The digital transformation is changing the world in a continuously accelerating pace. Traditional industrial companies have a good chance to be the winner of the digital transformation. They can create additional value to their customer by optimizing and extending their current business and by creating new business models offering smart services. The talk will describe our strategy for the digital transformation at thyssenkrupp illustrated by real examples .

Dr. Reinhold Achatz is Head of the Corporate Function Technology, Innovation and Sustainability at thyssenkrupp AG in Essen, Germany. In this position he is globally responsible to initiate and implement future oriented projects, to identify and leverage synergies between thyssenkrupp’s businesses and to define, implement and improve processes.

He holds a degree in Electrical Engineering (Dipl. Ing.) from the Friedrich-Alexander University in Erlangen-Nuremberg (1979), a Ph.D. in Information Technology in Mechanical Engineering (Dr. Ing.), from the Technical University of Munich (2009) and was awarded an honorary advisory professorship from the Tsinghua University in Beijing, China (2010).

Reinhold Achatz is member of the German Council for Science and Humanities and a member of board of trustees of a number of institutes of the Fraunhofer Society and the Max-Planck-Society and a member of the board of the working group Research,Innovation and Technology of the Federation of German Industry (BDI).

Before joining thyssenkrupp he worked for Siemens in a number of management positions including Head of Siemens’ global research organization, Head of Development for Industrial Automation Systems (SIMATIC) and project manager for the development of the Computerized Numerical Control SINUMERIK 840D. From 2000 - 2002 Reinhold Achatz served as Vice President and member of the Executive Committee of Siemens Energy and Automation in Atlanta, Georgia. He has been honored as a “Siemens Top Innovator” for his outstanding innovationsin software-based components for set-up, operations and execution accuracy ofmachine tools.