Speakers & Partners

Short Biography

As a senior portfolio manager, Janis Kaltschnee is responsible for managing the tenant electricity portfolio. After working at the management consulting firm E-Bridge and the PV startup Sunvigo, he now focuses at Einhundert on analyzing new opportunities for tenant-generated electricity business models—particularly in the context of a changing regulatory and technical landscape.

Short Biography

Dr. Sören Patzack has been a partner specializing in digital transformation at BET since 2025. His areas of expertise include digital strategies, flexibility management, smart meter rollouts, IT and data architectures, and artificial intelligence. He advises energy utilities as well as policymakers, government agencies, and industry associations.

Short Biography

Dr. Kai Herrmann studied computer science at the Technical University of Dresden and earned his Ph.D. in the Dresden Database Systems Group with a dissertation on “Multi-Schema-Version Data Management.”

He has been working for Robotron Datenbank-Software GmbH since 2019. As the Product Owner for Smart CLS, he is responsible for product development related to system control, particularly through the Smart Meter Gateway infrastructure.

Short Biography

Dr. Christian Hofmann studied computer science from 1999 to 2003 at the Technical University of Dresden, specializing in theoretical computer science, data protection and data security, and cryptography. Dr. Hofmann has been working for Robotron Datenbank-Software GmbH in the energy sector for over 15 years. Since 2020, he has headed the Metering/IoT division and, together with his team, has been driving forward innovative solutions and products related to connectivity, smart metering systems, and smart energy applications.

Short Biography

Joachim Lang has been working in the energy industry for 15 years and established and led the Marketing & Sales division at a leading competitive meter reading service provider. At Mako365, he is responsible for sales, marketing, and product development.

Short Biography

Wiegand Lütjen has been working at EWE NETZ since 2015. As a systems engineer and project manager, he focuses on connecting and utilizing flexibility resources via the MSB infrastructure, as well as actively participating in innovation projects such as unIT-e² and WARAN. Wiegand Lütjen studied Systems Engineering (B.Sc./M.Sc.) at the University of Bremen.

Short Biography

Christian Deppermann studied telecommunications engineering in Berlin and joined Weidmüller through his work at Siemens. During his 28 years with the company, he has held various positions; he currently oversees smart metering, Section 14a of the Energy Economy Act (EnWG), and Section 9 of the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) throughout Germany.

Short Biography

Coming soon

Short Biography

Coming soon

Short Biography

Pascal Müller has served as Head of Sales at the competitive meter operator Zählerhelden since March 2025. In this role, he is responsible for customer development and support, as well as for coordinating and expanding the partner network. Before joining Zählerhelden, Pascal Müller held various positions in the photovoltaic sector and worked for a supplier of gMSBs and wMSBs.

Short Biography

Jörn Lutze is the managing director of TMZ Thüringer Mess- und Zählerwesen Service GmbH. A graduate engineer in electrical engineering, he has many years of experience in the areas of grid connection, grid operations, maintenance management, and IT project management. He initially worked at E.ON Energie and E.ON Thüringer Energie, where he also gained extensive experience in metering; starting in 2016, he was responsible, among other things, for implementing gateway administration at Thüringer Energie AG.

Short Biography

As Director of Smart Metering at Octopus Energie, Fabian Maleitzke is responsible for scaling processes and strategic market positioning for Metering as a Service.

Short Biography

Do product innovation and energy regulation actually go hand in hand, and can they be leveraged to create real benefits for customers that simply deliver value? Carsten, Senior Product Manager for Innovation at gridX, explores these key questions and is responsible for transforming regulatory requirements into product offerings with clear added value. He draws on 15 years of experience in product management and business development in the energy industry.

Short Biography

Roman Brune is a Sales Manager in the Communications Technology division at GE Vernova. GE offers solutions to create a modern communications mix that meets the high demands of critical infrastructure while supporting digital transformation in industry and energy supply. The focus is on wireless and wired technologies such as LTE and Nessum, which combine strong synergies with maximum security, availability, and future-proofing.

Short Biography

Jan Lehmann has served as VP of Product Management at Kiwigrid since 2020, where he is responsible for strategy and product management. Prior to that, Jan worked extensively on balancing group management and direct marketing at MVV.

Short Biography

After completing his adult education, Wolfgang Duschl studied computer science at the University of Passau and currently works at Bayernwerk Netz GmbH in the Asset Management & Technical Policy Department. For over 9 years, Wolfgang Duschl has been driving innovative solutions in the areas of (bidirectional) electric mobility and smart metering systems, and he is currently the project manager for the BDL Next grant-funded project.

Short Biography

Steffen Doll has been with Netze BW since early 2019. In the Metering Technology Division, he is supporting the rollout as part of the SMGW certification process.

Short Biography

After many years as Head of Software Development, Alexander Bourgett is now responsible for the company’s strategic growth in the areas of AC charging solutions for electric vehicles and energy management.

Short Biography

Marcus Schröder is Head of Sales Germany at Solar Manager, with several years of experience in sales management, including in the field of photovoltaic systems. As an expert in digital sales solutions, he is responsible for the successful scaling of the Solar Manager HEMS in Germany.

Short Biography

Ingo Stracke has been active in the smart metering sector since 2020 and, in close collaboration with PPC, has helped advance the field of submetering via CLS and smart meter gateways in the metering services industry. Since 2025, he has served as Product Marketing Manager at Sontex SA in Switzerland and, under the motto “your link to innovative metering,” is now also helping to shape the digital transformation of the energy transition on an international level.

Short Biography

Andreas Schmalenberg started as a development engineer at KOSTAL nearly 20 years ago and has been committed to the energy transition in the field of photovoltaics ever since. He has been working as a product manager since 2019 and is responsible for the inverters in the PLENTICORE series.

Short Biography

Wim Drożak is in charge of Enpal’s metering operations. Under his leadership, Enpal has established itself as the largest competitive metering operator in Germany. Previously, Drożak was a strategy consultant at McKinsey.

Short Biography

Dr. Bernhard Böhmer is a co-founder and CTO of Lumenaza GmbH. After 17 years in the mobile communications industry, he founded the company in 2013 together with CEO Dr. Christian Chudoba to actively drive the energy transition forward using the Lumenaza SaaS platform, which they developed in-house. Since then, many energy suppliers and direct sellers in Germany have automated and scaled their energy management processes using Lumenaza’s end-to-end solutions. Through its consumer brand, LUOX Energy, Lumenaza also operates as a direct seller and energy supplier itself.

Short Biography

Flexibility is the driving force behind the energy transition. As a product manager at Vaillant, Sven Pack is responsible for EEBUS partner management, the integration of Vaillant systems into HEMS, and the further development of energy management functions.

Short Biography

After studying physics in Heidelberg and gaining his first experience in entrepreneurship in London, he entered the meter reading industry somewhat by chance. Today, he is a co-founder and CTO of metiundo and is working on the operating system for the energy transition in the housing sector.

Short Biography

Renewable energy is his passion. Since 2004, this dedicated SMA employee has been contributing to the energy transition as a product manager at the North Hessian trendsetter. Starting in 2018, his focus has been on SMA’s forecast-based energy management system—the Sunny Home Manager 2.0. A key goal for the success of the HEMS, in addition to energy efficiency, is interoperability with other manufacturers as well as transparency regarding energy consumption—all in line with the motto: TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR ENERGY!

Short Biography

Tobias Mitter is the Managing Director and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of gridX, a leading AI platform provider for flexibility and energy management of decentralized assets. Prior to this, he gained over 20 years of experience at renowned companies. At gridX, he is responsible for product development, engineering, and the production of the gridX IoT Edge Device. Under his leadership, gridX has established key partnerships, including the introduction of the “Ready for gridX” label to promote interoperability among energy systems.

Short Biography

Tim Ullrich has more than nine years of industry experience. As a member of the smarvis team, he successfully advises companies in the housing and energy sectors on the implementation of new business areas—such as submetering—using measurement technology and software solutions from QUNDIS GmbH.

Speaker (PPC)

Short Biography

Carina Behringer has been an innovation manager at PPC since 2021 and leads funded projects such as unIT-e², which aims to integrate transportation and power grids via iMSys. She also supports the German Sustainability Code and the WARAN project. She studied environmental engineering and energy science at TU Darmstadt.

Short Biography

Claus Conrads has been a Senior Business Development Manager at PPC since 2020 and is driving the market readiness of business models in smart metering. Previously, he worked in business unit development at the Pfalzwerke Group. He holds a B.Sc. in International Business Administration and an M.Sc. in IT Management.

Short Biography

Barbora Dabisch has been Manager of CLS Solutions – Strategic Accounts at PPC since 2025. Her focus is on the value-added platform, including CLS hardware, CLS software, and smart applications. She studied industrial engineering (B.Sc./M.Sc.) at RWTH Aachen University and gained experience at FGH, PREdistribuce, and E.ON ERC.

Short Biography

Greta Esders is the product manager for the PPC Smart Meter Gateway and is driving its further development. Her focus is on controlling generation and consumption systems, as well as new features from TR03109-1 V2. In this way, she ensures that future generations of the gateway meet all market requirements.

Short Biography

Jürgen Flicker has been with PPC since 2001 and, as a product manager, is responsible for powerline devices and the network management system. He also works on certificate management for WAN and assists customers with APN migration. As chair of the DKE working group, he played a key role in shaping the DIN/VDE standard for WAN management in power grids.

Short Biography

Sylvia Gatzlaff has been with PPC since 2009. She started as a project manager and has gained extensive experience over the past 10 years in the planning and installation of Powerline projects both domestically and internationally. Since 2018, she has been responsible for the development of the NMS front end in the Innovation Management department, as well as for training on Powerline and the NMS.

Short Biography

For the past two years, Fabian Karl has served as Senior Product Manager at PPC, where he is responsible for broadband powerline communication. Prior to that, after completing his studies in Energy Engineering and Renewable Energy, he gained experience in innovation projects such as “enera” and “Fühler im Netz,” learning which topics are particularly important for energy utilities.

Short Biography

Roland Klaiber has been the managing director of Vype GmbH and Coms4Grid GmbH since 2012. Prior to that, he managed the day-to-day operations of Vype GmbH and was responsible for building out the BPL network in Mannheim at MAnet GmbH. He studied electrical engineering with a focus on communications engineering at Dieburg University of Applied Sciences.

Short Biography

Alfonso Leonardi has been with PPC since 2015 and has been involved in the development of SMGW from the very beginning. Since 2023, he has served as the SMGW Product Owner and is responsible for its further development. He also heads the service desk to optimize customer support and requirements management—making him the central point of contact for SMGW development.

Short Biography

Eugen Mayer is the founder, shareholder, and, since 2005, a member of the PPC Executive Board. He has been managing the company’s day-to-day operations since 2001. After studying electrical and automation engineering in Konstanz and Coventry, he gained experience in the energy sector before taking over PPC in a management buyout in 2008.

Short Biography

Ralf Növer has been with PPC since 2017. After starting out in innovation management and overseeing grant-funded projects, he took on responsibility for the development of mobile and WAN communication solutions in 2019. He studied mechanical engineering with a focus on renewable energy technology at RWTH Aachen University.

Short Biography

Moritz Öppling has been with PPC for two years and is part of the Innovation Management team. He leads the BMWK-funded WARAN project on grid-friendly heat connections. After earning his degree in industrial engineering with a focus on digital technologies, he joined PPC to play an active role in the energy transition.

Short Biography

After nearly 30 years in the automotive industry, Kristina Palestini joined PPC’s innovation management team in 2021. She quickly discovered her passion for secure supply chains. Today, she is the product manager for “SiLKe” and is responsible for development, process optimization, customer service, support, and training.

Short Biography

Hans Ruland has been an innovation manager at PPC since 2021. He leads funding and innovation projects, oversees the internal idea management process, and develops new solutions for the energy transition. Together with strong partners, he works on BMWK projects such as “SMGW-forwards,” “SISSY,” and “unIT-e².” He studied industrial engineering at KIT.

Short Biography

Karen Schmid discovered her passion for the energy industry after years of working in operational meter reading. At PPC, she leads the CLS Products team and is responsible for developing the CLS portfolio, supporting customers and partners, and participating in FNN working groups on CLS.

Short Biography

Ingo Schönberg (CEO) is the founder, shareholder, and, since 2001, Chairman of the Board of PPC. After earning degrees in engineering and business administration, he held management positions at MVV Energie before co-founding PPC in 2001. In 2008, he took over the company together with Eugen Mayer as part of a management buyout.

Short Biography

Yazan Tabannaj has been a mobile communications product manager at PPC since 2019 and is responsible for developing new solutions related to the communications module in the smart meter gateway. As a product owner, he oversees PowerBase LTE and also drives the further development of antenna solutions.

Short Biography

Janosch Wagner (CTO) has been a member of PPC’s Executive Board since 2023 and is responsible for technology and development. He has been with PPC since 2009; prior to that, he headed the metering division and built up the SMGW portfolio. He studied information technology at the DHBW Stuttgart and worked at Alcatel-Lucent in the smart grid division.

Short Biography

Thomas Wunsch (Head of Sales) has been with PPC since 2018 and has been in charge of the sales department since 2023. Prior to that, he held management positions in the renewable energy sector at GOLDBECK Solar and the juwi Group. He studied business law in Siegen and at the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga.

Short Biography

Julian Zilg has been with PPC for 3.5 years and is the deputy team leader for CLS products. He is responsible for developing the CLS portfolio, supports customers and partners, and is active in FNN working groups, EEBUS, and ESMIG—with a focus on the interaction between SMGW, CLS, and energy management systems.

Want to gain a lot more knowledge, inspiration, and connections?

Registration for the 2025 PPC Customer Meeting is now closed.
If you would like to attend at the last minute, please contact us via the contact form or through your sales representative.

Speakers & Partners

Janis Kaltschnee

Dr. Sören Patzack

Dr. Kai Herrmann

Dr. Christian Hofmann

Joachim Lang

Wiegand Lütjen

Christian Depperman

Felix Obst

Manfred Stuebe

Pascal Müller

Jörn Lutze

Fabian Maleitzke

Carsten Schäfer

Roman Brune

Jan Lehmann

Wolfgang Duschl

Carsten Schäfer

Roman Brune

Marcus Schröder

Ingo Stracke

Andreas Schmalenberg

Dr. Wim Drożak

Marcus Schröder

Dr. Ing. Sven Pack

Felix Mücke

Falko Schmidt

Tobias Mitter

Tim Ullrich

Speaker (PPC)

Carina Behringer

Claus Conrads

Barbora Dabisch

Greta Esders

Jürgen Flicker

Sylvia Gatzlaff

Fabian Karl

Roland Klaiber

Alfonso Leonardi

Eugen Mayer

Ralf Növer

Fabian Maleitzke

Kristina Palestini

Roman Brune

Karen Schmid

Ingo Schönberg

Yazan Tabannaj

Janosch Wagner

Thomas Wunsch

Julian Zilg

Want to gain a lot more knowledge, inspiration, and connections?