Digital Automotive Talk

Crises and geopolitical tensions

The polycrises of recent years have not yet been forgotten. Volatile value chains are currently calling the global business model into question, high energy prices are making production in Germany increasingly difficult, and Europe still has some catching up to do when it comes to key technologies and access to raw materials and primary products. At the Digital Automotive Talk, we want to discuss how the industry, under these challenging conditions, can get off to the right start in the all-electric mass market and the sustainable mobility of the future – under the motto “Unleash Mobility Transformation”.

The Transformation of the automotive industry

The right interplay of accelerator and brake is also crucial in the automotive transformation. Especially now, while entering a new phase: the transition to an all-electric mass market. A lot has happened in the last 12 months. E-mobility is no longer a gimmick of early adopters and idealists. Rather, the market and market participants have matured. The manufacturers must and the customers now want to take off. But those who overrev it at the start may fall by the wayside. And those who are too hesitant will be lapped by the field.

Markus Lanz

Markus Lanz is probably Germany's best-known television presenter and journalist. Since 2008 he has hosted the talk show named after him on ZDF; between 2012 and 2014 he also hosted the Saturday night show "Wetten, dass...?" In 2020 he exclusively interviewed former US President Barack Obama. The 52-year-old has won various television and journalism awards in his career. Since 2011 he has run the production company Mhoch2 TV, which also produces the Markus Lanz talk show. Since 2021, Lanz has co-hosted the podcast Lanz & Precht with Richard David Precht, which has consistently been in the top 5 German podcasts since its launch.

Markus Schäfer

Member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, CTO responsible for development and procurement
Markus Schäfer is Member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG. As Board Member, he is Chief Technology Officer responsible for development & procurement. In this function, he is responsible for the holistic development process of Mercedes-Benz Cars, as well as procurement.
Markus Schäfer was born on May 11, 1965 in Weidenau, Germany. After obtaining the University entrance diploma (Abitur) he started his studies of Mechanical Engineering at the Technical University in Darmstadt and finished with a Diplom-Ingenieur (former German equivalent to a master’s degree) in 1990. He joined the then Daimler-Benz AG as Trainee within the International Management Associate Program in November 1990.

Prof. Dr. Claudia Kemfert

Head of the Department of Energy, Transport, Environment at DIW Berlin and Professor of Energy Economics and Energy Policy
Prof. Dr Claudia Kemfert has headed the Energy, Transport, Environment Department at the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin) since 2004 and is Professor of Energy Economics and Energy Policy at Leuphana University. Claudia Kemfert is an economic expert in the fields of energy research and climate protection. She leads various research projects on energy and environmental policy strategies and is active in numerous networks such as the Energy Modeling Forum (EMF) at Stanford University. Her latest book, “Mondays for Future”, was published in spring 2020. 

Dr. Mathias Hüttenrauch

CEO of CATL Europe and Chair of the Management Board of Contemporary Amperex Technology Thuringia (CATT)
Mathias Hüttenrauch has been working in the automotive industry for more than 30 years. He studied automotive engineering and completed his Master of Business Administration in Zurich and New York before obtaining his PhD in the field of strategic early warning.
Before joining CATL Europe as CEO this year, Mathias Hüttenrauch held various global leadership positions at Nedschroef Holding, Benteler Automotive, Visteon Corporation and Siemens VDO, among others.
He has strong experience in Asia, especially in China and India, where he worked and lived for several years. He is also the author of the book “Efficient Diversity: The Third Revolution in the Automotive Industry”, published by Springer-Verlag in 2008.

Arnd Franz

Chairman of the MAHLE Group Management Board
Arnd Franz is Chairman of the Management Board of Mahle GmbH. Franz started his professional career in 1992 and worked for a number of companies before coming on board Mahle Tennex North America, Murfreesboro (USA) as Managing Director in 2001. In subsequent years, he held various positions at the Stuttgart headquarters of Mahle. 
As Executive Vice President, Arnd had responsibility for Mahle’s global automotive sales and application engineering, including the aftermarket business unit. From 2006 until 2013, he was Executive Vice President and General Manager for Mahle Aftermarket. In his past career Arnd Franz was also Chief Executive Officer at LKQ Europe GmbH.

Prof. Dr. Stefan Bratzel

Director of CAM
Prof. Dr. Stefan Bratzel is director and founder of the independent Center of Automotive Management at the University of Applied Sciences in Bergisch Gladbach. He has held several positions in the automotive industry at smart, Quam and PTV. Since 2004, he has also been a lecturer and course director for automotive management at the University of Applied Sciences in Bergisch Gladbach.

Felix Kuhnert

Automotive Leader, PwC Germany
Felix Kuhnert is a partner at the auditing and consulting firm PwC. In 2017, the automotive expert was promoted to “Automotive Leader”. Born in 1969, Felix Kuhnert looks back on more than 20 years of advising OEMs, supplier companies and dealer networks within the automotive industry. He previously studied economics at the universities of Freiburg, Bonn and Berkeley.