Dr. Yorck Schmidt has been Chief Financial Officer and member of the Management Board of AVL List GmbH since 2019.
At AVL, he is responsible for the financial framework of the technological orientation and transformation of the mobility technology group. His key areas of focus include the economic management of the technology- and capital-intensive business model, the financial backing of innovation projects and the continuous optimization of the capital and cost structure.
His expertise in strategic M&A transactions includes buy- and sell-side processes, tech carve-outs and post-merger integrations. In addition, he brings governance experience from supervisory and advisory board roles in Europe, Asia and the USA, with a focus on sustainable corporate governance, regulatory requirements and risk management.
Dr. Schmidt brings over 25 years of international management experience in finance and general management roles at technology, automotive and medtech companies. His professional career began in 1995 at Fresenius AG with positions in Germany and Sweden, including Group Divisional CFO. He then became Director of Group Controlling at Volkswagen, where he was responsible for special projects for the executive board. From 2004 to 2007, he led global finance, M&A, and treasury functions as General Director at General Motors’ Treasurer’s Office in New York, before assuming financial leadership of the company’s global compact car platform as series CFO. From 2011 to 2018, he was CFO and COO at Lenze SE, an international industrial automation specialist, where he was responsible for finance, operations, purchasing, service and the North American business, making a significant contribution to profitable growth.
Dr. Schmidt studied Economics at the University of Innsbruck and holds a doctorate in Business Administration from the University of Graz. He completed prestigious programs at INSEAD (International Executive Program), Harvard Business School (CFO Leadership Program) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan/CSAIL (Artificial Intelligence).