In this context we were particularly pleased that following her appointment as Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, Ms Brigitte Zypries will be taking over the management and steering of Plattform Industrie 4.0 together with Federal Minister for Education Prof Dr Wanka. Furthermore, we can now warmly welcome Dr Roland Busch, successor of Prof Dr Rußwurm and member of the board at Siemens AG, as member of the management board. The BDI also has a new face at its helm and so Prof Dieter Kempf, President of the BDI, will take over Mr Grillo’s mandate in management. The company Robert Bosch GmbH joined the management board as a new member and will be represented by Dr-Ing Stefan Hartung, whom we also warmly welcome.

In order to improve the international standing of their work and to ensure adequate presence, the platform’s management furthermore appointed a “Global Representative and Advisor” for Plattform Industrie 4.0. For us it is a pleasure to know that from now on Prof Dr Henning Kagermann, President of acatech, will be at our side in this role. He will be representing Plattform Industrie 4.0 at key events in Germany and internationally and will provide advisory support to the committees. These new appointments provide a breeze of fresh air to fill Plattform Industrie 4.0’s sails as it glides into 2017.