Dr. Rolf Albach, Covestro
Dr. Melanie Walther, University of Bremen
Oliver Erdenberger, MA, Merck
Dr. Wolfgang Hübinger, BASF
Dr. Theresa Ludwig, SCHOTT
Dr. Willis Muganda, BASF
Dr. Julian Vogel, Rentschler Biopharma
Jun.-Prof. Dr. Stephan von Delft, University of Münster
Representation JuWiChem
Niclas Buschner (2025)
Representative JuWiChem - retired
Nils Meier, Büttelborn (2024)
until 30.06.2024
Prof. Dr. Stephan Haubold, Fresenius University of Applied Sciences Idstein
until March 24, 2025
Elisabeth Meints, Hobum Oleochemicals, Hamburg
The Board is directly elected by the members and assumes ongoing organizational and administrative responsibilities. The Board is complemented by a representative of the Young Industrial Chemists (JuWiChem). The representative of JuWiChem is appointed by the federal board as a permanent member for one year.
Rolf Albach studied chemistry in Bonn and at the Technical University of Munich, where he received his doctorate in 1992 under WA Herrmann in U. Küsthardt's team. After a NATO scholarship in Orsay under J.-J. Girerd, he joined Bayer AG in 1994. After holding management positions in R&D, sales and post-merger integration, he is now developing projects in the field of circular economy, automotive interiors and flame retardants. This also includes supervising dissertations and a teaching position at the FH Aachen. Rolf Albach has a double MBA degree from the WHU Otto Beisheim School of Management (Vallendar) and the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University (Chicago).
Rolf Albach has been involved in environmental policy on a voluntary basis for 40 years, both with NGOs such as the Local Agenda and the SolarImpulse Foundation and in local and regional politics, for example in the Commission for Regional and Structural Issues of the Cologne District Government, the Administrative Board of the Cologne City Drainage Authority, the Operating Committee of the Cologne Waste Management Company and the Environmental Committee of the Cologne City Council.
For him, the VCW is about creating a community of people with a connection to the chemical industry, beyond chemists, the growth of business chemistry and the integration of chemistry, economics and business with regard to the transformation processes that lie ahead. The cooperation of Divisions, such as a current project between VCW and phosphorus chemistry , is important to him.
Rolf Albach is currently the spokesperson for all specialist group chairs on the GDCh Board and has taken over the revision of the mentoring concept.
Oliver Erdenberger studied business administration and industrial Management at the Provadis University of Applied Sciences, based at the Höchst Industrial Park in Frankfurt. He started his professional career at Clariant in 2002. After various positions in IT and Marketing, he moved to Celanese in 2007. Until 2012, he worked there in global supply chain Management . From 2012, his work focused on management consulting. First at Camelot Management Consultants and from 2015 at Accenture. In consulting, he supported numerous projects in the chemical industry, primarily in the area of supply chain & operations. At Accenture, he was also responsible for the Chemicals Community in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. In 2019, he continued his career at Clariant. There he supported global transformation projects, most recently as Head of Supply Chain of the Pigments BU. Since 2022, he has been working in the Transformation Office for Merck Life Science, continuing to focus on supply chain & operations. With his involvement in the "Association for Chemistry and Economics" he would like to contribute to a close integration of theory and practice in the discussion of management issues. In his view it is particularly important to be able to make statements about how to manage successfully in the long term - despite the energy crisis, inflation, high taxes, bureaucracy and the increasing shortage of skilled workers in the process industry. In addition to the view of the well-known large companies, it is important to him to keep the numerous medium-sized companies in the focus of the discourse in order to be able to develop perspectives for the industry as a whole.
Wolfgang Hübinger studied technical chemistry at the Technical University of Berlin, where he obtained a degree in engineering in 1989 under K.-H. Reichert in polymerization technology. He was able to put his interdisciplinary theoretical knowledge of chemistry and technology into practice when he joined BASF AG in Ludwigshafen: several processes were improved or completely newly developed as head of process development in the plastics laboratory. Two new processes were transferred through all development stages from the idea to the production scale. As a project manager and in the management of a large production company, economic issues in the form of cost calculations and project invoices also came to the fore.
After completely reorganizing a production structure (replacing three large old plants with a new plant), Wolfgang Hübinger looked for new challenges and found them in global strategic planning at BASF SE: first in the strategic management of a business division and the management of the development of the global production structure, then in a strategy project and in the Management of the Ludwigshafen Verbund site. Since 2007, he has held managerial positions in the Petrochemicals division of BASF, in particular in research management, strategic Marketing and concept development for strategies, roadmaps and strategic projects.
The development of long-term strategies (Industry 4.0, circular economy, bioeconomy) and the interdisciplinary training of (business) chemists, engineers and business IT specialists are the current areas of interest and work.
In the VCW , Wolfgang Hübinger would like to promote the networking of "balance sheet" professions (chemistry, process engineering, business administration, IT). He would like to further develop the lecture events, especially the VCW annual conference, and the interdisciplinary training of the above-mentioned professions (e.g. in the GDCh mentoring program) with his continued involvement in the Board of the "Association for Chemistry and Economics".
Theresa Ludwig studied chemistry at the Technical University of Munich, where she received her doctorate from the Chair of macromolecular chemistry . Her master's and doctoral thesis in the field of additive manufacturing of heterogeneous catalysts was carried out in cooperation with Clariant. She started her professional career in 2019 at 3M Technical Ceramics as a Specialist Materials Research in the field of product and materials development. In 2021, she moved to Operations as a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and obtained certification by leading improvement projects and coaching Green Belts. Since August 2023, she has been working at SCHOTT in the Electronic Packaging division as an Innovation and Business Development Manager.
Theresa Ludwig has been involved in the VCW editorial team since 2020, founded the VCW round table in Kempten, as well as the virtual themed regulars' table Opportunities for All. Outside of the VCW, she is also committed to ensuring that young people gain enthusiasm and orientation for STEM career fields and strives for diversity and equal opportunities in chemistry. With her involvement in the Board, she wants to promote exchange between the generations and understanding of the chemical-pharmaceutical industry among students and young professionals. In order to gain different perspectives on innovation topics, such as digitization, and to discuss their potential and challenges, she would like to promote exchange with other GDCh Divisions or associations in other STEM specialist areas.
Willis Muganda studied chemistry and received his PhD in the field of physical chemistry (chemistry and physics of biointerfaces) at the University of Siegen. During his studies, he joined the JCF (Young Chemistry Forum) in 2014 and was elected chairman of the regional forum in Siegen (JCF-Siegen) in 2015. In 2017, he decided to take on new challenges and was elected to the Federal Board of the JCF (Young Chemistry Forum). During his two-year term on the Federal Board, he was responsible for International Relations and Promotional Materials. Together with his fellow board members, he has achieved many milestones, including working closely with industry partners such as BASF, Bayer, Evonik, Merck, Altana, Sanofi and ISC3 to advance topics such as innovation, sustainability, digitalization and career development, and increasing financial support for the JCF's activities. In addition, he initiated the establishment of an Equal Opportunities Commission within the JCF, which today plays an important role in promoting equal opportunities within and outside the JCF.
From October 2018 to August 2022, he was Head of the finance team of the International Younger Chemists Network (IYCN). The IYCN has now become an interesting global network for chemists who are enthusiastic about the Sustainable Development Goals and other current topics in chemistry. He is also one of the initiators of the VCW round table in Siegen, which he has been leading together with two other members since 2019, and is planning to set up a new round table in Ludwigshafen due to his new job at BASF.
Since last year, he has been working at BASF as an expert in the search for renewable raw materials, technology scouting and accelerating the sustainability transformation in various chemical value chains. His first term on the VCW Board was a joint success with the entire VCW Board in planning various events and projects that attracted great interest in politics, science and the chemical industry. His goal for further work on the VCW Board is to intensify the dialogue between the chemical industry and the political class. In addition, the VCW space of expertise is to be opened up to all international representatives of chemistry and business by addressing topics that are of great importance for the transformation of the chemical industry not only in Germany but throughout Europe.
Julian Vogel studied business chemistry at the University of Ulm and was awarded the VCW Study Award Business Chemistry in 2019 for his academic achievements. He then completed his doctorate in organic chemistry in the field of “Systems Chemistry” at the University of Ulm with a research stay at Indiana University in the USA. At the same time, he gained practical experience as a working student in the Future Insights department at Merck KGaA. Since August 2023, he has been working as a Proposal Manager in Business Development at Rentschler Biopharma SE. More information on LinkedIn.
In 2016, J. Vogel founded the JuWiChem (Young economic chemists) Ulm local group and expanded it over the next six years as Chair with other students. For two years, he represented the interests of the young VCW members on the JuWiChem national board and was responsible for project management and, as project manager, for organizing the annual conference (JuWiChem Day). After actively participating in several VCW projects, he would like to further expand his involvement on the VCW Board . He is particularly interested in representing student and career-starting members. He wants to make the transition from study to work and, above all, the transition from JuWiChem to VCW easier for members.
Stephan von Delft studied business chemistry at the University of Münster, where he received his doctorate under Jens Leker in 2014. After a postdoc stay at the Business School of the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, he moved to the Adam Smith Business School of the University of Glasgow in Scotland in 2015 as a lecturer in strategy. Since 2020 he has been working as a junior professor for chemistry and entrepreneurship in the business chemistry department at the University of Münster. His professorship is jointly supported by the REACH Euregio Start-up Center and the Department of Chemistry and pharmacy at the University of Münster.
His research focuses on the development of new business models, digital platforms and the sustainability of new technologies in the chemical industry and related sectors. His work has been funded by the British Council, the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), Innovate UK and the Chemical Industry Fund (FCI), among others. He is co-editor of the textbook "Business Chemistry: How to Build Thriving Businesses in the Chemical Industry" (Wiley) and contributed to the study "From Megatrends to Business Success: Implications of Megatrends for Management in the Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industry" (together with Provadis University and VCI).
As a member of the VCW Board, he would like to work towards networking between industry and business chemistry courses and promote the exchange of ideas among VCW members on current management issues in the chemical industry, particularly in the areas of digitalization and sustainability.
Melanie Walther studied industrial chemistry with a focus on technology management and organic chemistry at the Christian-Albrechts University in Kiel. After research stays in Wales and Sweden and various internships in the chemical industry, she is doing her doctorate at the University of Bremen at the Chair of Organic Functional Materials on the functionalization of molecular switches. She is in the final stages of this and is planning to set up a start-up in the chemical industry with two colleagues.
During her studies, she was involved in various student initiatives - from the regional association WiChem Kiel - Business Chemists Kiel eV to the JCF (JungesChemieForum) JCF and the Young Business Chemists JuWiChem in various positions. After her time as Chair of the JuWiChem federal board, she remained with the VCW in the core team. She was committed to the concerns of the JuWiChems in the VCW and, for example, in the VCW editorial team, advocated broader communication with members and the resulting better networking. During her term of office from 2020 to 2023 as a VCW board member, she pursued these goals and organized various events as part of the team, such as the 2021 annual conference on the future of the pharmaceutical industry or events on the topic of circular economy. In the coming board term, she would like to continue to advance the topics of sustainability/circular economy and place a stronger focus on the role of startups in the chemical industry.
Nils Meier initially completed training as a chemical laboratory technician at the Helmholz Center for Infection Research in Braunschweig before deciding to study food chemistry at the Technical University of Braunschweig. After completing his diploma, he switched to a doctorate in macromolecular chemistry and worked on release systems and implant coatings for tissue engineering (expected completion in 2024). In October 2023, Nils Meier took up a position as a research assistant at the Fraunhofer Institute for Microtechnology and Microsystems in Mainz.
He has been active at JuWiChem since 2021 and has also been represented on the federal board since 2023. There he mainly took care of finances and organized the JuWiChem Academy. In 2024 he will be Deputy Chair of JuWiChem and will also take on the guest seat on the VCW Board.
The core team of VCW currently includes:
Dr. Hervé Baratte is a self-employed, independent consultant "Groth Strategy Innovation".
Innovation Networks: Adidas, Airbus, Air Liquide, BASF, BMW, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Bosch, Cr.Hansen, Evonik Industries, DHL, DSM, GE, Henkel, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, 3M, Merck, Novozymes, Philips, Sanofi , Shell, Siemens, Solvay, Sulzer ...
Innovation partnering: between ?Elephants? & ?Mouse? SMEs, start-ups
Professional Career
1983: Thomson CSF Research, France
1985: IBM Research, USA
1990: IBM Manufacturing, Germany.
1993: Cap Gemini Vice President
2000: Accenture Associate Partner
2003: Independent Consultant
1995: Professor Innovation Strategy MBA www.cdi.fr
Author: 30 publications, scientific and business
Holger Bengs studied chemistry in Hanover and Mainz and Business Administration in Hagen. He is the founder and managing partner of BCNP Consultants GmbH based in Frankfurt, formerly Dr. Holger Bengs Biotech Consulting. The company, which was founded in 2002, has ten employees, mostly natural scientists, and specializes in the four industrial fields of biotech, chemistry, nanotech and pharmaceuticals (BCNP). The company has had an office in Dresden since 2011 ( www.bcnp-consultants.com ).
H. Bengs has been a member of the Vereinigung Chemie und Wirtschaft (VCW) for ten years and has been part of the core team for six years. He represents industrial biotechnology thematically. This resulted in interdisciplinary lectures in December 2005 in Frankfurt at Infraserv Höchst and in April 2008 in Leipzig at c-LEcta GmbH, which were very well received. Since May 2009, on his initiative, regular VCW round tables in Frankfurt and other cities for informal exchange.
As an expert in production processes and organizational development in the chemical industry, Dr. Adam Franz works globally as Senior Project Manager in Inhouse Consulting at BASF SE from Ludwigshafen. His previous positions in the chemical industry were research and production at Merck in Darmstadt and production, global technology and corporate operational excellence at BASF in Ludwigshafen. Since his studies and doctoral studies in organic chemistry at the Universities of Frankfurt, Heidelberg and Düsseldorf, Adam Franz has been associated and committed to the GDCh in various fields. He particularly appreciates the exchange and the shared values and interests at VCW and JCF events.
Achim Ilzhöfer has been accompanying the position as global circular economy manager at Covestro Deutschland AG in Leverkusen since October 2017. In the course of his 17-year Career in the Bayer Group, before moving to Covestro, he held various positions and management responsibilities in the areas of plant engineering, innovation management, and university marketing and headed Bayer AG's global climate and resource efficiency program. Dr. Ilzhöfer studied mechanical engineering and materials science at the University of Karlsruhe (TH) and the INSA Lyon (F), completed his dissertation at the Karlsruhe Nuclear Research Center, received his doctorate at the University of Karlsruhe (TH) and completed a post-doc at the Joint Research Center of the European Commission in Ispra , Italy.
Achim Ilzhöfer holds the position as global circular economy manager within the Covestro Deutschland AG since October 2017. During his 17-years previous employment relationship within the Bayer AG he held various leadership positions in Engineering, Sustainability and Innovation. As program manager of Bayer's global climate program he developed and implemented emission mitigation and resource efficiency strategies. He started his career after his PhD studies within the Joint Research Center of the European Commission in Ispra, Italy. Ilzhöfer holds a Diploma in mechanical engineering and material science from Karlsruhe University and he studied abroad at INSA Lyon, France.
Andreas Konert ist Diplom-Kaufmann und CEMS Master International Management. Er studierte Betriebswirtschaftslehre an der Universität zu Köln und der Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam. Nach seinem Abschluss 2006 arbeitete er zunächst als Strategie- und Marketingberater, bevor er 2009 als Leitender Angestellter zum Chemiedienstleister und Standortbetreiber Infraserv GmbH & Co. Höchst KG wechselte. Er übernahm dort das zentrale Marketing- und Produktmanagement Team und verantwortete mehr als 10 Jahre lang Themen wie Markenentwicklung, strategisches und operatives Marketing, Business Development und CRM und wirkte an den Strategieentwicklungsprozessen mit.
2019 gründete er ETWAS NEUES Konert Consulting + Ventures mit dem Ziel, mit seiner Erfahrung B2B-Unternehmen neue Wachstumschancen zu erschließen. Als Interim Manager begleitet er darüber hinaus den Veranstalter der Weltleitmesse ACHEMA sowie den industriellen Data Analytics Spezialisten coac GmbH in ihren jeweiligen Wachstumsphasen. Daneben verfolgt er eigene Gründungsprojekte und engagiert sich ehrenamtlich.
Thorsten Kritzer, a trained publishing clerk and Marketing specialist since 2002, has been a chemistry fan since September 2003 at the latest. At that time, he began his Career as a product manager at the leading industry newspaper CHEManager. As a segment manager for chemicals / pharmaceuticals / food, he is now responsible for the areas of advertising, Marketing and networks.
He has been a VCW member since 2011. In 2013 he became a member of the core team and was involved in the organization of the events "Social Media in the Chemical Industry" (2013) and "Circular Economy - Idealistic vision, regulatory nightmare or your next big opportunity?" (2018) significantly involved. As part of the VCW Marketing team, he helped design the VCW's new appearance.
Christian Küchenthal began his professional Career in 2012 at the oldest chemical-pharmaceutical company in the world - Merck - in Darmstadt. There he held various positions in the areas of innovation management and business excellence until he took over the research management of the Performance Materials site in Jerusalem for Merck in 2016. Since 2018 he has headed the start-up Smart Consumables in the Merck Life Science division, which develops and markets digital products for the highly regulated laboratory sector.
He studied chemistry at the University of Giessen, where he received his doctorate in organic medicinal chemistry, and then completed a Master of Business Administration degree at the Collège des Ingénieurs in Paris, Turin and Munich.
In addition to his work at Merck, Christian Küchenthal teaches innovation management at the Universities of Gießen and Hamburg and is also active as a coach and business angel investor in the German start-up environment.
His involvement in the German Chemical Society is varied. He founded and led the JCF (JungesChemieForum) Gießen, was JCF national spokesman, board member of the Association for Chemistry and Economics, GDCh local association chairman in Darmstadt and a member of the GDCh board. He is currently a member of the VCW core team and on the advisory board of the GDCh mentoring program CheMento and the August Wilhelm von Hofmann Foundation.
Dr. Ulrich Küsthardt studierte Chemie an der Universität Frankfurt/Main und promovierte in Metallorganischer Chemie an der TU München. Nach post-doc Aufenthalten an der University of Arizona und Stanford University begann er seine berufliche Laufbahn 1993 bei der Unternehmensberatung A.T. Kearney.
Seit 1997 arbeitet er bei SKW Trostberg, später Degussa und heute Evonik Industries AG im Divisionscontrolling, Marketing und unterschiedlichen Geschäftsführungen. Seit 2015 ist er Chief Innovation Officer der Evonik und somit für den Bereich Corporate Innovation verantwortlich.
Dr. Küsthardt ist seit 1981 GDCh-Mitglied, war von 2006 bis 2008 Vorsitzender des Vorstands der Mineralfarbenindustrie e.V. und ist seit 2015 Mitglied des Vorstands der Evonik Stiftung und SusChem sowie Mitglied des VCI-Fachausschusses „Forschungs- und Bildungspolitik“.
Prof. Dr. Jens Leker studied business administration at the Christian Albrecht University in Kiel. After receiving his doctorate in 1999, he accepted an endowed professorship in "Business Administration in the Natural Sciences, in particular Chemistry" at the Westphalian Wilhelms University in Münster. Since 2000 he has been the managing director of the "Institute for Business Management in the Department of Chemistry and pharmacy". He is in charge of the business chemistry university courses at the University of Münster and is the event manager of the modular advanced training program for young chemists "Certified Project Manager Business Chemistry GDCh" and the new modular advanced training program "Certified Business Chemist (GDCh) ®". Prof. Leker is co-editor of the textbook "Betriebswirtschaftslehre für Chemiker" and chief editor of the "Journals of Business Chemistry".
No further information is available yet.
Dr. Thorsten Löhl is Director Science & Engineering at Borealis, responsible for more than 400 scientists and engineers in research and development at four locations. He is also Executive Director of Borealis Polyolefine Linz GmbH, and Head of the joint Plastic2Plastic program of OMV and Borealis.
Dr. Löhl has international experience in R&D and Marketing Management in specialty and basic chemicals including polyolefins as well as in the consumer goods industry. The focus was on developing new business areas, creating innovation Marketing and the resulting implementation in and with the corresponding R&D or marketing units, measured by the achievement of successful growth.
In previous positions, Dr. Löhl Vice President Innovation and member of the board of Borouge Pte Ltd., Abu Dhabi (UAE), responsible for research and development. Previously, he was Executive Vice President Research & Innovation at Swarovski, where he was responsible for research, development, engineering and new business at Swarovski Professional, as well as ensuring the support of the Swarovski Group as the sole R&D center. Earlier professional positions included Marketing and R&D management positions at Borealis, Cognis and Henkel.
Dr. Löhl has in Münster / W. PhD in organic chemistry, an MBA from the University of Bradford, and a married father of two.
After studying chemistry and doing his doctorate in Karlsruhe, Andreas Otterbach started his career in 1987 as a research laboratory manager at BASF SE. Working in industrial organic chemistry and process engineering laid the foundation for his subsequent activities as a project manager for the construction of chemical plants and as operations manager at the BASF site in Schwarzheide.
At the beginning of 1997 he took on strategic tasks in Marketing and technology for BASF in Brussels with global responsibility in the polyurethane area. At the beginning of 2007 he returned to Ludwigshafen, where he headed the Investment Valuations unit, which deals with the economic valuation of investment, strategy and research projects at BASF, and at the end of 2009 switched to the Care Chemicals division. After being responsible for production in Europe, Andreas Otterbach was Senior Vice President responsible for global technology in the Care Chemicals division until the end of 2015. Today he lives in retirement and deals with questions about value chains, energy as the basis of our prosperity and sustainability, climate protection and alternative courses of action in a social context.
Carsten Schaffer studied chemistry in Chemnitz and Münster and received his doctorate in 2004 from the Westphalian Wilhelms University on innovation management in the chemical industry. He then started at Merck KGaA. There he had functions in corporate auditing, in-house consulting and business development chemicals. He is currently working for Merck in Shanghai, where he is in charge of Strategic Business Development for the Performance Materials division. He has been active in the "Chemistry and Economy" association since 2003 and was on the Board of the section from 2006-2011 and chairman from 2010-2011. Dr. Schaffer was spokesman for the JCF (JungesChemieForum) Münster and is involved in the Alumni Initiative of the JCF (JungesChemieForum) for the further networking of the young chemists. In addition, he is a speaker in the GDCh advanced training program "Certified Project Manager" and is the technical director of the "Certified Business Chemist GDCh (®)" program.
Further information is not available.
Dr. Kevin Stella studied chemistry at the University of Duisburg-Essen with a guest stay at the University of Liverpool (England). In his doctorate at the University of Duisburg-Essen, he deepened his knowledge of surface properties and surface processes. He received his doctorate in 2011 on "Electronic dissipation processes during chemical reactions on surfaces".
In order to expand his knowledge of chemistry with business knowledge, he completed an international Master of Business Administration at the renowned Collège des Ingénieurs in 2012. In accordance with the motto ?Learning Through Action?, he also completed a junior consultant project at Infineon Technologies AG in Regensburg.
After a stopover at Competence E (KIT), where he used agile working methods for the first time to develop lithium-ion technologies and use them in electric cars, he has been with Robert Bosch GmbH since 2016. As a product integrator in assembly and connection technology, he now supports various innovative products in the automotive environment. In addition, he establishes the agile way of working in various facets in his environment and works as an agile team coach. With the help of new, even unconventional methods, Bosch is positioning itself to respond even better than before to new customer requirements and increasingly volatile markets.
As part of the GDCh, he was in the Young Chemists Forum for several years, including as chairman (08-10) and deputy. Chairman (07-08) of the Jungchemikerform Essen-Duisburg active. During this time he was also one of the leading organizers of the 11th JCF Spring Symposium in Essen with more than 400 participants from 30 countries.
He has been a member of the VCW since 2013 and is involved in the core team at various events. Among other things, he was a lecturer at the GDCh-VCW autumn course "Challenges in the chemical industry" and gave lectures on e-mobility, storage systems, market volumes and possible innovation approaches for the chemical industry and developed scenarios with the course participants. He was also involved in the VCW's new look as part of the VCW's Marketing team. In 2019 he initiated the VCW conference "Tanker or Speedboat? Agile Management in the Chemical Industry" and transferred it to doing with a good team. With a view to the future, he is particularly interested in interface topics, innovation topics and learning different industrial sectors.
Jan-Domenic Urbas is a chemical engineer with a great passion for developing and promoting sustainable solutions and innovations.
From January 2021 to September 2022 he was a moderator in the Stammlack team. During these same years he supported the project "Make conformity queries easier across the industry" within FG coating chemistry and supported idea management and JuWiChem within VCW. He was also part of the "VCW-Chemathon" project team, which organized an ideas competition with partners from science and industry in 2022. He has been the co-organizer of the VCW regulars’ table in Hamburg since early 2022.
Since April 2022 as Technical Product Manager at HOBUM Oleochemicals, Jan combines technical expertise with entrepreneurial thinking to reduce the environmental impact of operations and products while improving company performance.
After a guest stay at the École des hautes études d'ingénieur (France), he successfully completed his studies with a focus on paint technology at the Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences with a master's thesis in R&D innovation at Mankiewicz Gebr. & Co. Before that, he studied dual at Henkel AG & Co. KGaA and gained experience in the areas of functional coatings, pressure-sensitive adhesives and packaging development.
Contact and updates at h ttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jan-urbas/
Dr. Joachim von Heimburg is an independent Innovation Architect, Executive Advisor and Board Member helping companies to improve their innovation processes and create sustainable business value by innovation. As founder and Managing Director of jvhinnovation gmbh, a boutique consulting firm on innovation and industrial R&D, he designs and implements business development, R&D and innovation strategies, processes and structures and makes them operational driving the business. This he supports by creating an environment fostering an innovative spirit and entrepreneurial activities.
Joachim’s expertise is based on his deep understanding of innovation and his profound expertise in industrial R&D, Product Development, and Consumer Research acquired during his long and successful career at Procter&Gamble. As International Director for Innovation & Knowledge at P&G he created and led the organizational and culture change from traditional R&D to Open Innovation systems (Connect & Develop) in Europe/Middle East/Africa. From 2010 to 2012 he was General Manager Innovation and Corporate Program at SABIC, one of the leading global chemical companies. In this new position working for SABIC’s top management he laid the foundations for a more innovate SABIC.
He has extensive multi-cultural working experience in 7 countries. He holds a Ph.D. in theoretical physics of the University of Marburg, Germany and studied economics at the University of Frankfurt, Germany. He is an individual member of EIRMA (European Industrial Research Management Association) and a certified Innovation Standards Professional (PDMA). More on his LinkedIn profile www.linkedin.com/in/jvhinnovation
Within VCW Dr. von Heimburg wants to promote Open Innovation and the development of young professionals for management and leading positions in industry, science and research.
The Association for Chemistry and Economics (VCW) can be supported by an advisory board made up of well-known personalities from the chemical industry and related branches. Important impulses from companies and industry are received via these advisory boards, since the interests of industry and those employed in industry are of great importance in the VCW activities.
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last modified: 26.03.2025 06:59 H from Translator
