Formel D Management
Dr. Jürgen Laakmann
CEO
Dr. Jürgen Laakmann, CEO, is the chairman of the company’s executive board. He joined Formel D in 2002 and has been a member of the executive board since 2005. He was appointed as CEO in July 2017.
After successfully completing a mechanical engineering degree in manufacturing technology in Aachen, Dr. Laakmann then studied for a PhD in the same subject area. From 1997 to 2000, he initiated, managed and successfully established the foreign branch of a German provider of software to medium-sized manufacturing companies. Before commencing work as a branch head at Formel D in Munich in April 2002, he was marketing director for a South African company responsible for developing its European market.
Gian Mario Deligios
CFO
Gian Mario Deligios has been Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Formel D Group since January 2020. The finance manager can look back on many years of experience in managerial positions in the automotive industry.
Before his appointment at Formel D, Deligios was Group Chief Financial Officer at Witte Automotive from 2015 to 2019. His previous positions include three years as Group Chief Financial Officer and Group Managing Director for the BOA Group and ten years as Finance Director Business Unit Metals JCI, Group Chief Financial Officer and Managing Director CRH Group for Johnson Controls Inc. and C. Rob. Hammerstein (CRH) Group.
Dr. Thomas Klukas
COO
Thomas Klukas assumed the position of Chief Operating Officer (COO) at the Formel D Group in June 2020. The industrial engineer has many years of international experience and has already held various high-ranking international managerial positions.
Before joining Formel D, Dr. Klukas was responsible for the Automotive division of the internationally leading testing, inspection, and certification company SGS SA, headquartered in Geneva, as a member of the board. Before that, he held leading managerial positions for DEKRA SE both in Germany and abroad.
After completing his degree at the Technical University of Karlsruhe, Thomas Klukas received his PhD in engineering at the University of Kaiserslautern in 1999.
Dinggui Gao
Managing Director China
Dinggui Gao is Formel D’s Managing Director China, since October 2017. He brings over 30 years of experience with internationally operating companies.
After successfully completing a Mechanical Engineering degree (B.Sc.) in Wuhan and a MBA program in Beijing he joined various companies in leading and executive positions. Prior to Formel D he was President at Sandvik Construction. He also gained extensive experience in the Automotive Industry at Bosch, Honeywell and Eagle Ottawa.
Matthias Grossmann
Vice President Strategy & Digitalization
Matthias Grossmann is head of the Strategy & Digitalization unit. He joined Formel D in September 2018 and has comprehensive international experience in quality management and the service industry, specifically in the area of digitalization.
After completing his engineering degree at RWTH Aachen, Matthias Grossmann helped establish Fraunhofer Center for Manufacturing Innovation in Boston, gaining important experience in the automotive industry as part of major projects. From 2000 to 2013, he headed a foreign subsidiary for a German quality management software provider as managing director. From 2009 onward, he was also responsible for global product development, in charge of key German OEMs together with his team. Before moving on to Formel D, he acted as COO for an IT/digitalization expert.
Dr. Marcel Klehr
Vice President Germany
Dr. Marcel Klehr joined Formel D in 2012, assuming responsibility for Formel D activities in Germany as Vice President Germany in July 2017.
Previously, he managed an operational region in Germany from Böblingen. From 2013 to 2016, he acted as Head of Sales in Germany. He was also responsible for the Formel D subsidiary in South Africa for several years. Before joining Formel D as a Project Manager in Munich in 2012, he worked for a major system supplier in the construction industry as a sales and project manager.
Martin Pekár
Vice President Central & Eastern Europe
Martin Pekár joined Formel D in 2013, first as the Sales Director and then Operations Director and is now heading the national subsidiaries of the Formel D Group in Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria, Russia, Romania and Turkey. He took over the role of Vice President CEE in August, 2017.
After completing the Machine Engineering High School in 2001, Martin Pekár worked for various Automotive OEMs and a power engineering service provider and has held various positions. Starting as Quality Inspector, he was promoted to Supervisor, Coordinator, Project Manager, Branch Director and Managing Director. In 2011 he joined the MBA program at UNYP University in Prague.
Wei Zhang
Vice President China
Wei Zhang was appointed Vice President China at the beginning of 2020. He began his career at Formel D as a Project Manager in 2012, before moving up in ranks to Technical Director in 2014 and finally Director in 2017.
Before joining Formel D, Wei Zhang gained experience in the automotive industry, working for Denso Tianjin as a quality engineer and for an EV powertrain system producer as a quality manager. He successfully completed Bachelor studies in “Electrical Engineering and Automation” as well as “IT and Technology”.