interview 2 5
Innovation
is in our
DNA
N O . 1 2 0 2 2
“
focus: You have been with AVL
for over 18 years, have many
customer contacts, and are very
well known within the industry.
However, here you have the op-portunity
to make your mark in
few words.
Mario Brunner: I am the kind of per-son
who communicates clearly and
works in a very determined way. I
have a strong will to succeed and
make a difference. Downtime is
not my cup of tea. I would also de-scribe
myself as a team player. Dur-ing
my time with AVL, everything
has worked out well so far – this is
definitely due in part to the fact that
I have always had very good teams.
Privately, I am a family guy who is
very passionate about sport. Here
too, I value having an experienced
“crew” around me – for example,
in heavy wind sailing, which is one
of my hobbies alongside football.
focus: How was your “onboard-ing”
into the executive board?
Mario Brunner: As I know AVL very
well, I was hardly jumping in at the
deep end. However, there was no
grace period either. At AVL things
always move quickly, and right
now the industry is in a period of
rapid, dynamic change. It's impor-tant
that we work faster than ever,
to be very proactive and lay some
important foundations. How do we
want to orient ourselves, what tech-nical
points are we going to priori-tise,
in what R&D will we invest?
My job is dealing with all of these
topics at the moment.
focus: Into which technological
future are you looking to lead
AVL?
Mario Brunner: Our portfolio already
covers a wide range: From compo-nents
and the whole powertrain to
the engineering of complete vehi-cles
in close cooperation with our
partners. We want to extend this
technological scope in the future.
For the industry, we are already a
reliable partner in all aspects of the
electrified powertrain. It is impor-tant
to strengthen this position and
place a new focus on ADAS/AD
and E/E. I also want to strengthen
our market position in the field of
holistic vehicle development. Here,
we are planning to take totally new
approaches to deliver addition-al
added value for our customers.
I also see the broader positioning
Mario Brunner: AVL, with Prof.
Helmut List at the helm, has de-veloped
hugely across the board in
terms of technology. The speed of
development has also accelerated
at a fast pace. Our rapidly growing
technology portfolio required us to
position ourselves more broadly in
the technical and operational man-agement
of the Engineering SBU.
The approach that Robert Fischer
and I are taking is to work hand
in hand. We work closely and also
have a very good relationship on
a personal level. I benefit greatly
from his experience. My focus is
definitely on the operational side
and ultimately, as Executive Vice
President, the final overall respon-sibility
for the technology building
blocks that AVL can offer.