Growing up in a farming family in Upper Franconia, South Germany, I worked hard as a child to support farming, but get support from my parents as well.
It is a cold area in Summer as in Winter times.
With my father’s help, I got an apprenticeship as a toolmaker at Siemens. I was one of the best. At that time, they produced tooling for plastic injection parts. but decided to quit and become a teacher.
My mindset at that time was to go out of the 273 people’s village and see the world.
So, I went to Pfaffenhofen, near Munich, where they opened a BOS, technical college, to be able to study at Technical University, Munich. Target: Vocational School Teacher.
After graduating from college, as I realized how expensive Munich was, I decided to study Mechanical Engineering at Coburg, Upper Franconia. In the summertime, I went back to Siemens working 3 shifts at a plastic plant. Every week another shift changes.
At that time, I got a freelancer job in Multi-Level-Marketing as a Wine dealer in Nierstein (Rheinhessen). I was promoted to sales and management and at the end of my study, they offered me a permanent job which I refused. I wanted to use my technical knowledge to make a career plan.
First, I found a job in sales as a project planner for the beverage conveyor industry, then got an offer at BMW as a tooling designer for stamping parts. I worked there for several years in manual and CAD design. We used CADAM (2D) and CATIA (3D). I implemented significant cost reduction by using 3D design of tooling for tool-shop
at Dingolfing plant and BIW (body-in-white) parts.
At that time, BMW build FIZ (R&D center) and I applied to work there as CAD Coordinator which was taken for several years.
Then I married. Now I needed more money. In 1989 I applied at GM (General Motors) at Opel subsidiary in Russelsheim, near Frankfurt, and was taken.
I remember, that year my son was born, and just as DDR (Eastern Germany) people rushed into the West.
At GM, I worked in strategy, development, implementation, and CIP (continuous improvement process) of CAD/CAM (we used UG) function and training, workshops, and projects to improve processes, soft- and hardware in R&D, Engineering, Styling, and Manufacturing.
I had high communication activities with R&D, IT, and Project Mgt. in US, Brazil, and Sweden.
At the powertrain department, I was responsible for the calculation and project management of trim heights & vehicle mass /cost calculation and reporting databases, SAP mass, and warehouse functions. In this function, I became a Task Force Leader of the German Automotive Association and a Representative of Germany in ISO (Italy), and European Government (Brussels) councils.
As a Representative of Integrated Management Systems and auditor in ISO 9001 and ISOTS 16949, I got intensive knowledge about process risk management, quality management, and balanced scorecards.
Dealing with GM and suppliers plants, I learned a lot about APQP, PPAP, Run &Rate of parts.
There I worked for 16 years, have been sent to the US, Sweden, Italy, and China, in different posts as CAD-Coordinator for Engineering and Manufacturing, Team Leader at Powertrain, Quality Manager at Engineering and Purchasing, and later Cost Reduction Manager.
1993 was the first time I visited China. Several trips followed. Before I studied Chinese at VHS (adult education center), Bochum university, and Beijing. The reason was, I knew, Asia will be the next business giant.
1999, I wrote my first book at Springer publishing house “Erfolgreich in China”, a bestseller at that time which I could introduce personally at Frankfurt Book Fair.
In 2005, as GM went bankrupt, I immediately looked for a new challenge. I spend 3 years at Valeo, a French company, in Cost Reduction and Supplier Development, dealing with East Europe and Asia.
There, I improved costs through intensive supplier management, logistics, and tooling relocation.
Bosch got their attention and came to me and asked me to come to Shanghai. A VP asked to take over responsibility for Purchasing in Asia. So, I accepted the offer.
Unfortunately, I got divorced. My ex-wife didn’t want to follow me.
At Bosch, I managed Purchasing Asia business by training in technical, cost structure analysis, cost reduction, and negotiation skills.
With HQ in Shanghai, I was dealing with supplier management and trained about 600 key users in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, and India.
Cost structure analysis and cost reduction workshops were made of purchased parts and tooling of all commodities in the industry.
As a lead auditor, I did audits in ISO 9001 and ISOTS 16949, and VDA6.3.
I traveled a lot to Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, India, and within China. Even on vacations, I went there, they are so interesting and beautiful. I was very engaged and trained about 600 people in 5 years. My 4 years contract was extended for one year, but 5 years was the maximum.
After 5 years working there, I joined a Bosch company for the development and production of battery packs in Suzhou and Stuttgart. I was responsible for managing this project as a key account for BMW and Brilliance. But series production went to a competitor, so top management offered me a job in Stuttgart.
Instead of going back to Germany in 2013, I married a Chinese lady and became an interim manager. Jumping into a new field, where I needed to learn to manage projects, companies, and myself at the same time.
Luckily, due to my great experience in the industry and as I was well known already on Linkedin, Xing, and as a book author in Germany, I got job offers as Interim General Manager and Executive consultant until now. Companies can call and rent me directly, without headhunters. A win-to-win solution for both sides.
In 2021, Springer publishing house “Effective Cost Cutting in Asia” was published, which created huge attention worldwide.
Followed in 2022 by “Successful Interim Management Project Reports and their Results” as an e-book at GTEC publisher.
In the same year, I received the “Top Interim Manager” Award from Capital magazine and “Certified Interim Manager” at United Interim.
As a member of BME, (Federal Association of materials management, purchasing, and logistics e.V.) and a member of DDIM (Umbrella organization German Interim Management e.V.), the German Chamber of Commerce and General Manager Club in Shanghai, and Rotary Club in Suzhou, I can reach my customers directly.
Beginning of February 2023, my experience as Interim General Manager and Executive Consultant was published with a new book “Management in China” with interesting and useful content for all managers at the Diplomatic Council Publishing house. You can buy in the German language at Amazon.de.
So far, with GTEC since 2013 in interim and consultant business, my team members and I worked for the automotive, electric and electronic, environment, machinery, and textile industry at ABP, ACCU, Atreus, BMW, Daimler, Eberspächer, Huf, Schaeffler, Siloking, RVT, Volkswagen, and Zapi.
