The senate of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft unanimously voted for Andreas Meuer to become the next executive vice president in charge of controlling and digital business processes. The financial expert follows Prof. (Univ. Stellenbosch) Alfred Gossner.
Meuer’s responsibilities will cover the commercial aspects of business management and also financial risk management, as well as information and communication management. He will also be in charge of the research facilities, procurement, internal auditing and Fraunhofer’s status as a non-profit organization.
“Andreas Meuer is a respected expert in finance, accounting and business processes at the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. We are confident that he will ensure the robust financing of Europe’s largest institute for applied research going forward,” said Chairman Prof. Heinz Jörg Fuhrmann, summing up the Fraunhofer senate’s decision. “Meuer also has the background to decisively shape the digital transformation and the associated organizational implications,” continued Fuhrmann.
“A solid financial foundation is essential for outstanding applied research. At the same time, ongoing digitalization is presenting the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft with many opportunities. As a pioneer in this field, it is our aim to provide our customers with expertise and know-how. To achieve this, we also have to leverage internal potential and systematically advance the digitalization of our business processes,” commented Fraunhofer President Prof. Reimund Neugebauer. “I’m very pleased that we will be joined on the executive board by Andreas Meuer, who is such a high-profile internal expert. He has known the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft for 25 years and has the right background to carry out both the key tasks of his new role.”
“First I would like to thank the senate for the trust they are placing in me. I very much look forward to my new tasks on the executive board. In the years to come, I will ensure that financially Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft continues to develop as successfully as it has up to now. I have also set myself the goal of establishing the most efficient digital administration among research organizations. This will allow us to adapt flexibly to changes in framework conditions and create added value. Routine tasks can be automated and more complex issues supported by assistance systems based on artificial intelligence. In this way the load can be lightened to benefit quality assurance and customer demands,“ said Meuer, setting out his priorities.
A business administration graduate, he joined Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in 1992 and has held various management posts since then. Until recently, he was in charge of finance, accounting and business planning and was responsible for Fraunhofer Gesellschaft’s financial volume, which totaled over two billion euros. In this role he also further developed the annual financial statements and set up asset management. Meuer has been involved in digitalization projects since their inception, e.g. for document management or company resource planning.
Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft