Founder & President OBRIST Group, Member of the Obrist Board, CEO Obrist Technologies
Frank Obrist attended the Federal Higher Technical Institute for engineering (HTL Bregenz) and, after graduating, worked as a designer at TES Wankel Institute in Lindau, Germany from 1984 to 1993. His teacher at the time: Felix Wankel, inventor of the engine of the same name. Between 1993 and 1996, Frank Obrist worked as a senior designer at the TES – and after Wankel’s death Mr. Obrist was also the last engineer to leave the Wankel Institute.
Parallel to his work, he studied operational innovation management at Graz University of Technology and at the Management Center St. Gallen from 1992 to 1995 before founding OBRIST Engineering GmbH in Lustenau in 1996. In 2022, Frank Obrist finally returned to Lindau: He acquired the building owned by Volkswagen, where he and his excellent engineering team now
research, develop and promote groundbreaking climate-positive technologies.
Frank Obrist is a member of the Obrist board and they’re focused on innovation and strategy. He is named as inventor on more than 540 Patents.
Member of the Board
Throughout his career, Willi Sonderegger served as a partner and CEO at the Management Zentrum St. Gallen, orchestrating the success of numerous business strategy and turnaround projects in Europe. Besides this, his expertise extended to the educational field, where he shared his insights as a lecturer for aspiring business students.
Following this impactful phase, he continued as the visionary founder and leader of prosperous companies, notably in the Automotive sector. Since his exit, Mr. Sonderegger transitioned into a distinguished investor, channeling his resources and passion into diverse companies with an emphasis on green technology. He has invested in various operations across Europe.
Willi Sonderegger is a valued member of the OBRIST board since 2012. Within the board, he focuses on strategic, organizational, and financial matters.
Shareholder
Richard Fischer is a seasoned business leader and technology expert with over 30 years of experience as CEO and President of VAT AG, a leading technology company. In addition, he has served as a Board Member of Inficon AG, a SIX-listed technology firm, for 20 years. Mr. Fischers deep knowledge of the technology and finance industries, coupled with his extensive experience as a senior executive and board member, make him an invaluable asset to any organization seeking to innovate and grow in today’s rapidly changing business landscape.
As shareholder, Richard provides critical insights and strategic guidance to help organizations navigate the complexities of the global marketplace and stay ahead of the competition.
COO OBRIST Powertrain
Between 1992 and 1996 Martin Graz attended the Dornbirn University of Applied Sciences (FH Dornbirn) for automation technology. In the following two years he was responsible for planning, design and production at a leading international manufacturer of electrical and electronic components. In 1998 he joined OBRIST Engineering, where he worked as technical director until December 2011.
Since September 2022, the automotive engineering specialist held the position of COO of OBRIST Powertrain.
His special areas include product development, project management as well as business development and business strategy.
COO OBRIST Engineering
As an employee of Prof. Peter Kuhn at the Technical University of Karlsruhe for Mechanical Engineering in Germany, Christian Schmälzle joined OBRIST Engineering in the year 1999 as a Development Engineer, being responsible for R744 R&D and validation.
Followed by project lead responsibilities in the field of engineering, components incl. mechanical, electrical compressors for R744, piston and scroll type compressors and expanders in various sizes and applications.
Since August 2022 Mr. Schmälzle held the position of COO of OBRIST Engineering.
CEO OBRIST DE
Even before graduating from Mittweida University of Applied Sciences (FH Mittweida) in Germany with a degree in industrial engineering, Oliver Obrist was already working at OBRIST. Starting in 2013 as a development engineer, he worked in several departments throughout the Obrist Group. As a design engineer and project manager, he was involved in projects such as the first automotive R744 compressor in the mass market, the Zero Vibration Generator (ZVG), and battery development. Since September 2022, Oliver Obrist has been CEO of OBRIST DE GmbH.
Global Director Marketing & Communications, Procurist
Thorsten Rixmanns education includes several years of management training at the Management Center St. Gallen and extra-occupational studies in business administration at Schloss Hofen and the University of Innsbruck. Mr. Rixmann started his career as a Sales Manager at K. Deuring & Co. Afterwards he became Head of Distribution and HR at Sutterlüty Handels GmbH where he also was acting as procurist. After ten years at Sutterlüty Mr. Rixmann became Director of Sales at Emmi Austria Gmbh. After five years as Head of Area Management and Business Development at Masai Marketing and Trading AG and Board member in the subsidiaries, he joined the ENJO International GmbH as Head of Sales, Support and Marketing. Before he finally joined the OBRIST Group, he was a Co-partner of Joya Schuhe AG, where he worked as Senior Vice President for Global Sales in the Headquarters.. Furthermore, he acted as a CEO in all subsidiaries of the company.
Scientific Advisor
Prof. Dr. Tillmetz is a Member of the faculty for Natural Sciences at the University of Ulm. Between 1991 and 2003, Prof. Dr. Tillmetz was responsible for the development of automotive fuel cells at Daimler Benz AG and at Ballard Power Systems. From 2003 to 2004 he was head of the “Catalysts
in Energy & Environment” business unit at Süd Chemie AG.
Between 2005 and 2018 he was a board member at the Center of Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research (ZSW). From 2010 to 2018 he was also a member of the German National Platform Electric Mobility (NPE) and from 2007 to 2018 he was head of the Advisory Board of the National Organization “Fuel Cell & Hydrogen” (NOW).
Since 2018 he has been a member of the Scientific Council at Total Energies and a member of the Advisory Council at Emerald Technology Ventures.
Scientific Advisor
Dr. Jacob is an expert in chemistry and catalyst technology. He is considered the world’s leading initiator of second generation eFuels, holds the patent for DMC (dimethyl carbonate) and fuel and was a long-time EAT catalyst specialist at MAN, Germany.
In his work as a advisor at OBRIST, he supports the company on chemical issues, such as the fuel chemistry of methanol and its derivatives. He also takes part in weekly meetings for the development of OBRIST DAC and shares his expertise on DAC and cSink technology.
Senior Advisor
Gunter Olsowski is a former professor and program director for engineering and management at the University of Applied Sciences Vorarlberg (FHV). Furthermore, Prof. Olsowski is a former board member of the International Council of Academic Departments of Engineering and Management (ICADEM) and current president of the Ro80 Club International e.V.
As a member of the OBRIST Advisory Board, he supports the company in business development and presentation and advises on mobility issues, such as the existing vehicle fleet.
Scientific Advisor
Prof. Dr. Markl is dean of the Industrial Engineering Faculty at the University of Applied Sciences Technikum in Vienna. Previously, he was head of the Institute for Advanced Engineering Technologies and head of the International Engineering and Business Management degree program.
As a member of the OBRIST Advisory Board, he gives support on engineering topics and material issues.
Lic. oec. HSG, MBA Insead
Hans von Meiss has a background in corporate finance, industry, and has partnered in entrepreneurial start-up projects in particular in initiating and co-managing a waste to energy project (ITC AG) with state-of-the-art technology in Ankara and subsequently in additional 12 Turkish towns. ITC processes currently some 10k tons of household waste per day for the production of approx. 130 MW of electricity. In addition to ITC’s anaerobic dry digestion, a gasifier-technology was realized for the processing of non-bio-mass waste which powers a steam turbine.
Hans has a long relationship with Obrist with his endeavor to identify possible financial and or strategic partners for the different technologies of Obrist.
