solutions that make a significant contribution toward development efficiency. 1 7 F O C U S ‹F›: One of your main goals is to ensure that AVL understands customers better than its competitors do. How do you intend to achieve this goal? ‹Hannes Schmüser›: Basically, we are working toward establishing a longterm networking partnership with our customers, which will make us part of their ‘roadmap.’ To do so, we are delivering specific knowledge in the areas of technology and processes. This permanent exchange helps us to obtain a thorough understanding of each of our customers and their respective strategies, processes, employees and applications. In turn, our customer has tangible added value. For example, we are capable of providing detailed advice and support for a new test facility very early on in the planning process. What I still find very important is to closely involve customers in the project execution of larger orders, for example by having common quality gates that need to be passed. Also in the area of software development, where we are increasingly relying on agile development methodology to overcome the complexity, interactive collaboration with customers is essential for developing the contents. All in all, it is the goal of AVL to approach customers pro-actively and maintain a continuous and constructive dialog. The crucial factor here is the technical expertise of our employees at all AVL locations worldwide. < HANNES SCHMÜSER EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF GLOBAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, SALES AND INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS, ITS After studying Industrial Engineering/Mechanical Engineering at the TU Darmstadt, Hannes Schmüser earned his doctorate in 1998 in a research program funded by the Daimler-Benz Foundation. He then joined the Automotive Competence Center belonging to the Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, where he conducted a large number of projects for automotive suppliers and OEMs in Brazil and Europe. In 2000, he continued his career at Dürr AG in Stuttgart, initially as head of Corporate Development and, from 2003 onward, as executive director for final assembly systems in China, where he was additionally responsible for the business of Carl Schenck AG acquired by Dürr. In 2006, Hannes Schmüser switched to Bühler Druckguss AG in Switzerland, where, as a member of the management board, he was in charge of global sales of machinery and turnkey plants for the production of aluminum and magnesium components for the automotive industry. From 2011 onward, Hannes Schmüser was CEO of the STI Group (Switzerland), a global operation specializing in surface solutions. In October 2013, Hannes Schmüser switched to AVL and took on the position of Executive Vice President of Global Business Development, Sales and International Operations in the AVL Instrumentation and Test Systems Business Unit.
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