With a background in computer science, Andreas Nettsträter has extensive experience in software architecture, logistics, and supply chain management. Having spent over 15 years at Fraunhofer IML, working on logistics and supply chain innovation, Nettsträter is currently CEO of the Open Logistics Foundation, focused on strategic direction, content development, and community expansion.
What was your dream job as a child?
Becoming an engineer and inventor.
What’s the biggest change you’ve seen in the industry?
Changing the mindset away from demarcation towards collaboration.
What’s one buzzword you secretly dislike?
Coming from a research and innovation background, I’ve seen too many hypes come and go with all the buzzwords.
Window or aisle seat?
Always window!
What’s the best business lesson you’ve learned the hard way?
Stay calm, even when things go haywire.
If you could swap jobs with anyone for a day, who would it be?
Work as an expert in astrophysics and space travel.
Which three items would you bring to a desert island?
An axe, a lighter and a cooking pot.
Tea or coffee?
Coffee.
What’s your guilty pleasure TV show or movie?
Superstore.
What’s the most exciting place you’ve visited for work?
Dubai as the venue for the WCS 2025 was the latest location and very exciting.
Describe your job in three words.
Talk, convince and motivate.
What’s your hidden talent?
To explain complex things in the simplest way possible.
If you could instantly master one skill, what would it be?
Speak more languages.
What’s something on your bucket list?
See the polar lights.
What quote has most resonated with you?
Doing is like wanting, only more blatant! (coming from the German quote: Machen ist wie wollen, nur krasser!)
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
When dealing with others, always remember that you will always see each other twice more often.
If you could have dinner with any three people, living or dead, who would it be and why?
A dinner with great thinkers like Einstein, Shannon and Nixdorf, would certainly be exciting but also very exhausting.
What’s something we wouldn’t know about you from your CV?
I live in the countryside with woods, fields and lots of animals.
