Research interests  

• Internationalization of SMEs
• Regional/municipal economic development
• International marketing
    

Current occupation

• March 2009–present: Head of the international/national sales and marketing division at a medium-sized company in the automotive industry
    

Career

• April 2008–February 2009: Romess Apparate + Electronic GmbH & Co. KG, member of the executive board, responsible for international and national sales, production, and marketing.
• February 1995–March 2008: Baden-Württemberg International GmbH, head of the department for international corporate partnerships, responsible for North America and the municipal consulting center.
• June 1994–January 1995: Landesentwicklungsgesellschaft Baden-Württemberg (LEG), head of the PR department.
• October 1993–May 1994: Steinbeis-Stiftung für Wirtschaftsförderung, project head for municipal consulting and economic development.
• July 1989–September 1993: District of Konstanz, economic commissioner, head of economic development and the economic development network.
    

Education

• July 1993: Doctoral degree (Dr. rer. nat.), University of Bonn (Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences)
• 1990–1994: work on doctoral thesis on the topic ‘Modern business parks in Germany’ while working full time – May 1989: Diplom examination in economic geography (degree: Dipl.-Geogr.), University of Stuttgart
• September 1987–August 1988: Teaching and research stay at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA
• October 1983–August 1987: Studied geography, economics, history, geology, and urban planning at the University of Stuttgart
• July 1981–June 1983: Military service in the Bundeswehr, trained as a reserve office
• 1968–1981: School education
    

Publications

• Erfolgreiche Partnerschaften mit ausländischen Unternehmen, Spiegel der Wirtschaft – Dokumentation 2003, Neckarzimmern, 2003.
• Internationale Märkte systematisch erschließen, Spiegel der Wirtschaft – Dokumentation 2004, Neckarzimmern, 2004.
• Business Parks, geplante Gewerbe- und Industrieansiedlungen in den USA – dargestellt am Beispiel der Region Baltimore, MD, USA, Diplom thesis, Institute of Geograhy, University of Stuttgart, 1989.
• Attraktive Standorte: Gewerbeparks, Geographische Rundschau, 9/1993.
• Moderne Gewerbeparks in Deutschland – attraktive Standorte für Unternehmen, doctoral thesis, University of Bonn, Institute of Geography 1993/Wirtschaftsgeographie Bd. 5, LIT Verlag, Münster, 1993.
• Business Parks in the Baltimore region. An inventory, Johns Hopkins University, Institute for Policy Studies, Institute Working Paper No. 1, Baltimore, 1988.