Dr. Stephanie Christmann-Budian is the new Managing Director of VDE Global Services

(Frankfurt am Main, June 8, 2026) With Dr. Stephanie Christmann-Budian, the VDE has gained a proven expert on the Asian region. A sinologist with a Ph.D. (in Chinese science and technology policy from Freie Universität Berlin), she has twelve years of professional experience in Asia, particularly in China.

Most recently, Stephanie Christmann-Budian served as Executive Director of TU9 e. V. – German Universities of Technology Alliance. In that role, she headed the secretariat of the alliance of leading technical universities and was responsible for strategic advocacy with policymakers, industry, and the scientific community.

The VDE has an excellent reputation

“The VDE has an excellent reputation and offers many opportunities, particularly in international technology markets. I am inspired by its international focus and its proximity to technological innovations. I am very much looking forward to working with our international teams and identifying new technologies and trends for the VDE. I continue to see great potential for our business areas in the Asian region. The region impresses with its dynamism and innovative strength and opens up exciting opportunities for future growth and new partnerships,” says Christmann-Budian, a native of Berlin.

Dr. Christmann-Budian’s career has been closely linked to the promotion of international research, data-driven strategy development, and technology transfer: As deputy head of department at the Technical University of Berlin, she helped establish, among other things, the division for KPI-based research strategy development. At VDI/VDE Innovation and Technology GmbH, Stephanie Christmann-Budian served as deputy division head and worked on projects related to innovation and technology trends, such as the business potential of artificial intelligence and digitalization. As Program Director for China, she represented the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (ISI) in Beijing, where she acquired and managed complex projects for industrial and government clients. For over eleven years, she also oversaw German-Chinese research collaborations at the Sino-German Center for Science Promotion (CDZ) of the German Research Foundation (DFG) in Bonn and Beijing.

Driving forward the expansion of VDE's activities in Asia

“Dr. Stephanie Christmann-Budian brings extensive experience in leading international teams and is highly skilled at building bridges between different cultural and business circles. This will be particularly crucial for the expansion of our activities in Asia,” says Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the VDE Group, Ansgar Hinz.

Founded in 2001, VDE Global Services GmbH is a wholly owned subsidiary of the VDE Testing and Certification Institute and operates at locations in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, and Italy.

About the VDE Institute 

The VDE mark is synonymous with safety and quality in electrical devices, components and systems for more than 100 years. The VDE Institute - a subsidiary of the VDE Group - is a worldwide partner for industry customers, business, government authorities, the electrical trade and consumers. More than 100,000 devices per year are subjected to product, quality and safety tests by the VDE Institutes independent testing engineers before they receive the VDE mark. Around the globe, VDE experts monitor more than 7,000 production facilities. Cooperation agreements with more than 50 countries ensure that the tests performed by the VDE Institute are internationally recognized. 200,000 types of products with millions of model variants bear the VDE mark worldwide. The VDE Testing and Certification Institute GmbH, a non-profit organization, employs more than 500 people in Offenbach am Main.

For more information, visit www.vde.com/institute

About VDE

VDE, one of the largest technology organizations in Europe, has been regarded as a synonym for innovation and technological progress for more than 130 years. VDE is the only organization in the world that combines science, standardization, testing, certification, and application consulting under one umbrella. The VDE mark has been synonymous with the highest safety standards and consumer protection for more than 100 years. 

Our passion is the advancement of technology, the next generation of engineers and technologists, and lifelong learning and career development “on the job”. Within the VDE network more than 2,000 employees at over 60 locations worldwide, more than 100,000 honorary experts, and around 1,500 companies are dedicated to ensuring a future worth living: networked, digital, electrical.  
Shaping the e-dialistic future. 

The VDE (VDE Association for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies) is headquartered in Frankfurt am Main. For more information, visit www.vde.com