GLOBAL – The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has elected Christoph Winterhalter, DIN’s CEO, as the new ISO Vice President -Policy responsible for ISO’s policy and strategy.
By agreement with the German Federal Government, DIN is the acknowledged national standards body that represents German interests in European and international standards organizations. The permanent staff at DIN coordinate the entire standardization process at national level and are responsible for organizing German participation in standards work at European and international level.
As part of the ISO General Assembly, members are asked to make their voices heard in shaping the future direction of the Organization. This includes the election of fellow members to sit on the ISO Council, as well as the nominations and election of the ISO Officers who perform key strategic roles. The nomination by the ISO member for Germany, DIN, of their current CEO, Christoph Winterhalter, was confirmed following a vote held by members as part of ISO Week 2021.
Christoph, whose duties as Vice-President (policy) will run for the 2022 to 2023 term, is a leading figure in standardization who brings substantial experience in matters of policy at the national and international level, informed by his current roles as head of DIN as well as VP Policy of the European Committee for Standardization.
“We are facing various changes around the world. The green and digital transformation offers us opportunities to make the economy and society around the globe more sustainable, safer and better. International standards are the foundation to make this possible. With the new ISO Strategy 2030, we have set a clear framework for our work. Now is the time to implement it together. In close cooperation with all ISO members, I will strive to achieve our goals.”
Building on his master’s in Computer Science, Christoph spent almost two decades working in cutting-edge robotics at renowned international engineering giant ABB. He has maintained close links to industry and technology, and is a vocal advocate for the essential role of standards in Industry 4.0, and the need to maintain standards that keep pace with, and enable, digital transformation.
Christoph will begin his role as Vice President-Policy on 1 January 2022. He will be responsible for the implementation of the ISO Strategy 2030 among many other tasks. His focus will also be on promoting and accelerating the digital transformation of ISO processes and results, and on linking ISO activities even more closely with the sustainability criteria defined by the United Nations.
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