He was born in Hannover, Germany in 1957 and has a master’s degree of Foreign Economics and Trade. From 1986 to 1995 he was Project Manager of Deutsche Messe AG, responsible for numerous trade show departments and professional exhibitions. From 1995 to the present he has been President of the International Industrial Design Forum in Hannover, and since 2001 also President of iF International Design Forum. He has served as a jury member for several world-renowned design awards, such as the INTEL Design Award, the BHKS “Design in the Skilled Trades” Award, the Glen Dimplex Design Award in Ireland and the LGE Student Award in Korea, etc. In 2001, he was appointed Chairman of the Jury for the European Design Award.