Christoph Benz

Based on 20y+ experience in Leadership in the fields of Engineering, Innovation and Product Management I started my own business, doing consulting how to match organisational structure & leadership culture to foster innovation in medium-sized enterprises or equivalent organisations.

Working as Head of R&D I was responsible for the technical development of Sun Shading products of elero brand within Nice Group, leading a group of about 20 engineers and technicians in three teams with international cooperation. I was member of First Line Leadership Team of elero GmbH and I did have responsibility for the respective budget.

Sun Shading products mean a system of electrically powered and mechanically or electronically controlled drives for the operation of shutters, blinds and awnings including wired and radio controlled devices and sensors. Main challenge is to reduce to the max, so to fulfil customer requirements in terms of silence and functionality with a minimum of components, effort and cost. I was in close contact with main intern. customers in all project phases from acquisition to launch.

 Functional and disciplinary lead of a group of 20 engineers in 3 teams.

 Successful support of new project acquisition and successful industrialisation of products.

 Responsible for requirements engineering, development and validation of new products and product changes according to requirements and specifications.

 Cross-functional cooperation with different interfaces, e.g. Product & Project Management, Sales, Purchasing, Operations, Finance.

 Responsible for product safety & conformity, including integration of eco design directive and person in charge of CE-Certification for elero company.

 Application of methods (process work, FMEA, DRBFM, etc.) to support systematic work flow.

As Productmanager for Sun Shading Products I was responsible for portfolio & its strategic development and product life cycle of Sun Shading products especially of “elero” brand and especially for DACH and French market and respective customers.

 Definition of product strategy for Sun Shading Products & Home Automation, respecting cost and technology, aligned with international organisations R&D, Procurement, Sales, Operations.

 Innovation Management for SunShading Products in elero company based on market survey and competitor analysis, e.g. SWOT

 Definition of int. & ext. product communication in cooperation with Marketing Organisation.

 Close cooperation with international customers.