Herbert Kircher is managing director of the IBM development center in Boeblingen. With about 1,700 highly qualified employees, IBM Deutschland Entwicklung GmbH is the largest IBM think tank outside of the US. The Boeblingen team develops and invents products and solutions for the worldwide market for the ‘information society’ of the 21st century.
Herbert Kircher studied communications engineering at the University of Stuttgart, Germany. He joined the IBM Corporation in 1964 as an engineer. He held various management positions in manufacturing, marketing and development. He held leading positions as Marketing Director Europe, responsible for IBM marketing strategy for the European manufacturing industry and as Managing Director of the semiconductor plant in Germany.
He had several assignments to IBM Corporate Headquarters in Armonk, USA, where he assumed responsibility for the assessment of new technologies and got a deep insight on research and future technology strategies. In 1993, he was promoted to Managing Director of IBM Deutschland Entwicklung GmbH.
Herbert Kircher is the European representative in decision making strategic boards like the IBM Corporate Technology Review Team and the IBM Academy Board of Governors. They decide about the technological direction and priorities of the global company. He also has the responsibility for IBM’s technical community in Europe with 45.000 employees.
