Working experience
Current: Professor for Supply Management and Materials Management at the Technical University of Cologne, Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering Science.
Project Manager at Yazaki Europe Ltd., Electronics & Instruments Business Unit (2016-2019): Responsible for the implementation of design, purchasing, operations & supply chain concepts for new car projects.
Postdoc at Duisburg-Essen University (2014-2016): Research Group Leader E-Mobility at the School of Advanced Studies / Institute of East Asian studies / Duisburg-Essen University, research on international automotive supply chains and negotiation, especially in project settings involving international technology sourcing, cross-company integration, and inter-firm project coordination (e.g. complex purchasing projects, M&As, alliances, international R&D).
Project Purchasing at Yazaki Europe Ltd. (2010-2014)
Supervisor BU Purchasing Japanese & German OEMs at automotive tier 1 supplier Yazaki Europe Ltd.
Advanced Purchasing Project Lead Japanese OEMs at Yazaki Europe Ltd.
Part time lecturer at Cologne Business School (since 03/2015): Lectures on Supply Management, Operations Management and Change Management.
Software Project Manager at operations research software company INFORM GmbH / Airport Systems Division (2008/10-2010/09)
Lecturer & PhD student
Guest lecturer at the Goethe University of Frankfurt, Fac. of Economics and Business Administration and at the Cologne Business School (2009; 2005-2006)
Research Associate at the Chair of East Asian Economic Studies, University of Duisburg Essen and visiting scholar at Hitotsubashi University / Tokyo (2003/11-2007/12)
Internship & part-time jobs
Part-time jobs and internships at: Fraunhofer Technology Development Group, Roland Berger International Management Consultants, Trier University, Bosch K.K. (Yokohama) and Henkel Japan Ltd. (Osaka) between 1997 and 2003
Awards & scholarships
2017-2-4: Best Paper Award: Society of Interdisciplinary Business Research. Ralf Bebenroth, Roman Bartnik, Kai Oliver Thiele: Communication Goal Structure as Imperative for Target Employees’ Perceived Operative Post-Acquisition Integration Success. Presented at the SIBR-UniKL 2017 Conference on Interdisciplinary Business and Economics Research, February 3 - 4, 2017, Kuala Lumpur.
Best Reviewer Award by the Euro-Asia Management Studies Association, 2015-10-30, SOAS University of London.
Best Paper Award Global Supply Chain Management Conference 2015, Zhejiang University, 2015-3-28.
Doctoral Dissertation Award by the Mercator School of Management / University of Duisburg-Essen (2010)
Three times awarded Japan Society for the Promotion of Science internationally competitive research scholarships (2015, 2005-2007)
Education
Published PhD thesis : “Organizing international innovation: R&D mandates and coordination patterns in Japanese multinational corporations” (2009/7)
Doctoral studies in Business Administration (Dr. rer. oec.) at the University of Duisburg-Essen and Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo (2003/11 – 2008/9)
Japanese Language Proficiency Test Level 1 (highest, 2008/2)
Certification as Project Management Professional (PMP) by the Project Management Institute (2010/7, re-certified 2013/7)
Master thesis in cooperation with the Fraunhofer Technology Development Group, survey study on project management in Japanese and German firms (2003)
Studies in Business Administration (Dipl.-Kfm.) at Trier University, specialization on international management, service management and consulting (1997/10–2003/7)
Professional qualifications and skills
Yazaki management training program (2013/9)
Training in IT contract law and project management methodology (PMP certification)
Very good French, English, Japanese (negotiations, interviews, project management, translations in all three foreign languages), native German