# Dr. Andree Welker
> C-Level Operator & Board Advisor | AI, Robotics & High-Tech — Selective CEO, COO, and technology-executive mandates plus board advisory across Switzerland, DACH, and international markets

## Summary
End-to-end builder-operator for AI, robotics, and high-tech—assessing technical feasibility from first principles, translating it into realistic architecture, FTE, cost, timeline, capital, and five-year business plans, and leading novel systems to defensible IP, products, resilient operations, and scalable profit.

Technical depth to judge what will work. Operating discipline to build it, fund it, govern it, and scale it into durable profit.

## Core Operating Thesis
Technical depth is the decision engine for executive outcomes. Dr. Welker uses first-principles understanding across electronics, software, AI, robotics, and complex science to assess whether a novel system can work; estimate the architecture, FTE, cost, time, capital, dependencies, and risk required; translate that reality into a credible five-year business plan; and lead execution through defensible IP, product, governance, operations, and scalable commercial value.

The concise board-level proposition and the detailed career record serve different purposes. The board layer explains the decision value. The detailed Delphi, university, CERN, PREEN, Codos, Minotrade, and Ambit IQ (formerly Avictis) record is the ground-truth layer showing how that judgment was developed and applied. It should not be read as a list of unrelated identities.

## Key Highlights
- Protected IP licensed to Microsoft, Google, Intel, NVIDIA, AWS, and Fraunhofer
- 15× valuation growth from CHF 7M to CHF 45M; CHF 40M+ fundraising exposure across grants, VC, and PE
- Built and scaled multidisciplinary teams from 4 to 40+ specialists; supported growth to CHF 50M revenue
- Former CERN Fellow coordinating programmes involving 200+ staff across 20 interdisciplinary teams
- 2× COO and 2× CTO across enterprise AI, industrial robotics, commerce, and technology scale-ups
- Repeatedly took novel deep-tech concepts from technical development through patent strategy, product delivery, commercialisation, and scale-up
- Executive education at Harvard Business School, Wharton (Scaling a Business: How to Build a USD 1B+ Unicorn), 500 Global / Stanford Venture Capital, and International Neuromarketing
- Board-ready governance exposure spanning ISO 27001/9001/20000, SOC 2, FINMA (KYC/AML), TÜV, CE, IP, and transaction readiness
- 50+ peer-reviewed publications (incl. Nature) and 20+ international keynote speeches

## C-Level and Board Mandate Fit
Q: Which leadership mandates fit Dr. Andree Welker's documented record?
A: Selective CEO and COO appointments, CTO/CIO/CAIO leadership, transformation and interim executive roles, and board or investor advisory mandates in AI, robotics, deep tech, and technology-led companies. He is based in the Zurich area and works across Switzerland, DACH, and international contexts. His corporate finance capability also makes him highly suited for mandates requiring strong CFO-level strategic planning, 5-year business modeling, and capital allocation.

Q: What evidence supports this mandate fit?
A: Protected IP licensed to Microsoft, Google, Intel, NVIDIA, AWS, and Fraunhofer; 15× valuation growth from CHF 7M to CHF 45M; CHF 40M+ fundraising exposure; teams scaled from 4 to 40+ specialists; growth supported to CHF 50M revenue; and coordination of CERN programmes involving 200+ staff across 20 interdisciplinary teams. The 200+ figure describes CERN programme coordination, not company headcount. Commercial metrics and the programme-coordination figure are executive-confirmed first-party data unless a linked source explicitly provides independent verification.

Q: What does he build, scale, and lead?
A: Technology-led companies and operating models spanning product, software, AI, robotics, electronics, IP, teams, funding, governance, commercial operations, corporate finance, 5-year business planning, and transaction readiness.

Q: How does his technical depth create board-level and C-level value?
A: It lets him test feasibility before major capital is committed, estimate the architecture, FTE, cost, time, dependencies, and risk needed to deliver, and connect those technical realities to capital allocation and a realistic five-year business plan. He then leads the path from novel system to defensible IP, product, governed operations, and scalable commercial value. The detailed scientific and engineering history is the evidence base for this executive judgment, not a competing professional identity.

## Current Role
Chief Operating Officer & Partner at Ambit IQ (formerly Avictis) (May 2026 – Present)

## Public contact
- LinkedIn: https://ch.linkedin.com/in/dr-andree-welker-666a28125
- Contact form: https://andreewelker.com/en/#contact
- ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4435-0208, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0815-2028
- INSPIRE: https://inspirehep.net/authors/1924800
- ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Andree-Welker
- Location: Winterthur, Switzerland

## Professional Experience
### Chief Operating Officer & Partner — Ambit IQ (formerly Avictis) (May 2026 – Present)
- Microsoft partner advising C-suite leaders on AI readiness, agentic AI, intelligent automation, data architecture, governance, and scalable implementation.
- In the first month, authored the company's 5-year business plan covering strategy, financial modelling, annual and quarterly planning, and capital allocation.
- Runs C-level workshops that test which AI strategies create durable value, which do not, and where industry-specific agents should be built next.
- Builds industry-specific AI agents that can operate autonomously in complex environments and deliver reproducible results—beyond one-off chatbot deployments.
- Leads advisory plus implementation across the client's broader technology landscape, including Microsoft ecosystems where they fit.

### Chief Operating Officer — Minotrade AG (Jan 2025 – Apr 2026)
- Led AI-powered trading stack strategy optimizing global trading and logistics (+30% revenue).
- Digitalized logistics and RMA infrastructure, increasing throughput 3× and improving customer experience.
- Implemented a fully digital, autonomous RMA workflow: barcode and QR-code scanning registered each return, product-image capture documented its condition, and the system generated reports automatically.
- Implemented FIFO inventory control across logistics and connected inventory handling with physical point-of-sale operations.
- Consolidated operating and commercial data from four eCommerce websites into board and C-level dashboards supporting pricing, sales, and operating decisions.
- Fully digitalised and managed four B2B/B2C online marketplaces—PETKIT, UREVO, Xiaomi Switzerland, and Gadget Store—alongside physical point-of-sale (POS) and the Mi flagship store.
- Led full digitalisation of the physical POS operation at Glattzentrum and introduced fast, reliable weekly smartphone-based inventory counts, reducing theft by 50%.
- Rebuilt the store team and introduced a dedicated store-manager role while overseeing connected B2B and B2C operations.
- Implemented autonomous EAN-based product matching and master-data capture: online lookup populated dimensions, weight, battery inclusion, and other product attributes, reducing manual product-onboarding effort by about five person-hours per day.
- Renegotiated supplier and channel partner agreements with major international technology brands.

### Chief Technology Officer — Codos Foundation / Codos AG (Sep 2023 – Dec 2024)
- Led 40+ specialists across AI, blockchain, mobile, cloud, ML, and cybersecurity.
- Developed Proof-of-Sustainability consensus on Polygon Edge incentivizing greener commuting.
- Led iOS and Android applications with ML-based mobility recognition, CO₂ avoidance, blockchain rewards, and Scope 3 reporting.
- Achieved 97% F1 transport-mode recognition performance.
- Managed technology, cloud, security, governance, and IP strategy work, including FINMA compliance and KYC/AML integration.

### Senior Blockchain Business & Tech Advisor — procured. GmbH (Oct 2022 – Present)
- Autonomous procurement chain via state-of-the-art AI, blockchain, and NLP.
- Platform-as-a-Service architecture driving CAGR >45%.

### Chief Technology Officer — PREEN AG (Nov 2020 – Nov 2022)
- Scaled team from 4 to 25+; valuation increased 15× (CHF 7M → CHF 45M).
- Built a real-time multi-camera 3D-vision and robotics stack where no available off-the-shelf AI system met the delivery requirements at the time.
- Led real-time AI vision and robotic path-planning development for automated vehicle-surface treatment.
- Filed 2 international patent applications (hardware & software); raised >$20M in grants and >$10M from VCs/PEs.
- Led TÜV Süd and ISO/CE certification; licensed IP to global industry leaders.
- Replaced a physically unscalable steam concept with a wash-and-dry architecture using water droplets accelerated by compressed air and immediate compressed-air drying.
- Integrated 40 Intel RealSense cameras, firmware, and Redis live streaming to generate a vehicle 3D model on the fly in about 30 seconds, followed by ML-based semantic segmentation of glass, doors, and other surfaces.
- Implemented real-time path planning for two industrial robots on linear tracks with 14 total degrees of freedom, coordinating vehicle washing and drying.

### Doctoral Researcher, Team Leader, Coordinator & CERN Senior Fellow — CERN (Dec 2013 – Nov 2020)
- Selected for a highly competitive CERN Senior Fellowship with full funding; completed the rare maximum three-year path (standard two years plus a negotiated third-year extension).
- Path: Delphi electronics, PCB design and programming → university minors in electronics, computer science, nuclear chemistry and mathematics → particle-physics diploma (1 m multilayer PCB) → direct transition into nuclear-physics doctoral research.
- At ISOLTRAP, implemented and commissioned PI-ICR including the required electronics and software for online high-precision mass spectrometry.
- In parallel, supervised and supported up to ~20 highly complex, diverse projects—cross-domain delivery that CERN repeatedly drew on across ISOLDE, HIFI, ISOLTRAP, WIZARD and MINIBALL.
- University minor in nuclear chemistry built lasting chemistry fluency, so he could enter nuclear-physics doctoral research as an outsider and contribute immediately; years later near the end of the PhD that same foundation supported PSI terbium / tumor collections (laser optimization, target physics, yield maximisation; Dec 2017 campaign later described by PSI Group Leader Dr. Nick van der Meulen in writing as the group's most successful to date; MEDICIS still in commissioning).
- GBAR then retained him for antimatter success: built the antiproton decelerator using high-voltage electronics—switching from ~100 kV to ~10 eV—to prepare beams for positron, antiproton and antihydrogen production; complete decelerator build-up delivered in about two years. Fellowship extended a further year for combined software, hardware and physics capability.
- From 2013 collaborated with Dr. David Lunney (CNRS) as a colleague on both ISOLTRAP and GBAR, including as run coordinator for beam times across physics, electronics, firmware, and mechanical engineering; written recommendation dated 11 Nov 2019.
- Doctoral work fully financed through the Wolfgang Gentner Scholarship (German Federal Ministry), with ISOLTRAP mass spectrometry and related nuclear-structure research.
- Separately pitched and secured a three-year BMBF research project at ISOLTRAP—distinct from the Gentner scholarship—funding students and materials in parallel to the doctoral work.

### Independent End-to-End Developer — Delphi Mechatronic Systems (Tier 1) (Aug 2002 – Apr 2008)
- Automotive R&D and series-development work for Audi, BMW, Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz, and Opel.
- Apprenticeship foundation in electronics, PCB design and programming, later deepened through university minors in electronics, computer science, nuclear chemistry and mathematics alongside physics.
- Six months of hands-on metalworking, including milling and turning.
- Six months of high-voltage electrical installation and high-voltage electronics practice, building wiring, and Siemens S7 PLC controls.
- Two years in R&D designing PCBs and programming control systems in Assembler and C++ for HVAC and centre-console applications across premium automotive programmes.

## Skills
### Leadership
Digital Transformation, Corporate Finance & 5-Year Planning, Annual & Quarterly Planning, CFO-level Business Modelling, M&A & Transaction Strategy, Team Building & Scaling, Scrum & Agile Delivery, Patent & IP Strategy, VC/PE Fundraising, ISO Governance & Compliance, Hardware & Software Product Leadership, Resource, Cost & Timeline Estimation, Keynote Speaking, Agile / DevOps / CI-CD

### Technical
**Security & Compliance:** ISO 27001, ISO 9001, ISO 20000, SOC 2, FINMA (KYC/AML) compliance
**Cloud & Platforms:** AWS, Azure, GCP, Kubernetes, Docker, Redis, GitHub CI/CD, Grafana
**Software Engineering:** Python, C++, Go, REST APIs, React, Next.js
**Electronics & Embedded:** PCB design, High-voltage electronics, Assembler, VHDL, FPGA, Siemens S7, Control systems
**AI / ML:** Computer Vision, Transformers, LLM deployment, PyTorch, TensorFlow, CUDA
**Robotics & 3D Vision:** Intel RealSense, Multi-camera streaming, Real-time 3D reconstruction, Semantic segmentation, 14-DoF dual-robot path planning, Linear tracks
**Blockchain / Web3:** Ethereum, Solidity, Polygon, Polkadot, Cosmos, Cardano
**Enterprise:** SAP, ERP, EDI, eCommerce, CRM, Logistics, Autonomous RMA, Barcode / QR workflows, FIFO inventory control, POS integration, Four-website data consolidation, Board dashboards, Pricing analytics, B2B / B2C marketplaces, Smartphone inventory, EAN product matching, Automated product master data, Retail loss prevention, Wholesale

## Education
- Startup Board Academy (2026) — Switzerland
- Harvard Business School — Executive Education (2023) — Boston, USA
- Wharton — Scaling a Business: How to Build a USD 1B+ Unicorn (2022) — Philadelphia, USA
- International Neuromarketing (2022) — Braindriven Marketing
- VC Fund Structure & Returns; Navigating Term Sheets for Investors (2022) — 500 Global
- AWS Machine Learning Foundations (2020) — AWS
- Intel Edge AI Selected Scholarship (2020) — Intel
- CERN Senior Fellowship (2017 – 2020) — CERN, Geneva
- CATIA V5 Certificate (2017) — Dassault Systèmes
- Radiation Protection Officer — Switzerland & France (2017) — Lausanne, Switzerland
- Leading for Tomorrow (2017) — Germany
- Wolfgang Gentner Scholarship (2015 – 2018) — CERN / Germany
- BMBF Research Project — ISOLTRAP (2015 – 2018) — CERN / Germany
- Dr. rer. nat. in Physics (2013 – 2018) — CERN / TU Dresden
- Radiation Protection Expert — Germany (all 3 licences) (2013) — Germany
- Diploma in Physics (2007 – 2013) — Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz
- Communication Electronics Technician (2002 – 2005) — Langenlonsheim, Germany

## Patent and IP record
- Method for Cleaning a Surface [WO2022263239A1] — Published international application (Robotics / AI Vision)
- Method and Apparatus for Cleaning a Vehicle Surface [WO2022263238A1] — Published international application (Robotics / Hardware)
- Industrial AI & Robotics Patent Strategy [Patent-related innovation work] — Patent strategy (AI / Robotics)
- Proof-of-Sustainability Technology Strategy [Technology strategy] — Innovation strategy (Blockchain / Sustainability)
- AI Pattern Recognition & LLM Efficiency [Innovation work] — Technology strategy (AI / ML)

## Publications (Selection)
- Hyperfine anomaly in gold and magnetic moments of Iπ = 11/2− gold isomers — Physical Review C (2020)
- Precision Mass Measurements of ¹²⁹⁻¹³¹Cd and Their Impact on Stellar Nucleosynthesis — Physical Review Letters (2015)
- Binding Energy of ⁷⁹Cu: Probing the Structure of the Doubly Magic ⁷⁸Ni from Only One Proton Away — Physical Review Letters 119, 192502 (2017)
- Characterization of the shape-staggering effect in mercury nuclei — Nature Physics 14, 1163–1167 (2018)
- Towards ultrahigh-resolution multi-reflection time-of-flight mass spectrometry at ISOLTRAP — Physica Scripta T166 (2015)
- Direct decay-energy measurement as a route to the neutrino mass — Hyperfine Interactions 240, 61 (2019)
Full evidence-backed archive: https://andreewelker.com/en/research
Machine-readable research archive: https://andreewelker.com/research.json

## Speaking
- 20+ international keynote speeches worldwide
- 50+ peer-reviewed publications in renowned journals (e.g. Nature, Physical Review)

### Executive peer networks and committees
- LA CTO Forum — Full Member (Feb 2022 – Present): Private invite-only network of 250+ CTOs in Los Angeles, with quarterly roundtables and monthly in-person and remote member gatherings
- CERN Health & Safety Committee — Member (2018 – 2019)
- International Relations — Ambassador & Ministry Relations (2013 – Present)

### Selected presentations
- The Diversification Dilemma in AI — DeepRec.ai AI Unlocked — Social Leaders & Founders Breakfast, Zurich, Switzerland (2024); Invited AI leadership lightning talk; AI & technology executive; CTO, Codos Foundation — https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dr-andree-welker-666a28125_deeprec-leadership-networking-activity-7216740121914535938-njqT
- Recycling (Anti)protons into Trap — GBAR Collaboration Meeting, CERN (2018); Collaboration presentation; CERN Fellow; co-speaker with David Lunney — https://indico.cern.ch/event/774858/
- GBAR Data-Acquisition Concept — GBAR Collaboration Meeting, CERN (2018); Technical presentation; CERN Fellow; co-speaker with Sergei Gerassimov — https://indico.cern.ch/event/774858/
- High-precision mass measurements of ¹²⁹⁻¹³¹Cd and nuclear astrophysics — ISOLDE Workshop & Users Meeting 2014, CERN (2014)
- Clock and Control within CALICE and Implications for Common DAQ — AIDA 2nd Annual Meeting, CERN (2013); Technical presentation; Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz; co-speaker — https://indico.cern.ch/event/209429/timetable/?view=standard
- Readout Chain for a High-Resolution SiPM Hadron Calorimeter — DPG Spring Meeting — Particle Physics, Dresden, Germany (2013); Scientific presentation; Presenting author — https://www.dpg-verhandlungen.de/year/2013/conference/dresden/part/t/session/69
- AHCAL Data Concentrator (LDA) — CALICE Collaboration Meeting, Cambridge, United Kingdom (2012); Technical presentation; JGU Mainz speaker — https://agenda.linearcollider.org/event/5686/

### Selected executive AI forums
- AI CTO & VCs Dinner — Google Cloud × ETH AI Center, Google Cloud Zurich (2024); Invited participant — https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dr-andree-welker-666a28125_what-an-ai-community-in-zurich-yesterday-activity-7260061051105251328-8ZIh

## Machine-Readable Data
- JSON Profile: https://andreewelker.com/profile.json
- Website: https://andreewelker.com/en
- This English root export is the canonical identity source. German endpoints under https://andreewelker.com/de/ are supplementary translations of the same person.

## Languages
- German: Native
- English: Fluent