Claudia Braun is a Project Leader at Konzepthaus. She has nearly 20 years of experience in automotive CMF Design. Starting her career as CMF Designer at Smart 2004 and Porsche, 2005 - 2013, she then led the CMF Design team at Mercedes-Benz Cars, Mercedes-Benz Maybach, Smart, Daimler Trucks and Vans. 2019 -2021 Claudia served as Vice President CMF Design at Volvo Cars and Polestar to create the most attractive and sustainable colour and material design. Her time in Sweden changed her view on her own life, leadership and gender equality. She became a passionate supporter of young designers and the female design community. After her experience in Sweden, she led the CMF team of Rivian in 2021 and helped to build up the CMF process and increase the Creative CMF Team. She started her journey with Konzepthaus in 2022 to support the industrial leading automotive world with her excellent knowledge of CMF Design, CMF Design Processes, Design Strategy and Brand Strategy. Claudia has always been a passionate leader. She shares very openly her leadership principles within the automotive design world to support designers on their career paths. Her goal is to increase the number of leading female designers in the automotive design world and to help come to a diverse and creative automotive design world. She is listening to society, the industry and the people she supports. And she loves to drive creativity and visionary thinking.

With 35 years of experience in the automotive and aviation industry focusing on innovation and design, Richard has acquired diverse and rich experience working in 5 global companies (Ford, JCI, Yangfeng, Adient and Toyota Boshoku) in 6 countries (US, China, Japan, Korea, Germany and Italy) having led various organizations inclusing Design, Innovation, Marketing, Advanced Sales and Consumer Research throughout his career.
He is currently the Chief Branding Officer leading the advanced sales activity and corporate brand management and the Chief of the Interior Space Visioneering Field leading future innovation development at Toyota Boshoku Corporation in Japan.

Patrick Patrikios is a renowned sound designer in the automotive industry, specializing in creating immersive auditory experiences. His talents, however, extend far beyond revving engines and screeching tires. With a diverse portfolio, ranging from Britney Spears to Giorgio Moroder and Nicki Minaj, Patrick has played a pivotal role in shaping the sound of popular music. Currently, he holds the prestigious position of Head of Sound and Audio at FORSEVEN, where he continues to revolutionize the way we perceive sound.

Coming soon...

For the last 3 years at Konzepthaus, Oliver and his colleagues built-up the consulting branch of Konzepthaus – focusing on the optimization of Automotive Design processes, re-organizing the respective teams and making them “Future-proof”.
Before that, Oliver ran the Design operations of the Chinese EV start-up Byton with studios near Munich and Shanghai. This included all digital and physical modelling, project management and budgeting. Dispatching tasks between the Design studios and the Tech Center in California was one of the biggest challenges.
Prior, in his role as Design Director of Semcon in Germany, his department processed large number surfacing projects for many European OEMs from concept to Class-A.
Therefore, moderating today´s panel, Oliver can rely on his own experience in that field.

For more than 20 years Christian has dedicated his career to realizing a new era of mobility through innovative experience design for the automotive industry’s biggest players.
Before joining icon group as Chief Experience Officer (CXO), Christian built and directed the Digital Product team at Faraday Future, which focused on creating a progressive new generation of integrated, user-centric and brand-forward mobility experience ecosystem.
Prior to that, Christian managed icon incar, co-functioning as CEO and Executive Creative Director, where he led the organization to become the world’s foremost automotive user experience design agency by delivering numerous award-winning automotive digital design projects, production vehicles and concept cars partnering with leading OEMs across the globe. Additionally, as the lead experience designer at BMW in Munich for many years, Christian defined MINI’s automotive brand experience and piloted production programs from start to finish.
Invested in developing the next generation of designers, Christian often shares his experience and insights as a guest lecturer at the Art Center College of Design and University of Applied Sciences Vorarlberg, and as an expert panelist at conferences around the world.

Dr. Frank J. Maile studied chemistry at the university of Stuttgart followed by a PhD at the Research Center of Pigments &amo; Paints (FPL e.V.) Stuttgart, Germany. In 1998 he received the Farbe+Lack award (Vincentz Network) and in 1999 he joined the pigments division of Merck KGaA in Darmstadt where he held several positions. In 2011 he joined Schlenk Metallic Pigments where presently he holds the position of a Global Technical Director. Dr. Maile is visiting professor for innovation management and focuses on Product Development & Design. Since 2015 he is a member of the advisory board of the Color Science Symposium (Smithers).

Romain Chevalier, native from France, 42 years old, graduated from the Ecole Polytechnique and the Ecole des Mines in Paris, started his carreer at Renault Design department as a quality validation pilot. Soon he is taking the technical lead on Concept Cars and will be also Design Manager for the 2016 Renault Scenic. He's moving from the famous OEM in 2015 to become General Manager of a small company, Estival, building mock ups and concept cars for Automotive OEMs in Paris Aera. After a short mission as Advanced Design Exterior Manager at Stellantis at the end of 2022, he's now CEO of the well-known design House Technicon Design.

Christoph Sieber began his career journey at KKN Ingenieurbüro GmbH in 2001 in Zwickau, where he started in the role of a Strak (Class A) engineer for Volkswagen and BMW. His path led him to Munich in 2002, where he represented KKN as a liaison at BMW. Initially serving as the Class A lead for the company, he managed various BMW vehicle projects and initiated the establishment of KKN's Munich branch.
In 2008, he became a partner at KKN Ingenieurbüro & Co. KG, and from that point onwards, he built a team of 20 Class A / CAS Specialists in Munich. Assuming the role of CEO at KKN since 2017, he and his team have been accountable for over 50 percent of all exterior aspects for BMW AG, including diverse interior and motorcycle Class A projects in development and also marketing visualization.
From 2004 to 2019, Christoph held the position of Class A lead for all Rolls-Royce exterior projects, while also pioneering with his Team the Design-Technology Convergence Process for various companies. He played a pivotal role in establishing the Lighting Convergence Process for BMW AG as an external partner and directed various BMW special projects.
Motivated by his ongoing passion for design, he co-founded Muniq Design GmbH in 2019, alongside his partners. Their goal was to actively shape and influence the early stages of vehicle development. With his design and innovation team, he initiated the initial phases of forward-looking projects that will explore new perspectives and avenues in mobility.
Following the departure of the former founder of KKN and the merger of KKN and Muniq Design under Muniq Holding GmbH, Christoph Sieber has been the Co-Founder and CEO of the Muniq Group since June 2023, overseeing approximately 80 employees worldwide. The group encompasses Muniq Design GmbH Germany, Muniq Design Italia s.r.l., Muniq Design North America inc., and KKN Ingenieurbüro GmbH & Co. KG. Together, they oversee and guide the entire process of design-technology convergence under one umbrella.