Political Communications at the internationally active expert organization DEKRA will soon be headed by Maik Beermann, a former member of the German Bundestag (federal parliament). As of May 1, 2022, the 40-year-old will bring to bear his many years of wide-ranging expertise in the opportunities and risks of digitalization. The heads of the two representative offices in Brussels and Berlin will remain in their current functions and report to him.
Having trained as a business administrator for savings banks, he was a member of the Bundestag, representing the Nienburg II Schaumburg constituency in the state of Lower Saxony as a member of the Christian Democrat Party (CDU) from 2013 to 2021. During this period, he also served on the Bundestag’s Digital Agenda Committee, as the main representative of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group from March 2018 to October 2021. His work focused, in particular, on cyber security, IT security, big data, digital health, artificial intelligence (AI), automated driving and connected mobility.
In his new role as Senior Vice President and Head of Political Communications, Beermann will report to the Executive Vice President and Head of Communications & Brand Management, Stephan Heigl. “I am very pleased,” says Heigl, “that by appointing Maik Beermann, we’ve gained a professional politician who will continue to drive DEKRA’s digital agenda. Moreover, as an independent neutral third party for technical safety and sustainability in the social debate, he will put a special focus on the TIC (testing, inspection, and certification) sector.”
In a world of increasing connectivity and complexity, the proper handling of generated data and the necessary consumer protection are elements that play major roles, and DEKRA has been working hard to achieve this for many years. In the automotive sector, for example, the company is advocating a data trustee model whereby the data that a vehicle sends to the manufacturer is simultaneously saved to a trust center: It is only made available to the various stakeholders where this is relevant, depending on the roles and rights defined by law. Regarding the recently proposed Data Act under EU law, DEKRA is advocating clear specifications on the use of data in each sector, including, in particular, governmental responsibilities in the automotive sector, such as vehicle inspection, road accident investigation and analysis, as well as prosecution.
By adopting its Strategy 2025, DEKRA – the world’s largest non-listed expert organization in the TIC sector – has placed an increasing focus on secure digitalization and sustainability services in the further development of its service portfolio.