Dirk Abendroth, most recently CTO of the automotive division of the DAX-listed company Continental, is now CTO at the technology holding company Team Global. He is now responsible for all technology, research and development activities, and provides strategic support to the portfolio companies as part of this role. A particular aspect of his role will involve coordinating the cross-industry exchange of innovations, helping to generate synergy between stakeholders. At the same time, he is becoming the CEO of an aviation startup. The company is working on a unique vertical-take-off aircraft that will fill a gap in the current market.
“Dirk is a triple hybrid: he’s got startup and corporate experience; he’s a software and automotive expert; he’s got the qualities of a classic German Dr.-Ing., and he brings a lot of international experience to the table – a combination that’s exactly what we need at Team Global right now. With him as a person, along his technical breadth, we’ll reach a whole new level,” says Lukasz Gadowski, founder and CEO of Team Global.
“I see myself as a system integrator who identifies all of the synergies, many of which are still hidden, between the technologies in Team Global’s portfolio, elevates them, and then brings them to full fruition in a new ecosystem,” Abendroth says. “When it comes to three-dimensional mobility, we’ll shape the combined skill of innovative drives, clean energy generation and digital business models into an international champion.”
The electrical engineer, who holds a doctorate, began his career at BMW, where he worked for twelve years in various positions. Most recently, he was head of “Powertrain BMW i”. In 2016 he joined Byton as Executive Vice President, where he was responsible for powertrain and autonomous driving. In January 2019, Abendroth was appointed CTO Automotive at Continental AG. He personally holds twelve international patents in the field of data and digitalisation, system control, drive and autonomous driving. More than ten others are in the approval process.
