Dr. Matthias Brendel is the co-founder and CEO of Footprint Technologies, an innovative company specialising in the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to revolutionise foot measurement and optimise online shoe retail.
By developing a technology that makes it possible to recommend the most suitable shoe size for customers, his company is helping to minimise the rate of returns in e-commerce and thus promote more sustainable consumption.
As a speaker, Dr Brendel stands out for his ability to convey complex technological concepts in an understandable and engaging way. His passion for sustainability, technology and innovation is reflected in his speeches, where he frequently addresses the importance of AI for the future of retail and the need for environmentally conscious business management. With his expertise and experience as a successful entrepreneur and innovator, he inspires his audiences to embrace the shift towards more sustainable and technologically advanced business models.
Dr. Matthias Brendel in an interview:
1. What are the core subjects of your keynote speeches?
In my lectures I talk about:
- How to innovate the core business of established corporates
- How to innovate beyond core business in specific Innovation units (Intrapreneurship/Entrepreneurship)
- How to innovate in Startups
- Practical recommendations, to enable innovation effectively in any setup
- Leadership with empowerment
- Differences and similarities between corporates and startups
- Mobility of the Future
- Enabling sustainability with technology
- The importance of venture capital for innovation
2. Which audiance or which branch do you reach with your speech?
Managers in companies or other organizations; Innovators in companies
Industry-agnostic: As a person with a wide range of interests, an engineer, a corporate executive, a politically active person and an entrepreneur, I have already filled many roles and got to know a number of industries. I have already worked in the event industry, motor sports mechanical engineering, the automotive industry, e-commerce and the shoe and fashion industry, but I can also empathize well with many other industries.
3. Are you a PREMIUM SPEAKER? Where do you get your insights from?
In my life, I have experienced innovation work in various constellations and have learned what is important:
1. in the core business of an automotive group, I worked on innovation for over eight years, from doctoral student to development manager for a new generation of internal combustion engines
2. afterwards, I founded and lead an innovation unit for new business models as part of this company that won several awards (Audi Denkwerkstatt 2016-2020)
3. today, I am changing the shoe industry and online shoe retail with my AI start-up Footprint Technologies.
My mission in life is to enable sustainability by leveraging technology – that’s why I studied environmental engineering with a focus on product and technology management at the University of Bayreuth back in 2002 and later completed my phD at the Technical University of Munich. In 2020, I obtained executive certificates in “Strategy and Innovation” and “Management and Leadership” at MIT in Boston to keep my knowledge up to date.
In 2019, I was awarded by CAPITAL as a Top 40 under 40 personality and in 2022 I was appointed into the Senate of Economy Europe.
4. What will be in the future? Does «time» play an important role in your work?
We humans live on a small spaceship traveling through space – our Earth. We are becoming more and more and want to live here in a higher standard of living – this will only be possible with many large and small innovations to cope within the limitations of this planet.
We have enough problems to solve today and in the future, so let’s tackle them! I am convinced that solving these major challenges also offers great opportunities for outstanding companies and the development of great personalities.
Let’s tackle them – courageously, steadily and jointly!
5. Tell us your life motto? What do you want to give your listeners to take with them?
“A bad mood has never helped anyone: With optimism and enthusiasm (almost) anything is possible!”