Born 1957 in Saarbrücken. First legal exam in 1985 in Schleswig, second legal exam in 1990 in Berlin. Doctor of Law in 1992. 15 years as managing director and legal director in international companies, finally in the ThyssenKrupp Group from 1996 to 2002. Professor of Business and Labour Law at the Munich Business School from 2002 to 2006 and at the Technical University of Wildau since 2006. University coordinator for student exchange programmes with the People's Republic of China since 2010. President of the German-Chinese Society for Labour Law since 2016.