International Design Forum Chengdu 2017 by iF brings together designers and businesses in West China

CEO of ER GBS GmbH + Former CEO of Deutsche Messe AG + Chairman of the Executive Board at iF

Graduated from IMD Business School, Ernst Raue joined Deutsche Messe AG (Hannover, Germany) in 1980, with the responsibility for the organization and staging of leading international trade fairs such as HANNOVER MESSE and CeBIT. Ernst Raue was not only the former CEO of Deutsche Messe AG for years but also the dominating figure to lead the international development of the group. With his long years of management experience, an international network and profound knowledge on manufacturing and ICT industry development, Ernst Raue started ER GBS GmbH-Global Business Services consultancy. Ernst Raue understands that Globalization and Digitalization are the main keys for success stories in companies. From the perspective of management and business strategy, he will share with us how can a manufacturing enterprise successfully transform digitally.

CEO of Yatta Solutions

Graduated from American University Washington College of Law, Washington, D.C. and University Bayreuth, Johannes Jacop used to be a lawyer and worked as a legal clerk for Higher Regional Court Munich. In 2008, he established a software engineering company-Yatta Solutions GmbH with other co-founders, where you can find companies from more than 20 countries, of every size and from all industries, work with Yatta's technologies. With the advent of big data era, a new connection is formed among human, techonology and data and it is changing the future industries in all aspects, thus driving the digital age. Johannes Jacop will take digital technology as a starting point to provide a new interpretation of the industry 4.0.

Former COO of Kiwigrid

Daniel Söntgerath is a professional senior technology manager, software solutions and platform architect. Before joining Kiwigrid - a German energy IoT (Internet of Things) platform as COO, Daniel Söntgerath had various experience in large projects management and collaboration with strategic partners such as Siemens, IBM and Microsoft etc. From the macro point of view of the industrial history, he will share his opinions about the industry 4.0 - The greatest revolution in human history that we are going through and the potential big challenges for companies and society hidden in this time as well as the chances for innovation and new creative ideas.

Member of the Executive Board at German Startup Association

Entrepreneurship is now sweeping around the world like the new social movement in the modern era. What kind of environment and resources are needed for the start-ups? What kind of opportunities does the industry 4.0 bring to them? German Startup Association is one of the most representative support institutions for start-ups in Germany. Due to the diversity of German industry, many start-up teams develop their business according to the development demand of industrial 4.0. In his speech, he will talk about industry 4.0 from the view of the ecosystem for start-ups.

Chairman of the German IT Professionals Association VOICE + Co-chair of the European Chief Information Officer Association (CIO)

Dr. Thomas Endres is the chairman of the German IT Professionals Association VOICE, as well as the co-chair of the European Chief Information Officer Association (CIO). With more than ten-year industry experience on tourism, transportation, aerospace and automotive industries, Dr. Thomas Endres is known as a senior expert in innovation, digital technology and change management and good at using technology and digital technology to help enterprises to transform.

Dr. Thomas Endres studied at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg and Alfred in the United States and gained an PhD in engineering. He served in the German and Hungarian companies of AUDI Automotive, and was responsible for quality management and production projects. Dr. Thomas Endres joined Deutsche Lufthansa AG from 2001 to 2012. During this time, He was a member of the Board of Directors of Lufthansa Airways and the Chief Information Officer of the Group, in charge of Lufthansa Group's information and information management, technology strategy, corporate services and safety management.

Senior Editor at WGSN

WGSN (World's Global Style Network) is the world's leading trend authority for creative thinkers in Europe, Asia, South and North America and Middle East Area. WGSN also provides forecasting, data analytics services for world-renowed enterprises.

Sarah Housley is the senior editor – Lifestyle at WGSN and a core member of WGSN's Vision team. It is believed that future experiences and products will be sold not on the basis of what they do, but for how they make you feel. The future is feeling. In her speech, she will take us to explore the rising phenomenon of emotional economy.

Creative Director at Material Sense + Founder of Material Sense LAB + iF Juror

Founded by Simone de Waart, Material Sense is a materials-related network linking designers and industry as an independent platform, and supports world-famous enterprises like Volkswagen on material trends and innovation strategies. As the chairman and co-initiator of Design Platform Eindhoven, Simone was one of the driving forces behind the well-known Dutch Design Week.

Besides, Simone de Waart teaches at the Eindhoven University of Technology at the faculty of Industrial Design and has participated in several international awards as one of the jury member such as the iF DESIGN AWARD, the and the Dutch Design Awards etc. Her speech will focus on how the materials affect the design and life and ultimately make the world go round.

Professor of University of Applied Sciences Cologne

Dr. René Spitz is a full-time professor of design research, design management, and communication management at Rheinische Fachhochschule Köln (RFH), University of Applied Sciences Cologne, Germany. Apart from teaching, for more than 20 years, he has been the design critic of WDR (Westdeutscher Rundfunk), the largest public-law radio station in Europe. He is also an renowned design curator in Germany. He has curated exhibitions in Museum für Angewandte Kunst in Cologne, Museum of Ethnology in Hamburg, Today Art Museum in Beijing, BMW Welt in Munich etc.

Creative Director and Chairman of the Board at Bito + iF Juror

Keng-Ming Liu holds a bachelor degree in entomology from the National Taiwan University and an MFA in computer art from the School of Visual Arts in New York. He lived and worked in New York for almost a decade when he had won several international awards. He founded Bito in 2013 and became the creative director and chairman of the board at Bito. Keng-Ming Liu is also a music video director, illustrator, motion and toy designer whose creative work crosses many borders for international brands such as Facebook, Disney, Asus, Mercedes Benz and Herman Miller.

designaffairs China Board Member + iMonkey founder, CEO + Program Director of Industrial Design at Tongji University, College of degin and innovation + iF Juror

With an MFA in art and industry design from Essen University ,Germany, Lidan Liu is the board member of designaffairs China and has lead the team to the winning of more than 60 global design awards including Reddot, iF award and Good Design etc. She is an expert on combining eastern and western culture and different modes of thinking. Additionally, Lidan also serves as the Program Director of Industrial Design at Tongji University, College of Design and Innovation.

Vice GM and R&D Innovation Center Director at Simon Electric (China) Co., Ltd.

Long Jiao holds a master's degree in industrial design from Tongji University and an MFA degree from The Ohio State University in US. He used to be an associate professor teaching product design, design thinking and design research at the California College of the Arts. He was the former head of Philips China Design Center and is currently the Vice GM and R&D Innovation Center Director at Simon Electric (China) Co., Ltd. Long is an accomplished design strategist with years of experience in industrial design, design research and design management.

Professor of National Taiwan Normal University + Principal Creative Advisor of at Qisda Corporation

Manfred Wang studied in Germany in his early years and worked for Porsche AG. He was the former Vice President & Chief Design Officer of BenQ & Qisda Group. Under his guidance, BenQ and Qisda won more than 375 international major design awards including iF, Red-dot, IDEA and G-Mark within 10 years, from 2003 to 2012. Since 2013, Manfred Wang became the Professor in Department of Design for National Taiwan Normal University and the Principal Creative Advisor for Qisda Corporation.

CEO of Taiwan Design Center

Tung-Jung (David) Sung holds a Ph.D. in management from Macquarie University, Australia, and an M.A. in industrial design and MBA from the Ohio State University, United States. He is now the CEO of Taiwan Design Center. He has been the dean at the Department of Design, National Taiwan University of Science & Technology and University of Science & Technology. He specializes in design management, service design, product design and social innovation & design. Prior to being an academician, he also has profound practical experience in design and has worked on the design team in Philips Electronics (Taiwan) Ltd. and Sanyo Electric (Taiwan) Ltd. in his early years.

CEO and co-founder of Jiae + former Chief Designer and Director of User Experience Design at Baidu

Yu Guo is a serial founder and currently the CEO and co-founder of Jiae, a leading design platform in China. He received his bachelor of arts degree in industrial design from Shanghai Jiao Tong University and received his master's degree in Design Planning from the Institute of Design, Illinois Institute of Technology. Yu Guo also holds joint EMBA degree from Columbia Business School and London Business School. He worked as a senior designer for many world renowned IT company in US, including Netscape, AOL, eBay, Paypal. He was invited and joined Baidu as Chief Designer and Director of User Experience Design in 2004. As an user experience expert with global reputation, he has been an innovative consultant for Haier, Hisense and Samsung, etc.