HTEC is excited to welcome Carsten Wierwille as its new global vice president of product and design (P&D). Carsten has over 25 years of executive leadership at companies such as Frog, GlobalLogic, Method, R/GA, and Accenture. He previously served as CEO of ustwo studios, where he led the company through a successful transition to employee ownership.
Under Carsten’s leadership, HTEC’s Product and Design (P&D) team, a creation of the Product Innovation Office (PIO) and Momentum Design Lab, will work together as one unit to accelerate the company’s services and service offerings. The team combines PIO’s wealth of expertise in product management with Momentum’s award-winning design excellence. The P&D team engages with its clients to conceive and create digital solutions that meet user needs and create business value. This approach will strengthen HTEC’s position as a global leader in product development and digital engineering.
Carsten’s appointment marks a significant step forward for HTEC, as the company continues to integrate product strategy, design, and engineering to deliver comprehensive solutions. His unique approach, combining human-centered design with technological innovation, aligns perfectly with HTEC’s mission to solve complex challenges across industries, from healthcare to AI and autonomous systems.
In a recent conversation, Carsten shared insights into how he approaches design and technology integration, his leadership philosophy on fostering collaboration across teams, and his views on the evolving role of creativity in a tech-driven world. He sees the future of design at HTEC centers as an effort of leveraging technology guided by a human-centered vision for the future.
Elevating HTEC’s product and design capabilities
Carsten is motivated by the opportunity to extend HTEC’s already impressive engineering excellence into the realms of product strategy and design. His vision for the P&D team involves leveraging the company’s global reach and diverse talent pool to deliver end-to-end solutions for clients that drive sustainable growth.
“What intrigues me about HTEC is our capability to envision and realize an ideal experience. From surgical equipment to self-driving cars and user experience to data and AI, we solve hard technical problems guided by a human-centered vision for the future.“
Leveraging technology to solve real-life problems
Reflecting on the current landscape of digital technology, Carsten emphasizes the cyclical nature of technological evolution. Initial phases often involve experimentation without a clear sense of what problems the technology can best solve:
“In the initial hype phase, we build things because we can, because technology enables something that was previously unimaginable. However, then we realize that the early prototypes and experiments don’t add enough value. This is where design and product management come into play: What problems are we trying to solve? How can this technology add meaning, purpose, and utility to our lives? How can organizations derive value from it, for example, generate revenue and save cost? I think this is exactly where we are with generative AI right now, transitioning from the early days of unbridled enthusiasm to a purpose and value-driven use of technology.”
At HTEC, Carsten’s approach involves combining engineering excellence with a human-centered vision to solve complex challenges. The company’s integrated strategy allows for tackling tough technical problems while ensuring that the solutions resonate with users and deliver lasting value.
Combining creativity and technical feasibility
Carsten’s product design strategy centers on building a seamless collaboration between design, product management, and engineering teams. As a leader, he believes in empowering teams through autonomy and supporting their strengths, recognizing that each discipline brings different perspectives to the table. This multidisciplinary approach aims to balance visionary ideas with practical execution, ensuring that solutions not only meet but exceed client expectations.
“A designer may push an agenda and think above and beyond the ask. Conversely, many engineers will be keen on locking in the requirements to reduce risk and make sure the solution can be built. Typically, integrated teams can work this out on their own, but sometimes these different disciplines need room to explore their unique perspectives. A referee is needed to resolve conflicts on the client’s behalf. Product management, program management, and delivery often play the referee role, reconciling the vision with what is possible and critical.”
The value of design
Carsten sees the current era as one of the most challenging periods for the design profession in decades. With a shift towards optimization over innovation, and the hype for generative AI (GenAI), the confidence in human creativity and innovation has been diminished.
“I believe that the core value proposition of design – to uncover and address human needs, stimulate desire, and increase utility and use – remains as relevant as ever. Design is action oriented, insisting that the world can be better. And there are plenty of problems where design can make critical contributions, from chronic diseases to climate change.”
Impressions on HTEC’s Southeast Europe headquarters
To learn more about HTEC, Carsten recently traveled to the company’s headquarters in Southeast Europe, where he was inspired by the region’s vibrant culture, hospitality, and passion for life. HTEC has deep roots in the area, with most of its team living and working in the Balkans. As the company continues to expand its global presence, Carsten looks forward to contributing to HTEC’s growth while staying connected to the cultural and geographical roots that shape its identity.
“I was so impressed by the warmth, hospitality, and passion of the people there. The history of the Balkans is complex but underscored with rich cultural traditions. Traveling in the region was a truly inspiring experience.”
Interested in learning how the Product and Design team at HTEC can help you envision and deliver products that create lasting value for your customers? Connect with Carsten on LinkedIn.
