Following completion of studies in electrical engineering at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg,  Reinhold Achatz joined Siemens Automation in 1980 as a software engineer. He held numerous management positions, including head of development for industrial automation systems (SIMATIC) before being named division president for the A&D Systems and Software House in 1998 (in addition to his development position).

In 2000 he joined Siemens Energy and Automation as vice president and served as a member of the Executive Committee of SE&A. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, he was responsible for Siemens’ US industrial automation and software business.

Since 2002 he has served as vice president for Software and Engineering at Siemens Corporate Technology in Munich with responsibility for Siemens’ software and engineering strategy. These duties include responsibility for research and development work pertaining to development methodology, software quality, software architecture, system- and software processes, innovation and project management, engineering of complex systems, and intelligent optimization solutions. In addition, he is responsible for Siemens’ worldwide Software Initiative, which contributes significantly to Siemens’ software strategy.

Dr. Achatz is a member of Siemens’ Innovation Steering Committee, and is a member of the Siemens VDO Technology Board. Since 1995, he has been a board member and vice president of the OPC Foundation. In addition, he is a member of the board of the EU’s ARTEMIS project, as well as board member and vice president of the EU’s NESSI project. Dr. Achatz is also a member of the Fraunhofer Institute’s