Career Path and Early Passion for Technology
Dr. Markus Schäfer joined cbs in September 2024, bringing with him an impressive wealth of experience, ideas, and energy. He has been active within the cbs cosmos at Trebing + Himstedt since 2020 and has quickly established himself as an expert in platform-based services, IoT, manufacturing, and new business models. Today, he is responsible for the AI Solution Offering at the Berlin location and, as head of the “End-to-End Value Chain Integration” competence area, consistently thinks in terms of the big picture.
What sets Markus, who comes from Mannheim, apart is his ability to combine technical and strategic topics. He accompanies customers from the initial strategy phase to concrete implementation in SAP process models. It is important to him that corporate goals and system requirements are coordinated at an early stage – before technical implementation begins. His interface expertise makes him an indispensable link between business and IT.
His passion for technical topics and complex interrelationships aroused early and began with a degree in mechanical engineering at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), where the 36-year-old took on leadership responsibilities at an early stage – including in a student engineering consultancy he co-founded, which grew from nine to over 60 active members under his leadership. At the same time, he ran a company contact fair and gained valuable insights into team organization, offer structuring, and presentation formats – experience that he continues to draw on in his work today.
Professional Experience and International Exposure
His professional career took him to Audi, where he worked in sports car development, followed by a joint doctoral position at the Schunk Innovation Center and KIT. There, he worked at the interface between industrial pre-development and scientific research. As assistant to the CTO, he took on strategic tasks and gave lectures on automated production facilities. International assignments – including a research stay at Stanford University’s AI Lab and another at Tongji University in China – further broadened his horizons.
Turning Point: Joining Trebing + Himstedt
A joint research project finally led to contact with Steffen Himstedt – an important turning point. Markus helped set up a new T+H location in Berlin in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and was there heavily involved in the development of digital solutions for manufacturing companies.
Diverse Daily Work
Markus’s workday is multifaceted. A typical day begins with a client meeting, transitions into internal strategy workshops, touches on topics such as presentations for events, team structures, and proposal work, and often ends with project work on connectivity or AI agents – the range of topics is immense. That’s exactly what he loves. He is particularly fascinated by digital services and business models, and his passion lies in developing new ideas that often go beyond established business practices. “I’m attracted to unfamiliar territory. Where others shy away, I’m curious to explore,” says Markus, describing his motivation – pioneering work as a principle.
Networker, Translator, and Team Player
Another feature of his work is his close connection to networks and associations. Markus actively represents cbs in expert circles such as the German Engineering Federation (VDMA), Bitkom, and other professional groups. In this way, he brings external impulses to the organization and positions cbs as a thought leader in the industry.
Despite all the technology and strategy, Markus emphasizes that the biggest challenge often lies in communication. Projects bring together experts from a wide range of disciplines: Module A meets Module B, business meets IT. This is precisely where Markus sees his added value – as a translator who creates clarity not only with words, but also with sketches, structure, and methodology. His ability to structure large workshops, moderate discussions, and keep a cool head even under pressure make him a valued team member and project manager.
Corporate Culture and Collaboration in Action
Markus describes the corporate culture at cbs as professional, supportive, and contemporary. For him, the “Power of Orange” stands for competence and team spirit – a strong external brand image, but also a genuine sense of community internally. He likes to show his pride by wearing his cbs hoodie when bouldering. One moment that particularly impressed him was when a question for which there was no existing best practice at cbs was solved within 48 hours with the help of expertise from colleagues. For Markus, this is a prime example of collaboration in action.
