Speakers

Olivier Sappin

Olivier Sappin
With 24 years of expertise in the Transportation & Mobility industry, as well as in 3D Design and end-to-end Virtual Product/Experience Innovation, Olivier has been the CEO of CATIA at Dassault Systèmes since December 2019.Olivier began a career at Dassault Systèmes (3DS) in 1995 as part of CATIA’s Shape Design Industrialization Team. Later, Olivier joined 3DS’ International Automotive Competency Center, collaborating with renowned customers such as HONDA, FIAT, BMW, CHRYSLER, and PSA to help transform their design practices in car body and styling. These experiences provided Olivier with deep knowledge of the automotive sector and customers’ business processes.In 2011, Olivier was appointed Vice President of the newly defined Transportation & Mobility industry, supporting manufacturers and suppliers in developing new mobility experiences for consumers.Now, as the leader of the prestigious CATIA brand, Olivier embraces the challenge of driving innovation and representing one of Dassault Systèmes’ most renowned solutions.

Inseong Yoo

Inseong Yoo
He joined Hyundai MOBIS in 2016 and has spent the past nine years developing automotive exterior lamp prototypes.
Until 2022, he also led the company’s 3D printing operations, including equipment management and technical reviews.
Currently, he focuses on prototype development and rendering for digital verification.

Sven Bertelmann

Sven Bertelmann
Sven Bertelmann is Application Developer for Piping & Tubing Part & 3D Design/ Piping & Tubing Systems Design; Electrical & 3D Design/ Piping & Tubing Systems Design, DELMIA Prismatic Machining and Cutting Tool Designer at CLAAS. Application Development and Consulting, as well as CATIA Templates/ Automation, is his main business at CLAAS.

Hans-Jürgen Falk

Hans-Jürgen FALK is Head of IT Engineering Solutions at CLAAS KGaA mbH, one of the world's leading manufacturers of agricultural engineering equipment. Holding a diploma in electrical engineering and automation, his career spans several roles in the field of manufacturing and IT. As a thought leader, he is passionate about driving innovation initiatives forward with his team. In that context, CLAAS has been awarded for its “Digital Product Development” by RWTH Aachen, which stood out due to the Strategic Believes approach, consisting of model-based systems engineering, 3D continuity and data intelligence.

Roger Tiako Pongue

Roger Tiako Pongue
Roger TIAKO POUNGUE is CAD Domain Lead/Product Owner at CLAAS CSE, one of the world's leading manufacturers of agricultural engineering equipment. From an IT and aerospace engineering background, he is now working as responsible for CAD/PDM Process and Method at CLAAS.

Mario Steinhöfel

Mario Steinhöfel began his professional career in the early 2000s, initially working for automotive suppliers in the field of CATIA design. After several years in the traditional design environment of passive vehicle safety, he transitioned in 2004 to a Munich-based system house, focusing on CATIA consulting, coaching, and training.
Originally trained as a design and concept model maker, he became involved with CAS/Strak in a Munich design studio starting in 2007. There, he gained extensive experience in the BMW design development process. From 2009, he worked at the AUDI Academy in Ingolstadt, where he contributed to the introduction of CATIA V5 in technical development at AUDI AG, as well as the implementation of CATIA V5/LCA at MAN Truck & Bus SE (formerly MAN Nutzfahrzeuge Group).
In 2012, he joined BMW AG, where he is responsible for project coordination in interior design/Strak development, as well as various design-technology convergence processes. His work is characterized by a comprehensive understanding of the overall vehicle and a strong sense of design and form.

Matthias Willecke

Matthias Willecke
Matthias Willecke, since over 30 years in High End Viz and Workstation Business, since 9 years at NVIDIA as the DELL Alliance Manager EMEA.

Stian Alseth

Stian Alseth
With four years advancing rockets at Propulse NTNU, Norway’s leading student rocketry team, from mechanical structures to propulsion avionics, Stian Alseth will step into the role of chairman in August 2025. He is completing an MSc in Electronics Systems Design & Innovation at NTNU, specialising in space systems and signal processing.

Alexander Kiefer

Alexander Kiefer
Alexander Kiefer is an R&D engineer and CAD specialist in the furniture industry.
After studying wood technology, he joined the product development team at Rolf Benz, a manufacturer of high-quality and luxury furniture, located in the Black Forest region of Germany. With over 10 years of experience in CAD, he currently focuses on foam molding technology and digital product visualisation. Alexander is the deputy chairman of the national standardization committee for upholstered furniture and tables. In addition, he is involved in cross-company research projects.

Angel Guerra

Ángel Guerra is a Hypercar Design Specialist working with top-tier OEMs through Silent Resources and accepting select independent commissions through his studio, THE FOURTH D SL. As former Digital Lead Designer for the Rimac Nevera and Bugatti Mistral/Tourbillon, he specializes in transforming radical concepts into production-ready Class-A surfaces using ICEM Surf'. Currently developing confidential hypercar projects (codenamed GP1), he brings the same precision to elite client work. Separately, Ángel collaborates with Dassault Systèmes as a design expert, contributing to innovative showcases like their 'Super Coupé' hypercar demo.

Janna Kalkwarf


Antonio Scarcelli

Antonio Scarcelli
Antonio Scarcelli, was graduated from Ecole Supérieure d’Ingénieurs de Tarbes (1980).
He works as Application Engineer since 1999 in the Competency Center of Dassault Systèmes Provence and now he is Mechanical Industry Process Expert focused on tooling applications.
From 1983, his career has been concerned with CAD/CAM Customers support, documentation, training and development.
He has acquired expertise in tooling area thanks to participation at different European projects, contacts he had and workshops he participated with
Well-known customers.
He was on the European Commission experts list and evaluator for projects proposals.
He is in charge of the development of methodologies based on CATIA V5 and 3DEXPERIENCE to cover Customer Process for Die Design, Sheet Metal, Fasteners and 3D Master.
Last year, he became Team Leader within CATIA Engineering Organization for CATIA Multi-Disciplines Engineering activities.

Damian Kurek

Damian Kurek graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Bydgoszcz University of Technology. He has more than 14 years of experience in projects in the rail industry. Since 2011, he has been working at PESA Bydgoszcz S.A. - a company specializing in the design and production of rail vehicles. He is currently the Head of the Interior Design Team in the Technical Department. During all the years of his work, he has been working on many CAD software. He is one of the people who collaborated on the implementation of the 3DEXPERIENCE platform & 3DEXPERIENCE CATIA at PESA Bydgoszcz S.A.

Daniel Pyzak

Daniel PYZAK graduated in Mechanical Engineering. He has over 38 years of experience in CAD/CAM/CAE/PLM. After positions held in technical support and product management in various CAD/CAM companies (Cisi, Cisigraph, Matra Datavision), he joined Dassault Systèmes Provence in 1999 to manage the Competency Center. The main activities of DSP Competency Center are around tooling, machining, reverse engineering, rapid prototyping/additive manufacturing and data exchanges.
Ten years later, he became responsible of different CATIA technical teams inside for EMEAR (Design, Engineering). And since January 2020, he’s managing the worldwide CATIA Mechanical Industry Process Success organization with a strong focus on Lightweight Engineering: Generative Design, Composites, Mold & Die, Additive Manufacturing, Modeling & Simulation.

Domenico Daelli

Domenico Daelli
After his studies, Domenico Daelli has been working in Information Technology for over 30 years, 25 of which spent in the Biotech industry between Italy and the United States. In the last 5 years Domenico has been working in the private Fusion industry in the US, creating from the ground up IT and OT services for a fusion company, including PLM, Document Control and Records Management and Cybersecurity. Domenico joined Gauss Fusion in 2025 where he now acts as the Head of IT.

Evan Millefort Traica

Evan MILLEFORT TRAICA is an Industry Process Consultant at Dassault Systèmes since 2022. He is a member of the CATIA team at Aix en Provence and technically supports the sales of the Dassault Systèmes solution dedicated to Reverse engineering, Die Face Design and Core Mechanical applications.

Felix Rockel

Graduated in Industrial Design and International Business Management, Felix works for Dassault Systèmes for 8 years now, as Senior Solution Consultant and Techsales for CATIA Design.
Working in the CATIA Design IPS team, his role includes the following tasks:
- Consulting and supporting customers on the 3D design solutions
- Analyzing and consulting the Design Studio workflow and digital tool chain of its customers
- Executing sales demonstrations with the 3D design solutions for various customers from different industries
- Performing onsite software trainings of our solution to designers and engineers of our customers
- Designing various products to demonstrate our design solutions to our customers to support the sales process

Florent Praud

As an Application Consultant at Dassault Systèmes, Florent brings
expertise across the entire 3DExperience Design & Styling portfolio.
From the initial creative phase to the development of immersive
experiences—including advanced surface design—he focuses on
understanding clients' needs and challenges to deliver tailored
solutions that align perfectly with the unique expectations and
requirements of each project.

Jean-Christophe Olivier

Jean-Christophe Olivier
Jean-Christophe Olivier oversees NVIDIA's strategic partnership with Dassault Systèmes across design, engineering, simulation, manufacturing, and healthcare sectors. In this capacity, he manages the NVIDIA ISV developer partnerships, helping them in enhancing their platforms and applications using NVIDIA accelerated computing hardware, sofwares and AI frameworks.

Jens Menzen

Jens MENZEN is SIMULIA Industry Process Consultant at Dassault Systèmes and has over 11 years of experience in the automotive industry. He worked as a Development Engineer responsible for CAE model build coordination and automation, mainly in the concept phase. Since 2024, he joined Dassault Systèmes Germany, focusing on MODSIM topics (unified modeling and simulation on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform).

Jonas Ittel

Jonas Ittel
Jonas Ittel holds a Master of Science degree from the Technical University Munich in Aerospace Engineering. After working in the aerospace industry for several years, he transitioned into software sales, specializing in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and later moved into BMW Account Management at Dassault Systèmes. Since January 2024, Jonas Ittel took on the leadership role as the CATIA Sales Director in EuroCentral at Dassault Systèmes.

Jochem Baehr

Jochem BAEHR is a CATIA Engineering Process Expert who has worked for Dassault Systémes in the CATIA Multi-Disciplinary Engineering organization since 2010.
After studying process engineering, he started his professional career in 1997 in the domain of configuration and data management, working for different industries, such as Aerospace, Industrial Equipment, Energy and Medical Devices.
In the last 15 years, he has acted as an expert in technical and product communication, supporting customers in implementing and using our CATIA Composer technical communication software. At the beginning of 2025, he expanded his responsibility to help customers adopt and introduce the 3D Master process.

Jörgen Hilmann

Dr. Jörgen Hilmann is a Senior SIMULIA Expert at Dassault Systèmes, responsible for global business development and strategic deployment of 3DEXPERIENCE-based concept engineering solutions. With over two decades of hands-on experience in CAE, SFE Concept, and MODSIM, he has played a key role in transforming early-phase vehicle development at Ford and beyond. Known for his visionary approach, Dr. Hilmann champions automated, cross-functional, and data-driven methodologies, helping OEMs and startups adopt next-generation modeling practices. His work has led to transformations of concept CAE processes and integration of AI/ML into structural engineering. A thought leader with a PhD in shape optimization who drives forward-thinking developments in the field of concept development.

Julian Geißler

Julian Geißler has been working for 15 years in CAS modeling/ Class A surfacing for various sectors of vehicle development for different well-known customers from the automotive industry
Since 2020, project lead/team lead for CAS/ Class A surfacing in Munich and Ingolstadt.

Julien Lachichi

Dynamic CATIA Design Expert with over 10 years of specialized experience in advanced surfacemodeling and digital design for automotive projects. Proven ability in leading complex creative modelinginitiatives for prestigious clients, such as maintaining Class-A standards at companies like RENAULT andAUDI. Achieved successful delivery of high-quality digital definitions for notable projects, enhancingdesign efficiency and innovation. Eager to leverage unique expertise in design project to meet thechallenges at an innovative organization.

Martin Peter

Martin has been working for 11 years for X-Rite and has 7 years of experience as a TAC Solution Architect in measuring and modeling the visual appearance of materials for rendering and visualization and creating workflows with customers and their suppliers. He got his Bachelor of Color Science in Esslingen, Germany, and joined X-Rite Pantone in 2014 as part of the Applications / Tech Support team.

Laura Peythieux

Laura graduated from an engineering school specializing in computer graphics. For 11 years, Laura developed the Industrial Design applications provided by Dassault Systèmes.For several years, Laura has been a consultant and tech sales representative for the CATIA IPS team, focusing on engineering and design topics such as Creative Design, Visual Scripting, Reverse Engineering, and Lattice Design.

Laurent Igarza

With an engineering degree from French university E.N.S. Arts & Métiers, Laurent started his career within Dassault Systèmes, where he joined the industrialization department of CATIA R&D. During 10 years, he ensured various jobs of test engineering, customer support and QA manager, where he contributed to massive adoption on the market of our core engineering & surfacing applications, from both CATIA V4 & CATIA V5 versions, mostly through dedicated projects with key customers in Transport & Mobility and Aerospace & Defense industries.
Laurent joined CATIA Design portfolio team in 2009, taking care of CATIA most advanced surfaces solutions such as ICEM products and Reverse Engineering domain where his missions led him to produce materials for marketing purpose or customer support. Always pushing for innovation and process transformations, Laurent is leading the CATIA Design Surface Refinement R&D portfolio strategy, through deployment projects with partners and customers. Laurent maintains the important link between B2B world & CATIA R&D, to daily build & improve creative solutions, and finally propose best possible offer for a classically demanding population of surface modeling experts worldwide.

Lukasz Kostrzewa

Lukasz KOSTRZEWA graduated in Mechanical Engineering. He has 20 years of experience in CAD. After positions held as design engineer and CATIA Key User, he joined Dassault Systèmes as an Industry Process Consultant. His mission is to help customers and users create added value by utilizing and sharing knowledge and expertise related to the use of the 3DEXPERIENCE platform within the industry.

Lukas Wimmer

Lukas is a skilled technical product designer with a solid background in CAD and surface modeling. From 2016 to 2019, he gained hands-on experience with CATIA, Creo, and XV5 in a technical product design role. Between 2019 and 2023, he specialized in Strak interior modeling using Icem Surf, contributing to high-precision surface development projects. During this period, Lukas also completed further technical education, enhancing his capabilities with tools such as Siemens NX, Rhino, Grasshopper, and VRED. Since 2023, Lukas has been working in Strak development for seating systems, focusing on high-quality surface modeling using IMA.

Marcin Wróblewski

Marcin Wróblewski graduated in Mechatronics from the AGH University of Science and Technology in Kraków. He has over 10 years of experience with multiple CAD systems. Since 2017, he has been working at EC Engineering—a company specializing in railway industry projects—as an engineer and CAD systems administrator. Currently, he is involved in interior and bogie projects. Additionally, as a CAD systems administrator, he is constantly looking for ways to improve and optimize working methodologies in CATIA V5 and 3DEXPERIENCE.

Martin Dreau

Martin DREAU is an Industry Process Expert within CATIA. With 10 years of expertise in utilizing 3D parametric modeling techniques, Finite Element Analysis, and multi-disciplinary optimization strategies, he has contributed to many industrial projects worldwide across the automotive, train and aerospace domains.

Martin Müller-Leps

Martin discovered his passion for 3D graphics at the age of 14. Starting
with 3ds Max to mod his favorite video games, he later launched his
career in the games industry, where he worked from 2005 to 2012. In
2013, he joined Dassault Systèmes as a visualization expert and design
consultant, collaborating with leading automotive OEMs as well as other
industries like aerospace and consumer goods. With over 20 years of
professional experience in CAD, 3D graphics, product visualization, and
high-end rendering, Martin now serves as a senior product manager for
Dassault's visualization and rendering portfolio.

Maximilian Heimig

Maximilian Heimig
Maximilian Heimig completed his Abitur in 2020. Afterward, he started studying 'Technical Design' at the University of Applied Sciences in Ingolstadt.
His studies focused on agile and innovative design processes.
This culminated in his Bachelor's thesis at EDAG Engineering, where he was able to test and evaluate Dassault Systèmes 3DEXPERIENCE platform throughout the entire development process.
In October 2024, he continued his studies and enrolled in the ‘Design Leadership’ Masters course at the same university.
Since February 2025, he has also worked as a student trainee at EDAG Engineering. Here, he gains further practical experience in addition to his academic work.

Markus Meir

Michael Adrian

Michael Adrian
Michael Adrian is working as a Technical Sales Specialist in the CATIA Design IPS Team. Michael started his professional career in Virtual Reality technologies back in the 1990s after his study of Philosophy and Linguistics.
His expertise includes 3D data conversion and preparation for real-time rendering, immersive processes and technologies in industrial review applications, multi-user environments for collaborative design reviews and some more.
Today Michael is supporting our customers and partners as technical sales consultant.

Michael Klöden

Michael Klöden
Michael Klöden studied at the West Saxon University of Applied Sciences of Zwickau from 1995 to 1999, specializing in automotive engineering.
He began his professional career as a design engineer at Sommer Allibert Lignotock GmbH from 1999 to 2002.
From 2002 to 2005, he continued developing his automotive interior expertise at Faurecia Innenraum Systeme GmbH.
He then joined ConForm Design + Engineering GbR until 2010.
Since then, he has been part of EDAG Engineering GmbH, bringing together years of automotive industry experience with a strong background in design surface development.

Michael Reiter

As technical product manager at CATIA Design, Michael is in charge of the global Virtual and Mixed Reality integration in 3DEXPERIENCE platform as well as the XR aspects of the design presentation and validation app Product Perception Experience.
Before joining Dassault Systèmes, Michael was a technical specialist at RTT AG, where he handled the planning, rollout and maintenance of high-end CAVE systems for customers in Europe and Asia.

Michel Schäfer

Michel SCHÄFER is Industry Process Expert Manager within Dassault Systèmes CATIA brand. He has 20 years of experience in parametric modeling and simulation, realizing studies for conceptual development in the automotive domain. He is responsible for introducing customers to Conceptual Structures Applications and supporting them in establishing their concept engineering process on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform.

Nick McFerran

A 29 year career in Automotive Design, equally split between Class A Surface modelling for prestigious OEM Design Studios, and working directly for the Software Solution providers as Technical Consultant supporting their customers, keeping them informed of the latest technology, and enabling them to get the best experience from their 3D solutions.
Since January 2016 I have worked for DASSAULT SYSTEMES initially in the CATIA Design Centre of Excellence, and lately the Industry Process Success team. Specialising in Surface Refinement supporting solutions such as ICEM Surf and CATIA Icem Design Experience, also embracing new paradigms such as CATIA Human motion capture and Immersive Virtual Reality.
I enjoy revealing the latest potential of CATIA to all our valued users across all industries, helping them to realise the potential game-changing value enabled by the 3DEXPERIENCE.

Olivier Huron

Olivier Huron is a CATIA Mechanical Industry Process Expert Senior Specialist
He has more than 35 years of experience in CAD/CAM/CAE/PLM.
His career has involved support, training and development in various CAD/CAM companies (Cisigraph, Matra Datavision). He joined Dassault Systèmes Provence in 1999 as a member of the Competency Center.
He aims to support and help customers with Tooling activities (Plastic Mold, HPDC, Die design) and Machining areas.

Olivier Nallet

Olivier NALLET has been a senior consultant at Dassault Systèmes since 1999. Since 2007, he has been a member of the CATIA team, technically supporting the sales of the Dassault Systèmes solution dedicated to Composites parts design. He acts for customers in the Aerospace and Defense, Transportation and Mobility, Energy and Marine and offshore industries, helping them deploy CATIA 3DEXPERIENCE on their Composites process.

Peter Stuehn

Peter STUEHN is a CATIA Mechanical Industry Process Expert Senior Specialist. His mission is to help customers and users create added value by utilizing and sharing knowledge and expertise related to the use of the 3DEXPERIENCE platform within the industry.

Peter Timm

Peter TIMM is an experienced CATIA Industry Process Consultant who helps our clients unlock their full business potential. With extensive industry expertise and in-depth knowledge of CATIA, he assesses our clients' processes and business requirements to develop actionable transformation strategies. With 26 years of experience in CATIA/CAD and PLM, Peter TIMM is a recognized expert in this field. He gained valuable experience in the automotive industry and spent over 9 years as an engineering service manager at an OEM in complete vehicle development.

Richad Kembleton

Richad Kembleton
Dr. Richard Kembleton has been working in fusion physics for over 20 years, starting with a PhD in fusion materials at Cambridge University. He then joined UKAEA (UK Atomic Energy Authority), where he was a member of the Power Plant Technology Group and worked on DEMO, power plant designs, and fusion economics. Dr. Kembleton joined EUROfusion in Garching in 2018 to manage the Prospective R&D programme aimed at realising technology for commercialisation, and then joined Gauss Fusion in 2023, where he now acts as the CSO.

Romain Perron

Romain Perron is a seasoned technology leader with nearly two decades of experience at Dassault Systèmes, where he currently serves as Vice President of Research and Development. Throughout his career, he has played a pivotal role in advancing the company’s CATIA product line, previously leading initiatives as CATIA Web Apps Director and CATIA Mobile Apps Senior Manager. With a strong software engineering and product management background, Romain has consistently driven innovation in 3D design and user experience technologies. He is based in the Île-de-France region and is deeply engaged in shaping the future of digital engineering solutions.

Robert Schulte

Robert Schulte
Dr. Schulte studied Mechanical Engineering at the Technical University of Clausthal-Zellerfeld, specializing in Mechanical Design, and earned his doctorate from the University of the Federal Armed Forces in Hamburg with a thesis on computer-aided standard part management in automotive production planning (2013). He began his career at Airbus in Hamburg, contributing to the 3D-DMU introduction for the A330/240 program. He later held leadership roles at Volkswagen in Wolfsburg and Anhui, including as Head of Central Planning and Data Management R&D. Since October 2024, he has served as Head of CoC DIGITAL SOLUTIONS at Volkswagen AG, overseeing key systems such as CONNECT and TI-Syncro, and recently assumed the group project lead for the 3DX platform by Dassault Systèmes.

Sabine Scheunert

Sabine Scheunert is an experienced leader in the automotive and technology industries. Since June 2024, she has been the Chair of the Management Board of Eurocentral at Dassault Systèmes, overseeing business activities in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and other regional countries.
Previously, she served as Vice President of Digital & IT
Sales/Marketing at Mercedes-Benz Cars from 2016 to April 2024. In this role, she led global digital transformation initiatives, including the development of new digital business models, the implementation of agile
working methods, and the rollout of e-commerce solutions across over 40 markets. Under her leadership, IT became a central driver of the company's digital strategy.
Sabine Scheunert began her career at the BMW Group, where she held various management positions in Germany,
France, and Eastern Europe. She then moved to the PSA Group (now Stellantis) and served as Chief Customer Officer, among other roles.
From 2014 to 2016, she was the first woman to serve as CEO of a European automaker in China, leading the Citroën brand in a joint venture with DongFeng Motors. Sabine Scheunert studied business mathematics in Bielefeld and European business management at the Fachhochschule der
Wirtschaft (FHDW) in Germany. She also completed an Advanced Strategy Program at Harvard Business School.
In addition to her professional career, Sabine Scheunert serves as a supervisory board member for companies such as Messer SE in Germany and Planet First Partners in the UK. She is an active advocate and mentor for women in STEM fields, promoting greater diversity in the technology industry.

Sébastien Cetre

Sébastien Cêtre is a mechanical designer at Dassault Systèmes supporting CATIA customers in finding ways of designing products more efficiently since 2016.

Serge Isambert

Serge Isambert
After graduating from a mechanical engineering school in Paris, Serge Isambert joined Dassault Systèmes in 1997. He first worked in the helpdesk team, supporting customers on the different CATIA V4 modules. After several years in the European presales organization for Industrial Equipment customers, he joined 2007 the DS WW presales team in charge of the indirect channel. He's now a CATIA Mechanical Industry Process Expert Specialist focusing on design automation, eco-design, weight & balance and core mechanical design.

Stanislas D'Acremont

After more than 10 years working for the car industry as a car configurator production specialist, I moved to CATIA Design team to support and promote our Product Experience solutions.
My experience in consulting and visual assets production (brochures, web configurators, print) gave me a rendering and visualization knowledge that I put now at the service of our Product Experiences, so we are always able to provide the best solutions to our customers.

Stefan Mertz

Stefan MERTZ is a senior industry process expert within Dassault Systèmes CATIA brand. With 10 years of experience in conceptual product development he is worldwide responsible for CATIA|SFE industry processes. After graduation at Technical University of Berlin with diploma in automotive engineering in 2011 he started as a project engineer at SFE GmbH in Berlin supporting and leading service projects in Europe, North America and Asia. Within 4 years at SFE GmbH he gained experience in project management, technical support and quality assurance. In 2015 he joined Dassault Systèmes as a solution consultant responsible for technical sales of CATIA | SFE products and is nowadays helping to enrich customer processes for conceptual design embracing MODELING & SIMULATION.

Stephan Ritz

Stephan Ritz
Stephan RITZ is a Portfolio Management Director for the CATIA brand at Dassault Systèmes. He’s in charge of the portfolio for visual simulation & validation, perceived quality, rendering and product experience in design and engineering. This includes the collaboration with partners to extend the portfolio’s capabilities, e.g., for the lighting design experience. Before taking the position as Portfolio Management Director at CATIA in 2016, he used to lead the Design and Engineering business unit at RTT AG for multiple years and has also worked in the R&D department at Mechdyne Corporation.

Thomas Frison

As a member of the Design Center of Excellence, I specialize in delivering best-in-class demonstrations, value propositions, and Proof of Concept support for CATIA DESIGN and ICEM Surf solutions across the EMEA region. My role focuses on empowering internal teams, driving knowledge transfer, and ensuring client success through technical expertise and innovative design solutions. Passionate about sharing knowledge, I actively contribute to sales, pre-sales, and service activities to foster collaboration and inspire excellence.

Thomas Balle

THOMAS BALLE is the CATIA DESIGN Industry Process Team Leader Worldwide in the CATIA Brand organization. As such, he is leading a team of CATIA experts focusing on Visualization, Concept and Class A Surface modeling. After graduating as an Industrial Designer (FH) from the HFG Gmuend, Germany, in 1999, he honed his skills as a consultant in various positions at system integrators and service providers in the Automotive Industry. In 2006, he joined ICEM GmbH to focus more on creative design and Class A surface modeling. Soon after, he joined Dassault Systèmes as part of the ICEM acquisition in 2007. As a trusted advisor, he has been involved in countless projects for major customers in various industries all over the globe, promoting the value of CATIA Creative Solutions. For Thomas, Industrial Design in the 21st century is about a holistic approach to reach the perfect consumer experience. Out of this conviction, Thomas avidly supports the Design Thinking method and advocates for a tighter and deeper integration of Industrial Design and Engineering to improve consumer experiences and sustainability.

Ugo Barba-lata

Ugo is an Industry Process Expert Manager at Dassault Systèmes, surrounded by a team of CATIA experts who focus on Concept and Class A Surface modeling and Visualization.
With six years of experience providing services to PSA and TOYOTA in digital perceived quality and virtual mockup, he specializes in the V+R Product Experience offering, focusing on realistic visualization, immersive solutions and experience-driven technologies.
Ugo and his team now collaborate with companies that transform their complete end-to-end processes and use cases with our unified 3DEXPERIENCE solutions and workflow.

Xavier Melkonian

Xavier Melkonian joined Dassault Systemes in 2009 to take the responsibility of the CATIA Design Domain in the CATIA Brand.
Prior to join Dassault Systèmes, Xavier spent nearly 20 years in the software industry for Styling & Design in various positions from R&D, Busines development, to Product & Industry Management.
Xavier melkonian's responsibility includes defining the Dassault Systèmes strategy of the CATIA Design Roles portofolio solutions to address the Industrial Design, Visualization, Reverse Engineering, Class-A Surfaces modeling markets for both transportation and product Design industries.

Nicolas Duvallet

Nicolas has been responsible for Class-A surface projects within the interior domain since 2007. He began his career as a modeler at Citroën before joining Audi in 2012. From 2019 to 2020, he was based in Shanghai, contributing to joint-venture projects. In addition to his work in surface development, Nicolas is currently also responsible for software development and the implementation of Grasshopper-based design processes.