Create. Data Innovations. Together.
Stuttgart, October 21st, 2022 – The very first DATANIGHT by Mercedes-Benz met the high expectations of organizers and around 170 attendees with flying colors. The on-site event at the Mercedes-Benz Global Training Center provided an innovative space by bringing together visionaries, creators, technology and data with one clear mission: Create. Data Innovations. Together.
International data lovers experienced live keynotes and onstage panel talks, showcasing state-of-the-art use cases, innovations and business insights where data meets #luxury #sustainability and #electrification. The event kicked off on Friday afternoon with an inspiring opening speech by Sabine Scheunert, Vice President Digital & IT Sales/Marketing Mercedes-Benz Cars. One of her core messages: “To ensure the quality of data, we have to follow the ‘AAA’ rule: data has to be available, accessible and accurate.”
The first keynote of the afternoon addressed the broad field of data & electrification. Under the title "Data & Electrification – How data can unleash charging & electrification", Daniel Riexinger (Head of AI & Data Driven Business Models Mercedes-Benz AG) showed what opportunities are available and already being used in this sector. This was followed by an exciting panel talk with the further participants Franz Loogen (e-mobil BW GmbH), Dr. Armin Gaul (Westenergie Netzservice GmbH) and Philippe Vangeel (AVERE).
With her keynote "Shop whatever you like – how to create a personalized mobile shopping experience”, Jules Antkowiak, Product Owner of the Breuninger Mobile App, opened an interesting panel talk with exciting guests: Sebastian Gress (Mercedes-Benz AG), Tobias Harttung (Salesforce) and Dr. med. Sarah Bechstein (FORMULA Skin) had a lively discussion around the topic "Creating a luxury experience through personalized data under the protection of customer rights”.
After that, the stage was all about the keynote speech "Data x Sustainability" by Matthias Breunig (Director Global Automotive Solutions at Google Cloud). Breuning's contribution provided the perfect introduction for the subsequent discussion with the panelists Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ina Schaefer (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology), Daniel Deparis (Mercedes-Benz AG) and Erik Vrijens (Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management).
Wernher Brucks, City of Zurich
In addition to the state-of-the art use cases and inspiring discussion sessions, the audience was able to admire a special exhibit: a partially transparent EQC 400 4MATIC offered an exclusive vehicle data journey by giving the one-time opportunity to gain unique insights into never-before-seen Mercedes-Benz vehicle exhibits that make data flows tangible. DATANIGHT visitors learned how the Mercedes-Benz vehicle fleet generates data as well as all about the most important aspects of data protection and the protection of customer rights.
Taking place parallel to the vehicle data journey, visitors deepened their knowledge about various data projects and expanded their network at different market stands. Among others, Google Cloud, Avere (The European Association for Electromobility), e-mobil BW, Salesforce & Mercedes-Benz presented their stimulating activities around digitalisation and data usage.
After the official program ended, there was of course plenty of opportunity to socialize, discuss and enjoy the evening with live music, drinks and food. Daniel Deparis (Mercedes-Benz AG) summed up: "The flow and the variety of the DATANIGHT topics were excellent. Seeing so many people still here late Friday night is a great signal. They are happy to be here to discuss and exchange ideas."