YP Steering Committee 2026
Thorben Beckmann, Co-Chair
Thorben moved to Boston in 2018 to become Area Sales Manager for the Americas of the Metal Foils division at SCHLENK. Since 2023 he also serves as Global Sales Manager for the new CuNex copper sinter paste division. He is a graduate of the University of Applied Sciences of Karlsruhe where he earned his M.Sc. and B.Sc. in International Management. Thorben served as Co-Chair of the GABC YP Steering Committee from February 2020 to February 2022 and held a seat as YP representative on the GABC Board of Directors from 2022 to 2024. He was elected Co-Chair of the YP Committee again in 2024. Thorben is the recipient of the 2025 Transatlantic Rising Leaders Award.
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Kai Schmitz, Co-Chair
Kai is Strategy & Development Associate at TÜV SÜD America, and is experienced in global projects, digital transformation, and urban development. He previously worked as a management consultant where he was program manager for data management and core banking. He earned a B. Sc. in Economics, an MBA, and a Graduate Certificate in Business Data Analytics from the University of Alabama in Birmingham.
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Benedict Hofmockel, Secretary
Benedict is a Research & Development Software Engineer at Dräger, leading and championing engineering excellence efforts while specializing in embedded software for patient monitoring systems. Benedict is committed to fostering collaboration, engagement and growth within the German-American professional community. Benedict is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Computer Science at Georgia Tech and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Engineering from Drexel University. Benedict Hofmockel serves as Secretary of the YP Steering Committee for the 2025–2026 term.
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Additional Steering Committee Members
Johannes Becker
Johannes is an Account Executive at Dive CAE, a German-based engineering simulation software start-up where he is supporting the launch of their U.S. subsidiary in Boston. Johannes is an experienced engineer and management consultant with a background in R&D optimization, startup leadership, and software architecture. As a co-founder of multiple compute infrastructure and service companies, he is actively involved in Boston’s startup ecosystem. Johannes holds an M.Sc. (Dipl. Ingenieur) in Mechanical Engineering from the Technical University Munich and a Ph.D in Computer Engineering from Boston University.
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Daniel Danckert
Daniel was born in Stuttgart and moved to the Greater Boston area in 1993. He studied engineering at the University of Rhode Island, graduating in 2012 with a Bachelor of Science in Chemical & Ocean Engineering and a Bachelor of Arts in German through URI’s International Engineering Program. During his undergraduate studies, he spent 6 months studying at the Technische Universität Braunschweig and then an additional 6 months interning at Robert Bosch GmbH in Stuttgart-Feuerbach. After graduation, he continued his engineering studies part-time at URI, completing a Master of Science in Chemical Engineering in 2018. He currently works as Senior Reliability Engineer and Laboratory Manager at Waters Corporation in Milford, MA. He joined the Young Professionals Steering Committee in 2020.
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Eva Heidingsfelder
Eva is the Deputy Income Statement Leader – FP&A at GE Aerospace. Originally from Munich, Germany, she moved to Detroit, MI in 1999. Her previous roles included Sr. Finance Manager – FP&A at General Electric; Finance Lead – ERP Implementation at ChemTreat – a Danaher Opco; and Finance Specialist – Financial Management Program also at ChemTreat. Eva earned a BA in Economics from Boston College.
Nadine Klabunde
Nadine is Director of Marketing and Marketing Communications at Delta Energy & Communications. Previously, she worked for H.C. Starck for 17 years, most recently as Head of Global Marketing & Strategy Development at H.C. Starck Solutions. She has 15 years of experience in the B2B manufacturing industry implementing successful business strategies, driving best practice marketing and promotional campaigns. Nadine is currently obtaining her M. Sc. in Innovation at Northeastern University.
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Shirley Sun
Shirley is a research associate at Harvard Business School. She conducts research and writes business cases on digital strategy and innovation.
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Jason Wong
Jason is Assistant Professor of Economics at Babson College and an award-winning educator, having won the 2020 London School of Economics Student Union Award for Masters Supervision and the 2017 Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching at Columbia University. He is also passionate about sustainable entrepreneurship education. In 2018, he served as an International Parliamentary Fellow at the German Parliament (Bundestag). Since 2021, he has co-directed the Global Circular Challenge at the LSE, a unique case competition that blends circular economy with design thinking. He holds a PhD from Columbia University. He is fluent in German, Cantonese, and Mandarin. Jason joined the YP Steering Committee in 2024.
⇒ LinkedIN