled implement, braking, and steering systems based on micro-controllers and software for mobile machineries. - Won Robert Bosch innovation award - ABS functionality for tractors - Developed and launched electronic load sensing and double-acting hitch control for agriculture tractors. - Developed and launched a virtual bleed-off control strategy with a power regenerative boom control that opened the door to the Chinese excavator market - Built a commissioning and tuning center for excavators in Beijing, CN.