Philipp Hunger, 39
PhD materials science and engineering ’12
Global R&D director/general manager, Vesuvius
My Greatest Accomplishment: Through a combination of dedicated people leadership and scientific excellence, I advanced from research engineer to global R&D director within five years. I now have responsibility for more than 50 technical staff split into four regional and global teams, who collectively provide innovation and new products for a $500 million global business. My greatest accomplishment in this context was to lead the most important research project within my business unit from inception to successful product launch.
How Drexel Helped: Two key skills I learned through the Drexel curriculum were how to follow good scientific conduct to obtain scientifically sound results, and how to present my findings to an audience not necessarily familiar with the matter. Both were essential in propelling me to where I am today.
Where I’ll Be in Five Years: I am always eager to continue learning, which has enabled me to push boundaries and advance into new territory, be it scientifically with the research I oversee or with new responsibilities, which I embrace and aspire to master. I hope this will allow me to advance further without losing sight of the team. Enjoying what I do and working with great people is much more important to me than just moving up the career ladder.
“If I live to be 100, the change I’d most like to see in the world is…
that people embrace diversity as a strength and get together to solve our truly global problems as a team.”
— Philipp Hunger