Marcel Brodbeck studied aerospace engineering at the University of Stuttgart. He started his professional career as a CAE and test engineer at the German Aerospace Center. His research focus was on the further development of testing methods in destructive material testing as well as simulation methods in joining technology. In 2018 Marcel moved to Mercedes-Benz AG. In the area of passive safety, he initially worked in crash simulations. Since 2020 he has been working as a test engineer in the field of full-scale vehicle crash tests with electric cars.

John Creamer is the founder of GlobalAutoRegs.com and a partner in The Potomac Alliance, a Washington-based international regulatory affairs consultancy. In his client advisory role, Mr. Creamer is regularly involved with meetings of the UN World Forum for the Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29). Previously, he has held positions with the US International Trade Commission and the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (representing the US automotive supplier industry), as the representative of the US auto parts industry in Japan, and with TRW Inc. (a leading global automotive safety systems supplier).

Andre Eggers is a researcher at BASt (German Federal Highway Research Institute) since 2006 working in the area of biomechanics, evaluation of dummies, human models and virtual testing. He studied mechanical engineering at the Technical University of Hamburg and Biomedical Engineering at Wayne State University. 2013 he completed his doctorate at the Technical University of Berlin. He contributed to several European research projects like IMVITER, THORAX, ASSESS, SENIORS and OSCCAR. He is representing BASt in Euro NCAP working groups related to injury criteria and virtual testing.

After studying mechanical engineering at the University of Hanover and working as a student at the MHH accident research, Dr. Burkhard Eickhoff began his professional career in 1999 as a test engineer for crash tests at Autoliv. Here he was able to gain in-depth experience in the field of testing and data interpretation. His next professional stations dealt with the simulation, design and further development of restraint systems: Activities as a CAE engineer, project manager and team leader in occupant simulation and system development followed at the same company. In 2012, Dr. Eickhoff completed his doctorate at the Helmut Schmidt University in Hamburg on a method for reducing belt-induced thorax deflection in frontal crashes. Since 2016, he has headed the European “Virtual & System Engineering” department at Autoliv B.V. & Co. KG, which deals with the virtual development of belt systems and functions of future restraint systems. In addition, he was head of belt homologation for Europe for more than 5 years and was able to simplify the UN regulation for the type approval of belt systems. Relevant publications, specialist lectures, courses at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (since 2012) and seminars held at Carhs (since 2010) round off his profile. On 1.7.2024, Dr. Eickhoff will join carhs.training gmbh as Director Training & Conferences to further expand the company's offering in the field of knowledge management and expert consulting.

After completing a degree in Mechanical Engineering and Economical Studies at the University of Applied Sciences in München (1990-1994), Martin Friedrichsen embarked on a career in the automotive industry. His journey began at Faurecia Seating as Head of the Logistics Department (1994-1999), followed by a role at TEMIC (Continental) overseeing Production Planning, Controlling, and Logistics (2000-2001). He returned to Faurecia Seating in 2002 as Program Director and Head of the Development Seating Department, steering projects and innovations in automotive seating until 2008. His career then transitioned to Audi, where he took on several leadership positions, including Head of Development Seating (2009-2013), Head of Purchasing Production Readiness (2014-2017), and Program Manager for NEV Bodysystem (2018-2021). Since November 2021, he has been the Director of Development Vehicle Safety at Audi, focusing on advancing vehicle safety technologies. Throughout his career, he has consistently combined engineering expertise with strategic leadership.

Christian Gold earned his Ph.D. at the Technische University of Munich in the field of human performance when taking back the driving task from a Level 3 automated vehicle. In 2015 he started his career at the BMW Group as a specialist and later team leader for safety in use with a focus on driving assistance and automated driving. After working as a project manager in the field of passive safety in between, he became head of the group responsible for human factors, field operational tests and effectiveness analysis.

Mark Haacke successfully completed his engineering degree (BA) in 2004 and has continued to expand his knowledge of the automotive industry ever since. He has worked for various companies in the automotive industry, manufacturers and OEMs. He then worked for 6 years as Head of Conformity of Production at Opel Automobile GmbH. In addition, Mark Haacke has continued his education in areas such as D-FMEA, P-FMEA, quality management representative and internal auditor for ISO9001 etc. as well as 2 years of external legal studies. Since 2021, he has been CEO of Mark Haacke Training & Consulting GmbH, where he works as a trainer and consultant on issues such as QMS and initial assessment, type approval, series monitoring and recall management.

Ilse Harms works at the RDW, where she is a leading figure in the field of human factors and vehicle automation. She is a traffic psychologist who enjoys working at the intersection of theory and practice. She conducted her doctoral research at the University of Groningen while working for the Dutch government. Ilse is an expert and advisor in the field of human factors that influence behaviour in traffic. At Euro NCAP she is also the alternate director for the Netherlands and the Chair for the HMI & HF Working Group.

Rainer Hoffmann has been involved in automotive safety throughout his career. After graduating from Wayne State University, he joined Porsche as a research associate in passive safety. Mr. Hoffmann advanced safety simulation during his subsequent tenure at ESI Group where he introduced new techniques like airbag simulation, numerical airbag folding and FE dummy modeling. As the head of the simulation department of PARS (now Continental Safety Engineering), Mr. Hoffmann led the R&D efforts for some of the first series production side airbag developments. In 1994 Mr. Hoffmann founded EASi Engineering GmbH, which in 2006 was renamed to carhs GmbH. He has authored numerous technical papers and has been granted German and international patents in the automotive safety field.

Dr. Roland Kallweit is Head of Development Functions Active Safety in the field of assisted and automated driving at Audi. In this role, he is responsible for the development and testing of active safety functions for assisted driving. Before joining Audi in 2023, he was responsible for the function and system development of automated driving functions and concept validation using simulation at IAV for several years.

Nils Katzorke received the B.A. degree in Transportation and Logistics Management from the Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences Braunschweig/Wolfenbuettel in 2016, the MBE in Business Engineering from the Steinbeis University Berlin in 2018 and the DBA degree in business administration from the Prague University of Economics and Business in 2023 for his dissertation “Effective Test Infrastructure Design in the Context of Autonomous Driving”. From 2016 to 2018, he was project coordinator for the construction of Mercedes-Benz AG’s proving ground in Immendingen, Germany. Since 2018 he is responsible for further proving ground development with the Site Management Immendingen at Mercedes-Benz AG. His research interests include the development of test infrastructure, intelligent transportation systems and innovation management.

Simon Königs holds a Diploma and a Master of Science in mechanical engineering from the HS Bochum and the London SBU. He received his Ph.D. in systems engineering from the TU Berlin. In 2012 he started working for BMW and became responsible for the total vehicle concept integration of 7 & 5 series. In 2021 he became head of mechatronic safety in vehicle crashes.

In 2017, Liu Peng obtained a Master's degree in Solid Mechanics from Tianjin University. He then joined the Vehicle Collision Test Laboratory at the China Automotive Technology&Research Center later that year, where he was responsible for vehicle measurements and dummy positioning in the field of vehicle collision testing. In 2020, Liu Peng transitioned to the C-NCAP Management Center, where his primary duties consist of overseeing test management and result publication for C-NCAP. To date, he has successfully completed testing and evaluations for over a hundred vehicle models. Additionally, he plays a crucial role in coordinating research on new C-NCAP protocols among internal and industry experts at the China Automotive Technology&Research Center.

Becky Mueller is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin and Purdue University in Mechanical Engineering with a specialization in biomechanics.  She worked briefly as a contractor to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 2009-2010 on projects related to future car safety regulations and prototype dummies. She joined the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in 2010 and is currently a Senior Research Engineer. She has worked on crashworthiness and biomechanics projects including small overlap, THOR and WorldSID dummies, passenger-side small overlap, brain injury assessment and pedestrian injuries. Her current focus is developing a new side impact crash test.

Adriano Palao is an Automotive Engineer with over 10 years of experience in the Vehicle Testing and Validation domain. As a Technical Manager for ADAS & AD at Euro NCAP, he steers the many Working Groups related to Active Safety into developing ever-increasing requirements towards promoting enhanced vehicle safety.

Volker Sander has been head of the Vehicle Safety Department of ADAC, which includes active safety, passive safety and accident research, since 2010. Before that, from 1999-2007 he was in charge of the construction of ADAC’s crash test lab as a team manager. From 2007-2010 he lead the Passive Safety Department of ADAC. At Euro NCAP he is a member of the Board of Directors and chairman of the frontal impact working group. In addition to that he is member of the side impact working group, the technical working group and the ratings group of Euro NCAP. He is also lecturer for vehicle safety at the University of Applied Sciences in Munich.

Richard Schram started his career as a consultant at TNO Automotive in 2005. From 2010 to 2021 he was Technical Manager and Technical Director at Euro NCAP. He has been back at Euro NCAP as Technical Director since January 2023, after a short period as Director of Product Safety at Arrival.

Dominik Schuster has been VP Vehicle Safety for all BMW Group products since 2021. He is responsible for the development of active and passive safety, accident research as well as the safety aspects of automated driving for all vehicles of the BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce brands. After school and military service with the German Air Force, he studied mechanical engineering at the University of Applied Sciences in Munich and graduated as Dipl.-Ing. (FH) in 2004. Immediately after graduation he started his automotive career at BMW as an engineer for passive safety concepts. In the following years, he held various positions in the BMW vehicle safety department. After serving as department head for body structure, exterior and interior simulation in 2017, he was appointed Vice President Vehicle Safety in January 2021. He is a passionate sportsman and enjoys activities such as tennis or hiking in the Alps whenever possible.

Director and Professor Andre Seeck has been Vice President of the Federal Highway Research Institute (BASt) since April 2022, where he heads the Vehicle Technology division. In this position he is responsible for the preparation of European Safety Regulations. Furthermore he represents the German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport in the Board of Directors of Euro NCAP and he is the chairman of the strategy group on automated driving and of the rating system. These positions enable him to gain deep insight into current and future developments in vehicle safety. In 2017 NHTSA awarded him the U. S. Government Special Award of Appreciation.

After studying mechanical engineering and being awarded a doctorate at TU Darmstadt, Dr. Seiniger moved to the Federal Highway Research Institute (BASt) in 2009. Here Dr. Seiniger is involved in development and performance of tests for emergency braking systems and active safety for Euro NCAP and in developing and updating the respective legislatory framework (regulations). He was member of several Euro NCAP working groups and is Deputy Head of section “Active Vehicle Safety and Driver Assistance Systems”.

Udo Steininger is Chief Expert Automotive Safety at TÜV SÜD Rail GmbH. He has been involved in the safety of complex human-machine systems for over 35 years. After studying physics at the Technical University of Dresden, he worked for 5 years in reactor safety research. Since 1991, he has been working at TÜV SÜD on the topics of risk, reliability and safety in various fields of application - first in industry, then in railroads and, for the last 20 years, in the field of motor vehicles. For the past 15 years, he has specialized in assisted and automated driving. Initially, the focus of his work was on safety assessment during development, testing of vehicles and vehicle systems, and safety driver training. He currently supports manufacturers, suppliers and mobility service providers in the market introduction of systems for automated driving and related services. He is active in the DIN Automotive Standards Committee (ISO 26262 and ISO 21448) and is a member of the Safety - Methods and Processes - Advisory Board of the VDI Society for Vehicle and Transport Technology (FVT). Udo Steininger was a lecturer at the Munich University of Applied Sciences for many years and is a guest lecturer at the Chair of Automotive Engineering at the Technical University of Munich. His column on the current status and development of automated driving appears regularly in carhs' SafetyNews.

Michiel van Ratingen, PhD, PDEng, Msc (1966) studied at the Eindhoven University of Technology in the Eindhoven and the Medical University of Maastricht. Michiel joined TNO Netherlands and completed his PhD at Eindhoven and the Medical University of Maastricht. Michiel joined TNO Automotive in 1995 where he first got involved in vehicle crash safety research and development. In 2005 he joined First Technology Safety Systems (now Humanetics Innovative Solutions) as Technical Director. At FTSS he was responsible for global engineering activities, including design and validation of crash test dummies, dummy sensors and computer models. Since 2007 Michiel is acting Secretary General of the European New Car Assessment Program Euro NCAP in Leuven, Belgium. He implemented the organisation’s recent rating scheme updates, including the introduction of crash avoidance technology testing. He is a technical advisor to the Global NCAP and Latin NCAP programmes.

Oliver Zander studied Safety Engineering at the University of Wuppertal and started his career as Safety Engineer at the JCI European Headquarters in Burscheid. Since 2002 he has worked as a scientist at the Federal Highway Research Institute (BASt), where since 2009 he has been Deputy Head of the Section Passive Vehicle Safety, Biomechanics. His main responsibilities are pedestrian protection (amongst others german representative of the GRSP Informal Group DPPS, EEVC Working Group 17 “Pedestrian Safety”, and the Euro NCAP Technical Working Groups “Passive Safety” and “Pedestrian Protection”), the Euro NCAP crash and pedestrian testing and European Research Projects w.r.t. passive vehicle safety.