Carsten Linz
SVP, Group Digital Officer at BASF
Profile
Dr. Carsten Linz is a serial entrepreneur and new business developer with more than 15 years of business experience and a proven track record for driving innovation and growth. He started and developed more than 20 ventures and launched several €100 mio. businesses. He has invested in a number of start-ups as a business angel and serves as advisory board member to the CEOs of several fast-growing companies and as investment committee member of Europe’s largest seed stage fund.
As Business Development Officer at SAP SE, he repeatably leads the incubation/build-up of the next-generation innovation businesses. In more than eight years with global P&L responsibility, he led organizations and transformation programs with up to 600 employees achieving paradigm changes and radically new businesses.
He is an advisory board member for several fast-growing companies. He mentors Start-up CEOs and advices early-stage investors to systematically develop ventures to the next maturity level. He coaches Corporate Executives on how to implement a next-generation innovation management or a world-class business incubator and helped many managers to develop into successful entrepreneurial leaders. Carsten is adjunct faculty member and teaches Entrepreneurial Leadership and Innovation Management in MBA and EMBA courses at Mannheim Business School, Karlsruhe Insitute of Technology, University of Konstanz (HTWG), and University of St. Gallen. He is a book-author and has published several articles in renowned journals.
Dr. Linz holds a PhD in Innovation Management from University of Bern/Switzerland (’summa cum laude‘) and a Diploma degree in Economic Engineering from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (‚with distinction‘). He has studied System Dynamics and Entrepreneurship at MIT Sloan School of Management, Leading Change and Organizational Renewal at Harvard Business School, and Corporate Strategy at INSEAD Fontainebleau. He was honored with the coveted GIL Award of Excellence, ranked as ‘Leader’ in the Gartner Magic Quadrant, and named as finalist for the ‘Innovator of the Year’ award. He supports social entrepreneurs as Advisory Board Member of Social Impact Berlin.