Philipp Skogstad is the President and CEO of the Mercedes-Benz Research & Development North America. Through his curiosity and passion for innovation, he has come a very interesting and in-depth path to become what he is today. 

Growing up in Germany close to Munich, he ended up doing his Masters and PhD at Stanford University and further on became the Deputy Director at the Center for Design Research at Stanford University. Choosing to stay in San Francisco, he became the Chief of Staff to SAP’s Chief Design Officer to bring together the people and innovation perspective. 

On the road, he was interested in joining the automotive industry further on and joined Mercedes-Benz in Sunnyvale in November 2017 where he now enjoys creating products and leading the organization in the Valley through methods of collaborative working and tactics to empower high-quality teams.

You’ll enjoy our chat if you’re interested in his personal story and the way on how Mercedes-Benz manages innovation out of California. Enjoy the interview and don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast. 

Looking forward to hear from you.