I fell in love with the supply chain and transformative change at a Ford Motor Company site in Cologne, Germany. About 20,000 people worked at the Ford Cologne complex, with another 30,000+ suppliers delivering products and services. It operated like a giant, intricate clockwork.

Over time, my respective teams and I got pretty good at maintaining and improving ‘clocks’ like this—so good that after twenty years with Ford in Germany, the USA, and the UK, companies like ABB, Infineon, and, in recent times, PepsiCo and Credit Suisse (now UBS) hired me to transform their global supply chain or procurement, quality operations, or even full corporate transformations, driving significant bottom-line impact and speed.

I've held positions such as Corporate Transformation Leader, Global Head of Operations and Quality, Head of Supply Chain, CPO, Board Member in China, the USA, and Switzerland, and Managing Director - in five industries.

Academically, I obtained a BA in Cologne, Germany, and an MBA from Michigan State University, USA.

Dinner conversations with my now-grown sons have been pivotal in driving my current focus on finding solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in supply chains for future generations. Since 2022, I have been pursuing a doctorate at UBIS University in Geneva, Switzerland, researching the impact of supply chain re-design on GHG emission reduction.

Via helmig advisory AG, located in the canton Zürich in Switzerland, I now advise, teach, write, learn & speak about topics I am passionate about.

For more details about what’s going on right now - see my Linkedin or X page.