Darmstadt/Stuttgart, 7 June 2022 – The prostep ivip Association is strategically realigning itself with the aim of providing its member companies with more efficient support for their digital transformation. The objective of the association’s newly elected board and the management team is to fine-tune its vision for digitalization, place greater focus on topics such as software in the product and data engineering, and attract new target groups. The association will also continue to drive its internationalization forward. A first step in this direction is the expansion of the board, which will safeguard and speed up the strategic realignment.

At the most recent annual general meeting, held on the eve of the prostep ivip Symposium in Stuttgart, the association's member companies elected Jens Poggenburg, executive vice president at AVL, as the board’s new representative of the automotive suppliers. He replaces Armin Hoffacker from Bosch, who did not stand for re-election. They also confirmed Dr. Henrik Weimer (AIRBUS) as the representative of the OEMs, Philipp Wibbing (UNITY AG) as the representative of the IT vendors and service providers, and Prof. Dr. Rainer Stark (TU Berlin) as the board member representing universities and research institutes.

Poggenburg brings with him a great deal of expertise in the areas practical application of model-based development and digitalization. The growing proportion of software and electronics in smart products means that these areas are becoming increasingly important to the association's members. "I decided to spend time working on the association’s board because the need for collaboration in disruptive transformation is changing and growing significantly," said Poggenburg. "I want to be actively involved in shaping the association's new strategy and achieving concrete results for members."

To ensure that greater focus can be placed new strategic topics, the annual general meeting also confirmed the board's proposal to add two special mandates holders to the ranks of the board members. Thomas Kamla, who as senior director reports directly to Volkswagen's executive board member responsible for development, will ensure that the role the association plays in the fields of systems engineering and software in the product receives greater attention. As Kamla points out: "The automotive industry is being driven to an increasing extent by software; it is no longer alone, but rather part of a wider ecosystem. That's why collaboration is becoming increasingly complex."

The expanded board will also strengthen the association’s international expansion. Tomohiko Adachi of Mazda Motor Corp. is taking on the task of boosting the association's international profile and attracting new cooperation partners. He will deal with quality assurance issues at board level and is also chairman of JAMBE’s (Japan Automotive Model-Based Engineering Center) planning committee. "I’m proud that we are moving our relationship to a new level and that I can help shape the future of the association," Adachi says.

The newly re-elected chairman of the board, Dr. Henrik Weimer, gave the new board members a warm welcome as he presented the new strategic action areas at the symposium: "They are a welcome addition and will help us to implement our strategic realignment more quickly.”