- line management responsibility for the team
- strategic development and expansion of the evaluation and certification portfolio for artificial intelligence (AI) / machine learning (ML) (e.g., in line with EU AI Act, ISO/IEC 42001)
- business development and acquisition of new clients in the area of Trustworthy AI (incl. direct sales and marketing)
Summary
Dr. Henning Kerstan brings 14+ years of professional experience, with more than 9 years in industry (consulting, product management, business development) and more than 5 years in academia (research, teaching). His focus areas are information security, cybersecurity, and regulatory compliance, spanning ISMS design and audit support, risk analysis, and evaluation and certification services. His combination of academic expertise in mathematics, computer science and IT security (Dr. rer. nat., summa cum laude), practical experience at PwC, ETAS/Bosch and TÜV NORD, and entrepreneurial experience makes him a compelling partner for complex security challenges.
Work experience and employment
TÜV Informationstechnik GmbH (TÜVIT), TÜV NORD GROUP
Essen • Germany • https://tuvit.de
Team Lead Business Development Artificial Intelligence
ETAS GmbH, Bosch Group
Bochum • Germany • https://www.etas.com
Project Manager & Consultant for Automotive Cybersecurity
- led an international project team
- overall responsibility for an agile cybersecurity project with a leading German car OEM
- contributed to establishing the company’s TISAX-specific requirements (incl. prototype protection)
- consulted on cybersecurity topics in the automotive industry (e.g., in line with UNECE R 155/156, ISO/SAE 21434, ISO/IEC 27001, NIST SP 800-53)
- identified and assessed risks in cloud-vehicle security architectures
- initiated and shaped a penetration testing concept for automotive cloud systems
TÜV Informationstechnik GmbH (TÜVIT), TÜV NORD GROUP
Essen • Germany • https://tuvit.de
Product Manager
- held product ownership for the hardware evaluation portfolio and AI/ML testing services
- positioned new services in the market (e.g., post-quantum security (PQC), Secure Firmware Updates)
- extended the company’s internal ISMS with TISAX-specific requirements (incl. prototype protection)
- provided technical sales support and acquired new clients
Senior IT Security Expert/Consultant
- developed new evaluation and certification services for AI/ML and hardware evaluation
- provided technical sales support
- conducted source code reviews (hardware-related, e.g., Boot-ROM, firmware) to detect physical attack potential (e.g., side-channel attacks, fault injection attacks)
- performed source code analysis of cryptographic implementations (high-level)
PricewaterhouseCoopers GmbH Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft (PwC)
Düsseldorf • Germany • https://pwc.de
Senior Associate (Technology Consulting / CIO Advisory)
- supported the redesign of an ISMS in line with ISO/IEC 27000 standards, incorporating data protection requirements for the global IT infrastructure of a leading German car OEM
- developed a new ISMS cryptography policy for a pharmaceutical company
- assisted with the analysis and documentation of business processes for the implementation of GDPR in the sales departments of a leading German car OEM
- contributed to the implementation of GDPR for an international mobility provider
Technische Universität Darmstadt
Darmstadt • Germany • https://www.tu-darmstadt.de
Postdoctoral Researcher (Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter) in IT Security (fixed-term)
- taught the fundamentals of cryptography and IT security, created and edited lecture material, exercises, exams, and delivered lectures
- recruited and mentored a new team of student teaching assistants
- collaborated internationally with researchers in Germany and Italy
- served as a peer reviewer for several international conference submissions
PricewaterhouseCoopers GmbH Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft (PwC)
Düsseldorf • Germany • https://pwc.de
Senior Consultant (Technology Consulting / CIO Advisory)
- provided technology and IT consulting focused on the automotive industry
- managed an IT project and negotiated IT Transitional Services Agreements as part of an international post-merger integration
- revised a market sizing model for a connected car study
Universität Duisburg-Essen
Duisburg • Germany • https://www.uni-due.de
Research and Teaching Assistant (Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter) in Theoretical Computer Science (fixed-term)
- collaborated internationally with researchers in France, Italy, and the Netherlands
- presented at various international conferences and workshops in countries including Barbados, India, Germany, France, Netherlands, Poland, Estonia, Portugal, and the UK
- taught exercise groups, gave tutorials, prepared and graded exams, and supervised theses
- served as a peer reviewer for multiple international conference and journal submissions
Henning Kerstan und Roman Ortmann GbR
Duisburg • Germany
Small Business Owner (Geschäftsführender Gesellschafter)
- provided sound and lighting equipment for small events (concerts, sport events, proms, weddings, birthdays)
- offered IT support for individuals and small local companies
- developed websites (Typo3, WordPress) and provided webhosting
Universität Duisburg-Essen
Duisburg • Germany • https://www.uni-due.de
Student Research and Teaching Assistant (Studentische Hilfskraft)
- implemented a C++ prototype of an algorithm for solving a scheduling problem in steel production
- taught several exercise groups and graded student homework (basic math/computer science)
Education
PhD in Computer Science (summa cum laude)
Universität Duisburg-Essen • Duisburg • Germany • https://www.uni-due.de
- degree: Doktor der Naturwissenschaften (Dr. rer. nat.)
- topic: algebraic modeling and behavior analysis of transition systems
- Award for the best PhD thesis of the faculty of engineering (Fakultät für Ingenieurwissenschaften) in 2016/17
Diplom in Mathematics (1.0)
Universität Duisburg-Essen • Duisburg • Germany • https://www.uni-due.de
- degree: Diplom-Mathematiker (Dipl.-Math.)
- specialization: algebra, cryptography, operations research
- minor: computer science
Abitur (1.0)
Landfermann-Gymnasium • Duisburg • Germany • https://landfermann.de
- bilingual education in German and English
- developed a network application (VisualBasic 6.0) for the school’s weather station
Publications
Below is a short overview of my publications. For a more detailed overview including short summaries, please go to my online list of publications (https://henningkerstan.de/en/publications).