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Catena-X Strengthens Global Governance and Announces Newly Elected Board Members

At today’s general election the Catena-X members voted for an organizational change and (re-)elected some of the board members

Berlin, May 6th 2025  –  Catena-X, the first collaborative and open data ecosystem for the automotive industry, is making important adjustments to its governance structure to support the next phase of adoption. These changes are designed to strengthen global alignment, increase operational focus, and ensure broader industry inclusion.

At today’s general election the Catena-X members voted for an organizational change and (re-)elected some of the board members. The newly established Global Activation & Market Steering Board (GAMS) enables Catena-X to better integrate global industry multipliers, empower regional representation, and elevate scalability and activation topics to the board level. The Extended Board will bring greater agility and inclusiveness, allowing more targeted collaboration with key markets and stakeholders.

This structural change will help sharpen the organization’s focus on activating and delivering tangible business value to all users of the data ecosystem. By creating more direct links between industry governance and regional voices, Catena-X enhances its ability to address market-specific needs while maintaining a unified and interoperable data ecosystem. The Extended Board brings together our strongest global partners through hubs and formal collaborations, includes influential industry multipliers from leading automotive companies, and unites development communities from key countries to align technical progress directly with market needs.

Catena-X is pleased to announce the results of its latest elections to the Management Board of the Association. The newly elected and re-elected, as well as existing members bring a strong combination of international perspective, proven leadership within their respective companies, and active contributions to the development of Catena-X to date. These individuals represent the full diversity of the automotive industry, which is reflected in the association’s clearly defined categories for board seats. The announcement follows the formation of the Extended Board, reinforcing Catena-X’s commitment to balanced, effective, and globally connected governance.

 

The following representatives have been elected or re-elected:

  • Kathrin Daecke, Director of Steering, Digitalisation, Risk & Cost Management & Aftersales Purchasing at Mercedes-Benz, has been elected to represent the OEM category.
  • John Farrell, Global Chief Operations Officer at Magna, has been elected to represent the Supplier category.
  • Hagen Heubach, Global Vice President, Head of Discrete Industries at SAP responsible for Automotive, Industrial Manufacturing, High Tech, Aerospace & Defense at SAP, has been re-elected to represent the Outfitter category.
  • Boris Otto, Director of Fraunhofer ISST and Professor of Industrial Information Management at TU Dortmund University, has been re-elected to represent the Independent category.

 

”On behalf of the entire association, I want to sincerely thank all candidates who put their names up for election. Their individual drive and expertise are vital to our community, and even those who were not elected remain actively involved in shaping Catena-X. This strong commitment across the industry reinforces our goal: to build a truly global and internationally trusted data ecosystem.”, says Oliver Ganser, Chairman of the Board of Catena-X.

These elections ensure that all major sectors of the automotive value chain remain actively involved in the strategic direction of Catena-X. The board structure is intentionally designed to reflect this broad base of participants – from large manufacturers to mid-sized suppliers, service providers, and independent organizations. The Advisory Board has been dissolved in the process of establishing the GAMS Board. We would like to thank all former members for their dedication and strong contribution to the development of Catena-X to date.

 

 

About Catena-X

Catena-X is the first end-to-end, collaborative and open data ecosystem for the automotive industry, connecting all players along the value chain. The Catena-X association acts as a neutral governance to enable standardized, interoperable and data-sovereign collaboration and drive innovation, increase efficiency and compliance across the entire data ecosystem. Catena-X is Gaia-X compliant and also serves as a model for all Manufacturing-X initiatives and is shaping the development of standardized data ecosystems in other industries. Founded in 2021, the association has hubs in the USA, China, Spain, Sweden and France and more than 300 individuals from various players in the automotive industry working in more than 40 expert groups to develop future standards.