Dr. Dirk Haensch

Open Innovation & Technology Lead Europe

Professional Background
Dirk leads Braskem´s Open Innovation activities in Europe and Asia and has worked in various manufacturing industries such as chemical, plastics processing, machinery and automotive. He held international positions in R&D, Business Development, Sales, Manufacturing and as Managing Director, where he led cross functional, intercultural teams. As project leader he managed the design, construction, commissioning and start-up of a green field factory in the middle east.

Dirk’s thoughts about chemstars.nrw
“Start-ups may be small but they can play a significant role and are a powerful force to meet our ambitious climate targets. chemstars provides the support and ecosystem that enables start-ups to succeed in building their business. We, as corporate partner, can help their business succeed by enabling them to scale quickly.”

What are the values that drive you?
I appreciate people that have the courage to develop, innovate and build their own business and I want to do my best, so they can succeed.

What is your motivation for joining chemstars?
Especially start-ups in the chemical sector are rare and in many cases capital intensive. chemstars ensures that these start-ups get the support they need and introduces them to the ecosystem they need, to grow their business.

What’s the single most important piece of advice that you can give founders?
Stay focused and don’t get distracted from the essentials.

How would you like to support startups?
Provide know-how so that they can go smooth through a steep learning curve. Listen to their needs and contribute to the success by offering them the support we can give from our organisation.

What’s your vision for chemstars.nrw?
Expand the chemstars network, build the brand “chemstars” as a go to place for start-ups, investors and industry, fostering innovation and excellent location to grow business.