Industrial Advisory Board

The D-MAVT's Industrial Advisory Board (IAB) has been established in 2008.

The IAB is aimed at:

  • Promoting D-MAVT in its interactions with industry, ETH Zurich Executive Board, ETH Board and the public.
  • The IAB strengthens and enhances the national and international leadership of D-MAVT in research and education in mechanical and process engineering.

Members:

Dr. Alessandro Curioni

Enlarged view: Portrait photo of Alessandro Curioni


Vice President Europe and Director IBM Research - Zurich, external pageIBM Research - Zurich

Alessandro Curioni is an IBM Fellow and the vice president of Europe and director of the IBM Research lab in Zurich, Switzerland. He was also recently appointed as the Watson IoT Research Relationship Executive.

Curioni is a world recognized leader in the area of high performance computing and computational science where his innovative thinking and seminal contributions have helped solve some of the most complex scientific and technological problems in healthcare, aerospace, consumer goods and electronics. He was a member of the winning team recognized with the prestigious Gordon Bell Prize in 2013 and 2015.

Alessandro Curioni received his undergraduate degree in Theoretical Chemistry and his PhD from Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa, Italy. He started at IBM Research - Zurich as a PhD student in 1993 before officially joining as a research staff member in 1998. His most recent position has been the head of the Cognitive Computing and Computational Sciences department.

Dr. Hanspeter Fässler

Enlarged view: Portrait photo of Hanspeter Fässler

 

Board of Directors, external pageDätwyler Holding AG

Hanspeter Fässler received his Doctorate in mechatronics/robotics from ETH Zurich and an Engineer’s Degree from Stanford University. From 1989 to 2010 he worked for ABB. He was CEO of ABB Switzerland and ABB France, and Head of the Mediterranean Region as well as CEO of ABB Italy until 2010. Thereafter he became CEO of the Implenia group. 2012 he returned to ABB as the global head of the Grid Systems business until end of 2014. Since 2004, he is also on the Board of Directors of Dätwyler Holding AG, and starting 2015 he is acting as a professional non-executive director in several companies. 

Dr. Barbara Frei

Enlarged view: Portrait photo of Barbara Frei

Executive Vice President Industrial Automation, external pageSchneider Electric

Dr. Barbara Frei leads Schneider Electric’s global Industrial Automation Business and has served on the company’s Executive Committee since 2019.

She joined Schneider Electric in 2016 as Country President of Germany and expanded her scope to Zone President of DACH in 2017 (including Germany, Austria and Switzerland). In 2019, she was appointed Executive Vice President, Europe Operations and a member of the Executive Committee.

Barbara holds a PhD in Electrical Machines from ETH Zurich, and an MBA from IMD Lausanne.

Calvin Grieder

Enlarged view: Portrait photo of Calvin Grieder

President of the Board of Directors, external pageBühler AG
Vice Chairman of the Board of external pageGivaudan SA
Member of the external pageFörderstiftung Avenir Suisse

Calvin Grieder was born in 1955 in Washington, D.C. (USA) and received a degree in process engineering from ETH Zurich. He has held several management positions at various companies in the area of automation and plant engineering and proved his competence in the development of business segments in Switzerland and abroad. In 2001, Calvin Grieder moved from Swisscom to Bühler Group, which he chaired until the end of June 2016. Since February 2014 he is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Buhler. Furthermore, he is Vice Chairman of the Board of Givaudan SA, as well a Member of the Förderstiftung Avenir Suisse.

Dr. Andreas Haeberli

Portrait photo of Andreas Haeberli


Co-CEO and Co-Founder at PhenoSign AG

Andreas Haeberli obtained his degree in Electrical Engineering as well as his doctoral degree in Micro Engineering at ETH Zurich. Later, he studied Financial Management for Executives at St. Galler Business School.

He started his career from 1997 to 1999 as Chip Design Engineer for Invox (CA/USA). From 1999 to 2003 he was Member of the Management Board at Sensirion (CH). After that, until 2010 he worked as Head of Development and Member of Management Board for Kaba AG (CH), from 2009 also for Kaba GmbH (AT). In 2011, he became Chief Technology Officer and Member of the Executive Committee of Kaba Group – the current dormakaba Group. As of July 2023, Haeberli is the Co-CEO and Co-Founder of PhenoSign AG.  He is Member of the Board of Directors of Komax Group.

Dr. Matthias Kaiserswerth

Enlarged view: Portrait photo of Dr. Matthias Kaiserswerth

 

Managing Director, external pageHasler Stiftung

In May 2015 Matthias Kaiserswerth became managing director of the Hasler Stiftung in Berne. The non-profit foundation supports education, research, and innovation in information and communication technologies to benefit Switzerland as a place of science and work.

Before that he worked for 27 years in IBM. Other than a three-and-a-half-year interruption, where he served as key account manager on the commercial side of IBM, managing the global relationship with a large international industrial client, he spent his entire career in IBM Research. After 12 years as researcher in high-performance communication, security, and embedded systems in Switzerland and the US, he was promoted to Director of IBM Research-Zurich. A position he held for more than 11 years in total.

Matthias Kaiserswerth studied informatics at the Friedrich-Alexander University in Erlangen, Germany and at McGill University in Montreal and also obtained his doctorate in engineering from Friedrich-Alexander University.

Dr. Remo Luetolf

Portrait photo of Remo Luetolf


Chairman of the Board of Directors of external pageRUAG; Chairman of the Board of Directors of external pageMeyer Burger Technology AG

Remo Luetolf studied electrical engineering at the ETH Zurich and graduated 1986 with a PhD in Biomedical Engineering, complemented 2000 with an EMBA from the IMD Lausanne. He started his professional career at Landis & Gyr in Zug, Switzerland, and moved to ABB Switzerland in 1999. Five years later he took over the management of the global business unit Power Electronics & Medium Voltage Drives, working in Turgi/Baden, Switzerland, and also 4 years at ABB China in Shanghai. From 2013 to 2018, Remo Luetolf has been the Country Managing Director of ABB Switzerland. Since 2018, Remo Luetolf is President of the Board of Directors of RUAG, since 2019, he is also President of the Board of Directors of Meyer Burger Technology AG.

Dr. Sandro Matter

Portrait photo of Dr. Sandro Matter

 

Vice President, external pageNobel Biocare Service AG

Sandro Matter completed an apprenticeship as a biology lab assistant at Ciba Geigy (today Novartis), while at the same time graduating from a Swiss federal high school. At the age of 29, Sandro Matter received a degree in organic chemistry from ETH Zurich followed by a PhD in material science.

His professional carrier began at Synthes-Stratec, where from 1997 to 2000 he was responsible for the production and development of biomaterials. In 2000 he co-founded Kuros Therapeutics in Zurich. In 2002 Sandro Matter became head of the Biologics and Research Division at the Straumann Institute and since 2005 to 2014 he has been Global Head of the Products Division and later Global Head of the Business Unit Prosthetics in Basel. From 2002 he served a Member of the Executive Management Board of the Institut Straumann AG. From 2015 to 2017 he was CEO of Dentalpoint AG. In 2017 he became Vice President of Nobel Biocare Service AG.

Dr. Felix Mayer

Enlarged view: Portrait photo of Dr. Felix Mayer

 

Co-Founder and Co-Chairman of the Board of Directors of external pageSensirion Holding AG  

Felix Mayer is an entrepreneur. After studying physics and completing a doctorate at ETH Zurich, he founded Sensirion AG together with his business partner Moritz Lechner in 1998. The two were co-CEOs for 18 years and built up the company together. In addition to various business awards, Sensirion also won the Swiss Economic Award in 2004. At that time with around 50 employees. To date, the company has grown to over 1,200 employees and is listed on the Swiss stock exchange.

Since summer 2016, Felix Mayer and Moritz Lechner are Co-Chairmen of the Board of Directors. In addition to his main activity at Sensirion, Felix Mayer sits on various other boards of directors, such as Lumiphase AG, Optotune AG and Luma Beef AG. He is also involved in various functions in favor of young entrepreneurship in Switzerland.

Dr. Roger Müller

Enlarged view: Portrait photo of Dr. Roger Müller

 

Global Head Governance, People Services & Technology, external pageNovartis AG  

Roger Müller obtained a degree in Mechanical and Process Engineering as well as a doctoral degree from ETH Zurich. In 2003, he started his professional career as a Postdoc in Novartis, moved afterwards to Linde-KCA-Dresden GmbH and rejoined Novartis in 2006. Roger Müller is a founder of the Global Business Services (GBS) organization of Novartis operating out of five strategic locations. He has extensive expertise in service management, employee experience, process and operational excellence leveraging data and digital technologies.

 

Dr. Eduard Rikli

Enlarged view: Portrait photo of Dr. Eduard Rikli

Chairman of IAB


Chairman of the Board of Directors, external pageBrütsch / Rüegger AG

Following many years working in different management positions for the Sulzer Group, Eduard Rikli was CEO of Mikron Holding AG until the end of 2009. He is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Brütsch/Rüegger AG, and a member of the managing board of several industrial firms. In addition, he is president of the group Engineers shape our Future IngCH, and plays an active part in various organisations whose main goal is to promote training for engineers. He also works as a consultant with his own company.

Samuel Schär

Enlarged view: Portrait photo of Mr. Samuel Schär

 

Chief Services & Sales Officer
Member of the Executive Board at Bühler Group, external pageBühler AG
external page

After obtaining a diploma as a Physics Engineer from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) and accumulating three years of experience with the consultancy McKinsey, Samuel Schär joined Bühler in 2002.

He took charge of the Nanotechnology business unit in 2005. From 2009 to 2012, he bore overall responsibility for the Grinding & Dispersing business area.

Samuel Schär has headed the Advanced Materials business from 2013 to 2022 and was appointed CEO of Advanced Materials as of September 2014. In addition to his responsibility as CEO of Advanced Materials, he took up the role of Chief Services & Sales Officer for the Group in June 2020. Starting in 2023, Samuel Schär is fully focusing on the Chief Services & Sales Officer role for the Group.

Samuel Schär was born in 1975 and is Swiss.

 

As CEO of Siemens Mobility Inc., Dr. Gerd Scheller is leading the entire mobility solutions business in Switzerland. This includes solutions for urban and long-distance rail transport, road traffic management systems, integrated mobility solutions and respective services.

Prior to his current assignment Dr. Scheller was globally responsible as General Manager for the Mass Transit Rail Automation business of Siemens worldwide, including metro and light rail automation solutions.

Mr. Scheller holds a PhD in engineering and a Master in electronics and information technologies from the Technical University Munich, Germany, as well as an M.B.A. in Business Administration from the City University, Bellevue, WA, USA.  

As CEO of Siemens Mobility Inc., Dr. Gerd Scheller is leading the entire mobility solutions business in Switzerland. This includes solutions for urban and long-distance rail transport, road traffic management systems, integrated mobility solutions and respective services.

Prior to his current assignment Dr. Scheller was globally responsible as General Manager for the Mass Transit Rail Automation business of Siemens worldwide, including metro and light rail automation solutions.

Mr. Scheller holds a PhD in engineering and a Master in electronics and information technologies from the Technical University Munich, Germany, as well as an M.B.A. in Business Administration from the City University, Bellevue, WA, USA.  

Dr. Laurent Seyler

Portrait photo of Dr. Laurent Seyler


Head of the department of decarbonization and process innovation, external pageHolcim AG

A dual citizen of Switzerland and Luxembourg, Laurent Seyler obtained a degree in Chemical Engineering as well as a doctoral degree from ETH Zurich. He also holds a postgraduate degree in business management.

Seyler began his career at Holderbank Management and Beratung AG in 1999. Following a trainee program in Mexico, he worked as a consulting engineer for the Group while also working as a technical coordinator for the Central American region supporting the Region Head as well as operations. During the past eleven years, he has held various corporate roles supporting industrial sites worldwide with his teams. In 2014/15, prior to the Lafarge and Holcim merger, he was part of the Merger Integration work stream for manufacturing. At the end of 2018, he set up the New Technologies department with the objective of creating the “Plants of Tomorrow” in LafargeHolcim. Since late 2021, he has been focusing on decarbonization and process innovation within the future-oriented direction of the cement plants with the aim of supporting Holcim's Net Zero Pledge, the circular economy, and other sustainability goals.

Dr. Ralf Weinekötter

Enlarged view: Portrait photo of Dr. Ralf Weinekötter



Managing Director, external pageGericke AG

Ralf Weinekötter studied chemical engineering at the Technical University of Karlsruhe, Germany, and ENSIC - Nancy, France. During his doctoral studies at ETH Zurich, process engineering, he joined as well the Particle Technology Group of DUPONT in Delaware, USA. Furthermore he wrote the first book about „Mixing of Solids“ during his term as senior lecturer at the institute of process engineering of the ETH Zurich. He contributed the chapter “Solids Mixing” to the recent Perry’s Chemical Engineers’ Handbook. He has covered various industrial positions within Gericke, from development, engineering to technical sales. Presently he is managing director and member of the board. Recently he presented a new production approach by publications and lectures covering the continuous manufacturing of pharmaceutical oral solid dosage products.

Dr. Jürg Werner

Enlarged view: Portrait photo of Dr. Jürg Werner

 

Member of the Board of Directors, external pageV-ZUG AG

Jürg Werner studied from 1976 to 1981 electrical engineering at ETH Zürich, was until 1987 scientific assistant and finished with a promotion about semiconductor-lasers. 1987 to 1989 he did research at Bell Communications Research Inc., Red Bank, New Jersey, USA in the fields of photonics and optoelectronics.
1989 to 1996 he was head of development of fire detection at Cerberus AG, head of project and was working for the European standard consortium CEN. From 1996 to 2010 Werner was head of development, director and member of the Executive Board at V-ZUG AG. 2010 until 2013, Werner was CEO of V-ZUG AG. From 2012 to 2020 he was CEO of Metall Zug AG and has been Chairman of the Board of V-ZUG AG since 2013 till 2019. He is now on the Board of Directors at V-ZUG, Haag-Streit Diagnostics and Komax.

Memberships:

  • SNV Schweizerische Normen-Vereinigung, Member Executive Board, President
  • DIN Deutsches Institut für Normung e. V., Member Executive Board
  • Economiesuisse, Member Executive Board
  • ZHAW Member Advisory Board Facility Management
  • Schweizerische Akademie der Technischen Wissenschaften/Swiss Academy of Technical Sciences (SATW), Single Member
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