Prof. Dr.-Ing. Katja Windt

Member of the Managing Board (CDO) of SMS group GmbH

Professor Dr.-Ing. Katja Windt (*1969) is Member of the Managing Board and Chief Digital Officer (CDO) of the SMS group GmbH based in Mönchengladbach and is mainly responsible for the internal and external digital transformation as well as for the global service business including electrics and automation.

Following her degree in mechanical engineering at Leibniz University Hannover – including a stay at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as a visiting scholar – she completed her doctorate at the Institute for Production Systems and Logistics in 2000 and subsequently took up the position of head of department at the Institute for Production and Logistics (BIBA) at the University of Bremen. In 2008, Windt was appointed chair of "Global Production Logistics" at Jacobs University (renamed Constructor University in 2022). Before joining SMS group in 2018, she was President of Jacobs University Bremen for four years and successfully restructured the private international university.

She is a member of the National Academy of Engineering Sciences (acatech) and the National Academy of Sciences (Leopoldina) and she is active in various supervisory boards in the international business and commerce sector.

Katja Windt has three children and lives in Bremen with her family.

Expertise

  • 2018: Member of the Managing Board (CDO) of SMS group GmbH, Mönchengladbach
  • 2014: President Jacobs University Bremen (renamed Constructor University in 2022)
  • 2013: Provost and Vice President Jacobs University Bremen
  • 2009: Full Professor of Global Production Logistics, Jacobs University Bremen
  • 2008: Associate Professor of Global Production Logistics, Jacobs University Bremen
  • 2001: Planning and Control of Production Technical Systems, Bremen Institute for Production and Logistics BIBA, Post doctoral research assistant, departmental manager

Education/training

  • 2000: Doctorate (Dr.-Ing.) at the Institute of Production Systems and Logistics IFA; Leibniz University of Hannover
  • 1995: Diploma in Mechanical Engineering at Leibniz University of Hannover; specialization: Production Technology
  • 1992: Visiting Scholar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA

Mandates (selection)

  • since 2022: Member of supervisory board of Ford Otomotiv Sanayi A.Ş., Istanbul, Turkey
  • since 2019: Member of board of governors Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa
  • since 2018: Adjunct Professor of Global Production Logistics, Jacobs University Bremen
  • since 2016: Member of Leopoldina The German National Academy of Sciences
  • since 2012: Member of supervisory board of Fraport AG and committees, Frankfurt
  • since 2012: Member of acatech – The National Academy of Science and Engineering
  • 2011 - 2023: Member of supervisory board of Deutsche Post AG, Bonn
  • 2011 - 2023: Member of the executive board of Bundesvereinigung Logistik (BVL) e.V. (The Global Supply Chain Network)

Awards

  • 2008: "Professor of the Year 2008" award by the German Association of University Professors and Lecturers
  • 2008: Alfried Krupp Prize for Young University Teachers