Speakers

Enno Borchers
Industry Partner
Deutsche Telekom

Enno Borchers focuses on automated mobility and logistics applications across automotive production and vehicle logistics.
With more than 30 years of experience, he combines broad industry and technology expertise to advance scalable digital infrastructure for industrial automation.

His career spans roles as a Partner in management consulting, sales & business development leadership, as well as engineering and product management.

Prof. Dr. Stefan Bratzel
Executive Director and Founder
Center of Automotive Management (CAM)

Prof. Dr. Stefan Bratzel is the founder and director of the independent research institute Center of Automotive Management (CAM) at the University of Applied Sciences for Management in Bergisch Gladbach.

After studying political science at Freie Universität Berlin and subsequently earning his doctorate, Bratzel became active in and around the automotive industry. Born in 1967, he held various positions, including Product Manager at smart, a Daimler subsidiary; Program Manager at Group3G, a Telefónica subsidiary; and Head of Business Development Automotive at the medium-sized software company PTV.

Since April 2004, Stefan Bratzel has worked at the University of Applied Sciences for Management in Bergisch Gladbach, near Cologne, as a lecturer and programme director for Automotive Management. He also works in research and consulting as Director of the local automotive institute CAM.

Stefan Bratzel’s research focuses on the factors determining the success and survival of automotive manufacturers and suppliers, as well as on the future of mobility. Drawing on empirical studies, he examines innovation trends in the automotive industry and the business models of major IT corporations, using these findings to develop propositions about the future of (auto)mobility. As a recognised industry expert, he is one of Germany’s most frequently quoted automotive economists in the press, on radio and on television.

Thorben Deckers
Head of Finished Vehicle Logistics
Mercedes-Benz AG

Experienced logistics leader with extensive expertise in transportation logistics, procurement, and operations management. Throughout his career, he has led strategic and operational initiatives across the automotive logistics value chain, with a strong focus on digitalization and end-to-end logistics. Combining strategic thinking with hands-on execution, he drives operational excellence and sustainable business results. Currently serving as Head of Finished Vehicle Logistics leading global vehicle distribution activities and strategic logistics development.

Marcos Duato Mollera
Vice-President
ECG

Marcos Duato is an international logistics executive with nearly three decades of expertise in shipping, automotive logistics, and supply chain management. Throughout his career, he has held various commercial and operational roles in several market-leading companies of the FVL sector. He is currently Director of Suardiaz Shipping Lines and Vice President of ECG.

Thomas Gerlach
Partner
PwC

Thomas Gerlach is an Automotive Industry Expert and Certified Public Accountant (Wirtschaftsprüfer) within the Advisory practice of PwC. He has more than two decades of audit and advisory experience in the Automotive Industry including ten years in international roles. He has worked extensively with OEMs, suppliers and automotive logistic companies, helping them to transform their finance organizations, simplify processes and leverage digital technologies to improve performance and to become future-ready. His practical experience provides him with a first-hand understanding of the operational, financial and transformation challenges across the automotive value chain. Thomas holds a degree in Business Administration (Diplom-Kaufmann) from the University of Würzburg, Germany and lives with his family nearby Hannover.

Mark Hindley
President
ECG

With a career in the automotive industry spanning five decades, Mark has extensive experience working for OEM, consultancy and logistics service providers. He has held several senior commercial management roles in sales and marketing. He is currently Commercial Director, OEM at BCA Group, covering the full breadth of end-to-end services, from new vehicles to used-vehicle remarketing.

Mark has been a member of the ECG Board since 2018, served as Vice-President for two years and was elected President in 2026.

Peter Hörndlein
MD Vehicle Logistics
Volkswagen Konzernlogistik

Peter Hörndlein is an experienced logistics and supply chain executive with nearly three decades of international leadership experience in the automotive industry. Since April 2024, he has served as Managing Director of Vehicle Logistics at Volkswagen Konzernlogistik GmbH & Co. OHG, overseeing finished vehicle logistics operations.

Previously, he held senior leadership roles at MAN Truck & Bus SE, where he was Senior Vice President for Purchasing Bus (2022–2024) and Brand Logistics (2017–2021). Earlier, Peter built a distinguished career at BMW AG, managing logistics planning, vehicle distribution, plant dispatch, prototype development logistics, and international plant logistics across Germany, the UK, the USA, and South Africa.

He holds a degree in Business Administration and Logistics from HTWG Konstanz. Beyond his professional achievements, he is passionate about snowboarding, skiing, surfing, and photography.

Vesa Kiviranta
CBO Automotive
Unikie

Driving automotive disruption for over 20 years, Vesa Kiviranta blends experience in consumer electronics, wireless telecom, and automotive tech. He is leading Unikie’s automated marshalling solutions for vehicle logistics, bus and tram depots, parcel and last-mile depots, and special vehicles in mining, harbours, and forestry.

Christopher Ludwig
Chief Content Officer
Automotive Logistics and Ultima Media

Christopher Ludwig is chief content officer at UK-based Ultima Media, where he is responsible for editorial and content strategy, business intelligence and events across its automotive business media portfolio, including Automotive Logistics and its dedicated focus on the finished vehicle logistics industry. He also works across a wider group of automotive media and technology titles at Ultima Media and the Automotive and Industry Cluster within Süddeutscher Verlag, the German media group to which Ultima Media belong. He is part of the company’s senior management team.

Ludwig has covered automotive logistics and supply chain management trends, topics and companies since 2006, profiling industry leaders, building conference and media programmes and carrying out research on global automotive logistics and finished vehicle logistics. Prior to Ultima Media, he worked across a range of publishing and editorial titles.

He has a Master of Science in Media and Communication from the London School of Economics.

Kris Schildermans
Outbound Logistics EMEA| Central
Volvo Cars

Senior logistics leader with more than 14 years of experience at Volvo Cars in Sweden, specializing in Finished Vehicle Logistics within Outbound Logistics. Currently serving as Head of EMEA Outbound Logistics – Port & Yard Operations, leading strategic and operational activities across the European Volvo Cars yards directly connected to manufacturing. In current role also a close connection to the main European port network is included for import and export flows.

Proven track record of driving operational excellence, cost efficiency, transformation initiatives, and high-performing international teams in previous role as Carrier Planning and Operations Manager EMEA.

Dr. Tobias Schweickhardt
Manager Connected & Automated Vehicles
Daimler Trucks

Dr. Tobias Schweickhardt studied technical cybernetics in Stuttgart and Paris, and earned a PhD in control theory from University of Stuttgart. At The MathWorks, he advised users on simulation, development and code generation. At Daimler, he held development and leadership roles in embedded software, functional safety, autonomous driving, and engineering IT systems. Since 2022, he is responsible for regulatory strategy for connected and automated vehicles at Daimler Truck.

Lars Sudmann
Leadership Advisor
Sudmann & Company

Lars Sudmann is a keynote speaker and board advisor with extensive hands-on background in leadership, growth transformation and navigating uncertainty, for instance as a former executive of Procter & Gamble. Lars is currently a lecturer on leadership and strategy at the RWTH Aachen University of Technology and has worked with top teams from companies such as Mercedes, DHL, and Siemens, to name a few. Additionally, he is the transformation council director at the global think tank “The Conference Board”. He has been featured in BBC Capital, Forbes, Fortune, Inc, The Economist Network, Fast Company, the Chicago Tribune and many more. His TEDx talks are top-ranked with more than two million views and he is the author of the transformative leadership book “Innovation that Sticks.”

Ben Waller
Associate Director
ICDP

Ben is Associate Director at ICDP, with over twenty-five years’ experience of research and consultancy in automotive distribution and supply chains. At ICDP he is responsible for looking after research and consultancy in new vehicle supply, as well as emerging innovation in business models including topics such as decentralised electrification, mobility, and Software Defined Vehicle/connectivity. He also works as a freelance writer, consultant, and occasional lecturer.