Dr. Rainer Seßner is a proven innovation expert. While pursuing his doctorate with a focus on optics, information and photonics, the mathematician and physicist worked as a manager at a global company, developing innovative products, services and business models based on new technologies. After working at Rodenstock, Germany's leading manufacturer of eyeglass lenses and frames, he held management positions at optics pioneer Carl Zeiss and the MDAX-listed LEONI Group.

With his passion for technology, innovation and management, Dr. Seßner has been successfully leading Bayern Innovativ GmbH since 2016. In recent years, he has expanded the Free State of Bavaria's society for innovation and knowledge transfer into a think net for Bavaria. Today, more than 300 employees at locations in Nuremberg, Munich and Augsburg work closely with partners from business, science and research, as well as representatives from politics, on a wide range of cooperation projects. Bayern Innovativ GmbH's vision is a Bavaria in which every viable idea and technology becomes an innovation.