Axel Deniz appointed as new CEO of Bosch Business Innovations
Effective January 1, 2025, Axel Deniz (47) assumed leadership of Bosch's global business builder, Bosch Business Innovations. He succeeds Karsten Roenner (64), who is retiring after more than five years at the helm of the Bosch subsidiary. Together with CFO Xiao-Jie Ma (42) and CTO Georg Stellmann (48), Deniz forms the new leadership team, bringing extensive experience in innovation, ecosystems, and entrepreneurship.
Fueling innovation and collaboration
The ethos "Invented for Life" embodies Bosch's commitment to creating products and solutions that sustainably improve the lives of many people. "In times of constant change, Bosch Business Innovations shall become a key player in identifying, accelerating, and industrializing innovative business models - fueled by the capabilities of the entire Bosch Group, together with partners in the innovation ecosystem such as startups, other corporates and academia," says Deniz. The focus is on developing innovative businesses beyond the company's traditional core areas.
Deniz explains, "Bosch has much to offer to enable successful business innovations: intellectual property, domain expertise, data, or world class-talent– to mention some." These strengths have already led to successful new businesses worldwide, such as the 2020-founded Bosch Digital Twin Industries, which enables AI-driven manufacturing maintenance globally.
However, even a traditionally innovative tech company like Bosch cannot tackle today's and future challenges alone. “We would like to build bridges between Bosch’s strong innovation capabilites and external partners, such as motivated entrepreneurs, or investors. I look forward to this journey with optimism and determination" adds Deniz.
About Axel Deniz
Prior to Bosch Business Innovations, Axel Deniz worked at PwC Germany as Director Corporate Development & Innovation and Head of Strategy, where he established the company-wide Open Innovation programs and led strategy for the global ecosystem program of the global PwC network.
Axel Deniz founded and led several startups, including Europe's first factory-to-consumer marketplace for furniture and home accessories. He also co-founded several boutique consultancies for digital product development, digital transformation and management consulting.
His academic career includes a diploma in Cultural Work from the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam, studies in Arts, Entertainment & Media Management at Columbia College Chicago, and a program in Digital Product Management at Stanford Continuing Studies. He is currently a PhD candidate in Economics at the Berlin University of the Arts.
Axel Deniz combines entrepreneurial thinking, strategic vision and operational excellence and is an outstanding thought leader, speaker, and author on the topics of innovation and business ecosystems.
