Bernhard Eschermann is Chief Technology Officer of ABB’s Industrial Automation business, and member of ABB’s Group Technology Leadership Team since 2013. In addition, Bernhard also heads the Process Control Platform, developing and managing the full control solution portfolio of Industrial Automation. He joined ABB in 1993 and has held a variety of management positions within the company since then. Prior to his current role, he served as General Manager of ABB’s Power Semiconductors business from 2006 through 2012. From 2001 to 2006 he was Managing Director for ABB’s Corporate Research Center in Switzerland. Other earlier roles included responsibility for R&D organizations in Substation Automation and Power Electronic systems. Outside of ABB, he is a board member of OPC Foundation and serves on the Innovation Council of Innosuisse, the Swiss federal agency for the promotion of innovation projects. He is also a member of Swiss Academy of Technical Sciences (SATW) and a member of the board of Hasler Foundation. He holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Karlsruhe, Germany, and an M.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences from the University of California, Berkeley.