Owner of GMK Markenberatung, Cologne

Hans Meier-Kortwig has been a brand consultant for over a quarter of a century, out of personal conviction and with genuine passion. He studied business management and design management at the University of Cologne and London Business School. During his career, he has worked at companies including Peter Schmidt Group and Marketing Partner, where he spent six years in charge of the Brand Management Consulting division. Hans Meier-Kortwig has been Managing Director at GMK Markenberatung, a firm founded by him, since 2006, assisting clients such as Bosch, Deutsche Vermögensberatung, Aldi, Gaggenau and Siemens as well as the media brands WDR, BR and RTL Group in all brand-related disciplines – from brand strategy and implementation to brand management and control. Hans Meier-Kortwig has equally broad experience in the automotive industry. Among others, he worked for Mercedes Benz, the Volkswagen Group with VW, Audi, Skoda and Seat, the BMW Group with all group and service brands, Kia, Suzuki and suppliers such as Continental or Faurecia.

Executive Director, Graduate Transportation Systems and Design, Art Center College of Design, USA

Geoff Wardle is currently the Executive Director of the Graduate Transportation Systems and Design program at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. The program reflects Geoff’s passionate belief that in order to attain a sustainable world we must view transportation from a holistic and integrated perspective. With a lifetime’s fascination in the future of all forms of transportation, Wardle first graduated in vehicle and mechanical engineering and then attended the Royal College of Art’s Vehicle Design Master’s program in London. He spent 20 years working with different car and vehicle manufacturers around the globe before becoming involved in full-time design education. These companies included British Leyland, Chrysler, SAAB, International Automotive Design, Ford Australia, Tatra of the Czech Republic and TVS Motor in India. He still advises different transportation agencies, companies and research groups around the world. Geoff is a frequent presenter at international conferences related to transportation, sustainable mobility and design as well as being invited to speak on various national and regional public radio programs.

Program director Transportation Interior Design, Reutlingen University

Andrea Lipp-Allrutz studied Product Design at the Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design Halle. After graduating in 1991, she worked initially at Bombardier Transportation in Berlin and then at IFS Designatelier, also in Berlin. From 2001 to 2006, Lipp-Allrutz was head of design interior at Neoplan Bus. Since then she has worked as a freelance designer for MAN Truck & Bus. Since 2006 Andrea Lipp-Allrutz has been Professor of Transportation Interior Design at Reutlingen University; in 2010 she was appointed Head of Department.

Founder ZANZOTTI INDUSTRIAL DESIGN, Munich

Italian-born Christian Zanzotti, studied industrial design at the University of Design in Munich, following which he worked for Hannes Wettstein and then for IDEO. In 2013 he established the ZANZOTTI INDUSTRIAL DESIGN studio in Munich. The fields in which he is involved range from the automotive and mobility sector to furniture, consumer goods and lifestyle products. Christian’s work is notable for his passion for technology, innovation and materials, as well as his careful analyses and willingness to experiment. In 2014 he received the German Design Award “Newcomer of the Year” from the German Design Council.

Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Tongji University, Shanghai

Prof. Dr. Zheng Han holds the Chair of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Tongji University in Shanghai. He received his master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the TU Braunschweig and his doctorate from the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland. He has also been a Swiss National Fund (SNF) scholar and visiting scholar at China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) and Wharton-SMU Research Centre in Singapore. He teaches in EMBA and executive programmes, including ESMT Berlin, ESSEC Business School, ETH Zurich, Mannheim Business School and University of St. Gallen. Zheng Han works on strategy, innovation and marketing consulting projects, designs executive development programmes at board level and holds workshops and lectures for multinationals and Chinese tech companies such as Alibaba, BASF, Bosch, Continental, Freudenberg, Heraeus, IBM, Metro Group, Porsche, Schott, Schindler, Siemens, YI Technology.

Publisher, Editorial and Creative Director Intersection Germany, Berlin

After gaining experience in the fashion industry as a producer and stylist for various media, Götz Offergeld headed the Berlin branch of the Paris-based agency Totem as CEO and worked with the most influential fashion designers in Paris, Milan and New York. Götz Offergeld began his career in the German media industry in 2007 with the specially founded magazine Liebling. In 2009, he brought the British media brand Intersection to Germany with the aim of launching a new car magazine that did not yet exist on the German market. The special visual language and the focus on car design was then also the inspiration for many other media that followed. “We love cars and we show that too.” Later he founded Fräulein Magazin, which is now published by Off One’s Rocker Verlag alongside Numéro Berlin, Numéro Homme Berlin and Intersection Germany.