Prof. Dr. Dr. Ekbert Hering
Dr. Sonya Faber
Dr. Peter Rothenbacher
Supervisory Board
The chairman of the supervisory board of FREE AG is Prof. Dr. Dr. Ekbert Hering.
Ekbert exemplifies in a very distinctive way the interfaces between technology and product marketing on the one hand and the theory and praxis of running a business on the other. Here are some – very few! – highlights from his cv:
- Studies of Physics and subsequent doctorate at the Max-Planck-Institute for solid body physics in Stuttgart (1971)
- - Studies of Management at the University Stuttgart and subsequent doctorate
- At age 28 tenured professor at University Aalen
- Professor for Physics, Information Technology and Material Electronechnology at the University of Aalen for over 35 years
- Various consulting and management assignments for industry
- Leader in cross-border University exchange
- Current contact for in depth exchange with Chinese universities
- Over 100 publications
The vice chairman of the supervisory board, Dr. Sonya Faber, MBA, represents interfaces between elite research and the commercialization of the products of scientific research.
Sonya has acquired her abilities in this field through research scholarships at New York University, through the coordination of several large scale clinical studies and through her current position as business development manager at Fraunhofer Society.
As a US-citizen and fluent speaker of German, Sonya also covers another interface, crucial for the success of FREE AG: The interface between continental Europe and the USA.
The corner stones of Sonya’s CV are as follows:
- Studied in the USA, among others at University of Pennsylvania and at Brown University
- PhD at New York University in the field of Developmental Molecular Genetics
- MBA degree from Baruch College – Zicklin School of Business, New York
- Extensive publications
The third member of the supervisory board of FREE AG is Dr. Peter Rothenbacher. Peter more than anyone, embodies the central idea and leading vision of FREE AG, the all important interface between the Old and New economy.
During the first phase of his career Peter established a deep and varied theoretical foundation, especially in the field of metallurgy (publications), through his tenures at Max-Planck-Institute, at the University of Stuttgart and as the first German scientist with a stipend at the Bulgarian academy of science in Sofia.
After a short flirt with a prolonged academic career Peter, at the age of 29, opted for a career in industry.
Then for nearly 40 years Peter worked in leading positions, among others, for SHW and Thyssen-Krupp, companies who rightfully can be called the elite of the German industry.
Particularly during the last decade of his active career Peter impressively demonstrated that companies of the Old Economy dealing in ”Heavy Assets“ can be extremely successful even in this time and age of virtual assets.
Therefore Peters Motto has become the goal, task and duty of FREE AG:
„What’s measured get’s done!”