Maxwell Technologies Inc. appointed Michael J. Liedtke vice president, business development, with primary responsibility for establishing and maintaining strategic relationships with major original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to promote ultracapacitor-based solutions for industrial and transportation applications.
Liedtke, 45, has spent the past eight years as director of marketing and transportation design management for BMW's California-based DesignworksUSA. Previously he held a series of auto, truck and bus design and project management positions with DaimlerCrysler's Mercedes Benz division in Stuttgart, Germany, and its Freightliner truck division in Portland, Ore.
He also spent more than four years in the aerospace industry with McDonnell Douglas and Boeing, where he held various engineering and research and development positions. He holds joint U.S. and German citizenship and is fluent in English, German and French.
Dr. Richard Balanson, Maxwell's president and chief executive officer, said that Liedtke's diverse engineering, design and marketing experience and language fluency give him ideal credentials to spearhead the company's business development efforts.
"Ultracapacitor-based solutions for transportation and industrial applications represent a multi-billion dollar opportunity in the coming decade, and we continue to move aggressively to strengthen Maxwell's capabilities and global reach to capitalize on that opportunity," Balanson said. "This means more and broader talent, new and more technologically advanced products, stronger internal and external production and distribution capabilities and a wider network of partnerships and alliances. Michael Liedtke has an exceptional track record as a leader and innovator across a broad range of industries in the U.S., Europe and Asia, and we expect his energy, experience and contacts to help us take Maxwell's business development efforts to the next level."
Liedtke was born to German parents in the U.S., but was raised and educated in Germany before returning to the U.S. for most of his professional career. He holds a Master of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Karlsruhe in Germany.
