Neelima Raj Sharma

Business Development Executive

Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany7 yrs 9 mos experience

Highly Stable

Key Highlights

Led strategic initiatives in e-mobility solutions.
Managed successful innovation projects from ideation to execution.
Developed advanced algorithms for automotive safety technologies.

Stackforce AI infers this person is a leader in automotive innovation and technology management.

Contact

Skills

Core Skills

International Business StrategyProduct StrategyMarket IntelligenceInnovation ManagementProject ManagementBusiness Model InnovationResearch And Development (r&d)

Other Skills

Agile MethodologiesAutomobilesBatteryBusiness DevelopmentBusiness InnovationBusiness NegotiationBusiness Process ManagementBusiness StrategyComputer GraphicsConflict ResolutionContinuous Improvement CultureCross Functional Team BuildingCross-cultural NegotiationCross-functional Team LeadershipCustomer Acquisition

About

I am Head of Innovation Management at Schaeffler in the Corporate Function Technology & Innovation, which is the central pre-development department of the organization. I come with a diverse and enriching experience developing ideas into viable businesses with a flair for using technology as the vehicle that enables them. Working in the automotive industry, my job is done when road safety isn't a privilege for anyone anymore. As an Information/Computer Science Engineer by degree, I learnt about and used many of my skills as a software developer (MATLAB, Simulink, Python, Java, C, C++, OpenGL, OpenCV, HTML, CSS, PHP, JavaScript) all for my love for solving a good puzzle. Employing the same to bring my ideas to life was a by-product of this interest that I discovered I enjoy very much. This journey was fuelled by numerous incubators, campaigns, patents and workshops that I had the extreme privilege of participating in and winning. Creating an impact through my work, bringing sustainable solutions for a better tomorrow and improving myself every single day maximizing my learning are my prime motivations.

Experience

Schaeffler

Strategy Business Development and Markets Lead

Oct 2024 – Present · 1 yr 5 mos · Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany · On-site

Leading strategic portfolio management, market intelligence, and go-to-market strategy for Schaeffler's Mechatronics & Modules division, focused on e-mobility solutions including battery enclosures, battery components, and complete thermal management systems. Direct report to VP of Business Development.
STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP
→ Lead strategic dialogue for business unit portfolio decisions: which new products to develop, which existing products to scale, sunset, or pivot in the rapidly evolving e-mobility landscape
→ Define target market strategy for product portfolio across OEM partnerships, aftermarket channels, and emerging EV manufacturers
→ Design go-to-market strategies for battery enclosure systems, thermal management solutions, and e-mobility components
→ Conduct market intelligence and competitive analysis on EV adoption trends, battery technology evolution, and thermal management innovation
CUSTOMER & ACCOUNT LEADERSHIP
→ Own customer excellence strategy ensuring alignment between product development and customer needs in e-mobility transition
→ Manage strategic relationships with global key accounts (Fortune 500 automotive OEMs and emerging EV manufacturers)
→ Conduct executive-level engagement with customer C-suite to understand EV roadmap requirements and co-develop thermal management solutions
→ Translate customer insights into product strategy recommendations for R&D and business leadership
BUSINESS IMPACT
→ Portfolio optimization framework that improved strategic resource allocation across e-mobility innovation pipeline
→ Established market intelligence function providing competitive insights on battery technology and thermal management trends
→ Secured strategic account partnerships with multiple global OEMs and EV manufacturers through executive stakeholder management
→ Led product-market fit analysis for battery enclosure and thermal management systems, accelerating commercialization timelines

International Business StrategyProduct StrategyPortfolio ManagementMarket IntelligenceGo-to-Market Strategye mobility+4

Vitesco technologies

Head of Innovation Management & Technology Scouting

Jul 2022 – Oct 2024 · 2 yrs 3 mos · Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany

Managing the complete framework from idea creation to successful Innovation projects that are later tranferred to determine the future portfolio of the whole organization
Responsible for the organization's Innovation Processes & their execution
Charting of the central pre-development department's Innovation Roadmap
Managing the scouting of technology trends and their tools
Managing the company's Innovation Management and Idea Submission platform
Planning Innovation projects, budget & execution
Ideation responsibility through workshops & organization of internal and external events
External communication responsible for the Vitesco Technologies' central innovation organization

Trend AnalysisProject Portfolio ManagementTechnological InnovationBusiness Model InnovationAgile MethodologiesTeam Management+14

Continental

5 roles

Innovation Project Manager

Aug 2021 – Jul 2022 · 11 mos

Derive impact on Passive Safety & Sensorics product portfolio for next-gen automotive technology projects by conducting business value analysis, analyzing product use cases and value propositions, market analysis, and strategy, and defining future business models for the business unit's projects globally in various mobility domains
Facilitate inter organization collaborations through Innovation networks and enable communication and branding of the Innovation Process, increasing employee awareness, engagement, and participation towards Innovation Culture initiatives.

Business Model InnovationAgile MethodologiesTeam ManagementTrend Scouting & AnalysisTeamworkStrategic Thinking+4

Product Owner

Jul 2020 – Sep 2021 · 1 yr 2 mos

Product Owner for the innovation project “Chatbot for SCM” in collaboration with Business Unit Surface Solutions (SSL) based in Germany with the responsibility to identify the various use cases of a chatbot within the SSL Supply Chain.
Steered the project by pitching the project status to SSL & ContiTech management, garnering their interest in the project while managing team members from Germany, China, and India.
This was an innovation project that came into being after winning a sponsorship of €50,000 at the end of a 6-month long incubator.

Agile MethodologiesTeam ManagementTeamworkStrategic ThinkingPython (Programming Language)Research and Development (R&D)+3

Executive Software Engineer

Promoted

Jul 2020 – Aug 2021 · 1 yr 1 mo

Leading the initiative of Contivation Champions Network comprising of elected representatives from each business unit, to evangelize the idea portal of Continental, Contivation.
Conducted multiple campaigns to generate ideas for various problem statements across the location comprising of around 4,500 employees
Carried out the induction of 57 Graduate Engineer Trainees in Continental for the year 2021 by managing the campaign “Innovation with Business Focus”, aimed to generate patentable automotive ideas and proof of concepts for the future Automotive roadmap
Worked in Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) for Sensor Simulation of radar and camera behavior to create a digital twin for the sensors on MATLAB and using Simulink model-based development.
Singlehandedly developed the truck detection logic based on the far range Continental radar ARS540 for BMW.

TeamworkMatlabPython (Programming Language)Research and Development (R&D)Automobiles

Associate Software Engineer

Jul 2019 – Jul 2020 · 1 yr

Represented Business Unit ADAS(Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) comprising over 1500 employees in a network of evangelists for Continental's idea hub- Contivation Champions Network. Managed various campaigns within the business unit and at the location.
Radar Detection and Imaging algorithm development for Continental far range radar ARS430.
Development of visualization of behaviors (range, azimuth, elevation etc.) of Continental short range radar SRR6xx using Qt, OpenGL, and C++.

Image ProcessingComputer GraphicsTeamworkMachine LearningOpenGLResearch and Development (R&D)+1

Graduate Engineer Trainee

Jul 2018 – Jul 2019 · 1 yr

Participated in Continental Surface Solutions campaign with an idea aimed at controlling the in-cabin temperatures of a vehicle. The idea won the campaign, winning participation in a 3-month long incubator, also winning the incubator in a pitch that took place in Hanover, Germany and a sponsorship of €50,000.
Machine learning-based algorithm for free space detection to enable autonomous parking by using the data obtained from Continental radar(ARS4xx) and camera(MFC) sensors using Tensorflow and Python.
Machine learning-based algorithm for transfer learning and sensor fusion of Continental radar(ARS4xx) and camera(MFC) sensors using Python.

Computer GraphicsTeamworkMachine LearningOpenGLResearch and Development (R&D)Automobiles

Quality it solutions

Software Development Analyst

Jan 2018 – Jun 2018 · 5 mos · Bangalore

Accomplished full stack software development for a software product for the statistical analysis of stock market, signal generation with bulk processing and back testing capabilities.

TeamworkJavaResearch and Development (R&D)