Innovation Council

The members of the Innovation Council bring a wide range of expertise and perspectives to the table and support the EUREF AG with their valuable knowledge and network, thus helping us in making well-founded decisions, forging partnerships, driving innovation, and ensuring long-term success.

Regularly, the EUREF AG engages with the Council’s members to discuss developments at the EUREF Campus Düsseldorf and to share experiences, suggestions, ideas, as well as trends to relevant issues such as sustainable energy and mobility as well as climate protection.

The primary goal of the Innovation Council is to further develop the EUREF-Campus Düsseldorf in line with the interests of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and Düsseldorf as a place of innovation to the best possible extent.

members

MANFRED ABRAHAMS

Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Neuss-Düsseldorfer Häfen GmbH & Co. KG

Manfred Abrahams has been Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Neuss-Düsseldorfer Häfen since 2015. From 2015, he was a member of the Executive Board of Stadtwerke Düsseldorf, where he was responsible for sales and customer management until the end of 2022. From 2010 to 2015, Abrahams was city director and city treasurer of the state capital Düsseldorf. Before that, he had worked at Krefeld City Hall, in the HR department, in the office of the city’s chief executive and finally as treasurer, for almost 30 years.

BJÖRN BORGERDING

Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Fortuna Düsseldorf 1895 e. V.

Björn Borgerding is a sports economist and has been Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Fortuna Düsseldorf 1895 e. V. since 2020. Borgerding has already been a member of the soccer club’s Supervisory Board since 2014 and is managing partner of the content and investment company WhatsGoal GmbH.

Julian Deget

Spokesman for the Siemens branch in Düsseldorf

Julian Deget has been spokesman for the Siemens branch in Düsseldorf since the beginning of 2024, succeeding Sabrina Herrmann, who has headed the branch since 2018. Accordingly, Deget also takes over membership in the Innovation Council of the EUREF Campus Düsseldorf. In addition to his new role as the top representative of Siemens AG in the state capital, his main operational task since the beginning of 2023 has been managing the Düsseldorf branch of Siemens Smart Infrastructure’s solutions and services business. Deget is a trained electronics technician for home and building systems technology. Before his current dual role as spokesman for the Siemens AG branch and head of the solutions and services business at Siemens Smart Infrastructure, he worked, among other things, as head of execution at Siemens Smart Infrastructure in Düsseldorf and as a certified project manager with a focus on building technology.

ANDREAS EHLERT

President of the Handwerkskammer Düsseldorf (The Düsseldorf Chamber of Small Industries and Skilled Trades)

Andreas Ehlert is a self-employed master chimney sweep and building energy consultant. Since 2014, he has been president of the Handwerkskammer Düsseldorf (The Düsseldorf Chamber of Small Industries and Skilled Trades) and of HANDWERK.NRW, the umbrella organization of the North Rhine-Westphalian skilled trades. In addition, he was and is active in numerous other offices and functions. From 2015 to 2017, he was an expert in the North Rhine-Westphalian state parliament’s commission of inquiry on the future of skilled trades and small and medium-sized enterprises. He currently chairs the supervisory boards of Handwerksbau Niederrhein AG and Verlagsanstalt Handwerk GmbH, among others. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of NRW.Bank and Deputy Chairman of the Advisory Board for SMEs of the North Rhine-Westphalian state government.

DAVID EMIN

General Manager Germany Johnson Controls

David Emin has been General Manager Germany at Johnson Controls since April 2024. In this role he is responsible for the entire German business in the Building Technologies & Solutions division. He has over 20 years of relevant experience as Managing Director and CFO. Over the past 13+ years, he has held various management positions at Schneider Electric and served as Vice President Global Field Services for the DACH region from January 2023. Previously, he was Managing Director of the French Groupe SFI, a family-owned commercial property developer, and Supervisor Auditor at Ernst & Young and PWC. David Emin holds a Master of Management with a specialisation in Finance from Edhec Business School.

ANGELA ERWIN

Member of the State Parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia

Angela Erwin is a lawyer and partner in a medium-sized law firm and a politician (CDU). In the last two state elections, she won the direct mandate in the west of Düsseldorf. Her main topics are economic, middle class and legal as well as domestic policy in NRW. As state chairwoman of the CDU-North Rhine-Westphalia’s Small Business and Economic Union (MIT), in which some 6,500 entrepreneurs and people active in business are organized, she is in constant and constructive exchange with small and medium sized businesses and industry.

OLIVER HERMES

President and CEO of the Wilo Group

Oliver Hermes is Chairman and CEO of the Dortmund-based Wilo Group, a multinational technology group and one of the world’s leading premium suppliers of pumps and pump systems for building services, water management and industry. Hermes studied economics with a focus on East Asia/China in Duisburg and at the Université d’Angers in France. Afterward, he worked as a partner at the auditing and consulting firm KPMG. Since 2006, he has been with the Wilo Group, which, under his leadership, rapidly evolved into a globally operating billion-dollar corporation. Here, Hermes is consistently driving the Wilo Group’s transformation into the digital climate protection pioneer of the industry.

MARKUS HOLZKE

CEO SPIE Germany & Central Europe

Markus Holzke is Managing Director/CEO of SPIE Germany & Central Europe and a member of the Executive Committee of the SPIE Group. Since 2014, he has been responsible for SPIE’s growth course in Germany, Austria, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Markus Holzke studied as an officer in the German Armed Forces at the University of the German Armed Forces in Munich and graduated with a degree in business administration. From 2006, he held various management positions at TÜV Süd AG and Hochtief AG. As CFO of the Service Solutions segment of Hochtief Solutions, he played a leading role in the sale of the segment to SPIE, which was the first platform acquisition in Germany and set the starting point for the further growth of SPIE Germany & Central Europe.

LARS REDELIGX

Chairman of the Management Board of Flughafen Düsseldorf GmbH

Lars Redeligx has been Chairman of the Management Board of Flughafen Düsseldorf GmbH since January 2023. He is an aviation professional with a background in business administration and has had a long career within the Lufthansa Group. His previous roles include serving as the Chief Commercial Officer of Lufthansa subsidiary Brussels Airlines and as the Spokesman of the Management Board of LSG Europa Lufthansa Service GmbH. Most recently, he was Managing Director of the private rail freight company Lineas in Brussels.

ANDREAS SCHMITZ

President of the Industrie- und Handelskammer Düsseldorf (Düsseldorf Chamber of Commerce and Industry)

© IHK Düsseldorf / Foto von Felix Gemein

Andreas Schmitz is a lawyer, managing partner of AS Board & Beteiligungs Consulting GmbH and has been President of the Industrie- und Handelskammer Düsseldorf (Düsseldorf Chamber of Commerce and Industry) since November 2016. Schmitz is also active as deputy president of the Society of Friends and Sponsors of Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf e. V. and as a member of numerous advisory and supervisory boards of various companies. From 1989 to 2020, he worked for Düsseldorf-based HSBC Trinkhaus & Burkhardt AG, including five years as Chairman of the Supervisory Board and nine years as Spokesman of the Management Board. As President of the Industrie- und Handelskammer Düsseldorf Schmitz is commited to promoting dual vocational training, among other things.

SIMON SCHNEIDER

Founding Partner of neoteq ventures

Simon Schneider is Founding Partner of neoteq ventures and has been a VC investor in Germany as well as internationally for more than 15 years. With neoteq, an earlystage VC fund based in Cologne, he invests across Germany with a focus on activities in the Rhineland and supports founders in building companies that change industries. Neoteq invests in outstanding teams with exceptional tech-based ventures.

FRANK THEOBALD

Spokesman of the Management Board of the Klüh Group

Frank Theobald is the spokesman of the Management Board of Klüh Service Management GmbH, an internationally active multiservice provider. The holding company, headquartered in Düsseldorf, employs more than 50,000 people in the areas of cleaning, catering, clinic service, security, personal service, airport service and integrated services in seven countries. Theobald has been the managing director of the holding company since 2013. Previously, he was Managing Director of the Schubert Group and a manager at Haniel and KPMG. He has many years of international management experience thanks to various periods spent abroad.

DAVID ZÜLOW

State Chairman of the Business Association “Die Familienunternehmer” (The Family Entrepreneurs)

David Zülow is a board member of Zülow AG, representing the second generation. The company group, headquartered in Neuss, provides services in all areas of electrical installation, including building, electrical, data, communication, and security technology. Since 2019, he has been serving as the State Chairman of the Business Association “Die Familienunternehmer” in North Rhine-Westphalia.