Plenary Speakers 2026

The plenary speakers of this year's Aachen Colloquium will be published here bit by bit. Follow us also on LinkedIn so you don't miss anything.

Opening Plenary Session

Manfred Harrer

President & Head of R&D Division, Hyundai Motor Group

Dr. Manfred Harrer is a globally recognized authority in automotive R&D. He specializes in the mission-critical convergence of hardware and software architecture. As President and Head of R&D at Hyundai Motor Group, he leads a world-class global organization responsible for shaping the next generation of Hyundai, Kia and Genesis vehicles. With over 25 years of leadership experience at the industry’s most prestigious engineering centers, his expertise lies in complex vehicle integration and large-scale global product development. Dr. Harrer represents the modern R&D executive - balancing mechanical precision with digital agility. From driving advanced product innovation in Silicon Valley to orchestrating large-scale engineering operations in Seoul. He has guided global technical teams through profound industry transformation. His insights provide a technical roadmap for how engineering excellence and software innovation must merge to define the future of global mobility.

Tim Gutheit

Vice President Technology & Innovation Automotive , Infineon Technologies

Dr. Gutheit has a degree and a Ph.D. in physics from the TU Munich. He began his career in 1992 in the Daimler-Benz Research Center in Ulm. In 1996, he joined Infineon (then Siemens Semiconductors) and has since held various leadership roles across R&D and Operations. Today, he is responsible for Technology & Innovation of Infineon’s Automotive division and handles the division’s innovation and pre-development strategy, including roadmaps for technology and development methodologies, the global development center footprint as well as the development of the skills and competencies of the R&D staff. In his function as “Country R&D Officer Germany”, he represents Infineon’s R&D staff in Germany, around 5000 engineers at 10 locations. With his deep expertise in automotive semiconductors and innovation strategy, Dr. Gutheit will offer insights into key technological trends shaping the future of vehicles – from electrification and software-defined architectures to AI-enabled features and sustainable mobility.

Plenary Speakers 2025

Participants of the Opening Plenary Session

Nicolai Ardey, Executive Director, Volkswagen Group Innovation
Emilio Scervo, CTO and Member of the Board, Bugatti Rimac
Lutz Eckstein, President, VDI e.V.

Participants of the Start-Up Plenary Session -"Start-Ups in Mobility: Chances and Challenges"

Marcus Behrendt, Managing Partner, BMW i Ventures
Daniel Garnitz, CEO & Co-Founder, FAAREN
Lorenz Kopp, COS, tozero
Peter Mertens, Executive Director, Mertens VC

Participants of the Closing Plenary Discussion - "Sustainable Future in Industrial Applications"

Gerrit Marx, CEO, CNH Industrial
Michael Kuhn, Vice President Development Vehicles, Kässbohrer Geländefahrzeuge AG
Martin von Hoyningen-Huene, Member Executive Board, CLAAS Group

Plenary Speakers 2024

Opening Plenary Session 2024

Dr. Sabine Klauke, CTO, Airbus
Dr. Holger Klein, CEO, ZF Group
Shunichi Inamijima, Corporate Vice President, Nissan
Ruiping Wang, CEO, Aurobay

Participants of the closing plenary discussion on the topic
"The Use of Artificial Intelligence in Automotive Applications"

Stephan Durach, Senior Vice President in the Connected Company Development, BMW
Prof. Dr. Ralf G. Herrtwich, Senior Director Automotive Software, NVIDIA
Nikolai Ardey, Exceutive Director, VW Group Innovation

Plenary Speakers 2023

Opening Plenary Session 2023

Arnd Franz, CEO, MAHLE GmbH
Gürcan Karakas, CEO, TOGG
Atsushi Ogawa, COO, Honda Motor R&D
Dr. Frederik Zohm, CTO, MAN Truck & Bus SE

Participants of the closing plenary discussion on the topic
"Sustainable Transport under ESG Perspective" 2023

Matthias Jurytko, CEO, Cellcentric
Dr. Peter Laier, Member of the Board, ZF Group
Dr. Gerrit Marx, CEO, IVECO Group

Plenary Speakers 2022