Stuttgart, 29/09/2010 – “The new New” is to be published tomorrow. The publication investigates the question of how innovation occurs and which obstacles new thinking often faces. In interviews with 18 international innovators and lateral thinkers from the fields of culture, business, science and the arts, the editor Ulrich Dietz captures the pioneering spirit of our age. As Chairman of the Board of international IT company GFT Technologies AG, he questions his interviewees about their experiences and approaches to the subject of innovation. The book will be launched in Berlin on 30 September 2010.

“As a businessman in the field of IT, I’m constantly dealing with new trends, technologies, products and markets”, says Ulrich Dietz. “This motivated me to find out how new things are created and what models have proved successful. But also to discover the forces of inertia and resistance which inhibit the spirit of innovation.” To do this, the company founder talked to 18 innovators from different sectors and areas of society about new thinking and the pioneering spirit as our hope for the future. The need to always be reinventing yourself, always challenging and improving what already exists is a common theme throughout the discussions.

“Think forwards” is also Ulrich Dietz’s motto for everyday life. The creation of sustainable structures for innovation is one of the critical success factors of GFT, the IT company he founded. “You have to dare to innovate. What we need is a new culture of innovation. This is not just true for information technology. Innovation ensures a sustainable competitive advantage for the economy as a whole. Also in other areas of society, progress can only be brought about by constant change accompanied by effective communication.”

The search for new ideas is the main theme which runs through all the interviews in “The new New”. The people Ulrich Dietz talks to are personalities as innovative as they are creative in their own particular fields. People who have shown the courage to embrace change. They include, for example: Murat Günak, who used small budgets but internationally networked teams to push forward the development of a hybrid electric car; the space traveller and entrepreneur Anousheh Ansari; the British choreographer Wayne McGregor; and Lisa Randall, Professor of Theoretical Physics at Harvard University.

The discussions were chaired by the journalist Dr Eva Karcher and documented by portraits and snapshots from the Düsseldorf-based photographer Michael Dannenmann.

Ulrich Dietz interviews:

Anousheh Ansari (entrepreneur and space traveler)
Antonella Battaglini (scientist, Potsdam-Institut für Klimafolgenforschung)
Josh Bernstein (American discoverer and environmental activist)
Amar Bhidé (economist, Harvard University)
Murat Günak (developer of a hybrid electric car)
Graham Hawkes (designer of a deep sea vehicle)
Edwin Kohl (Germany’s largest importer of medicines)
Claudia Llosa (Peruvian film director, script writer, and producer)
Wayne McGregor (prize-winning British choreographer)
Paulus Neef (founder of the Internet agency Pixelpark)
Susan Neiman (American philosopher, director of the Einstein Forum)
Lisa Randall (professor of theoretical physics, Harvard University)
René Redzepi (star chef Noma Restaurant in Copenhagen)
Tobias Rehberger (conceptual artist)
Roberto Stern (jeweler and heir to the H. Stern jewelry company)
Peter Weibel (director of the Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie)
Alasdhair Willis (British designer, gallerist für exklusive Möbel)
Ken Yeang (eco designer, “green” architect)

Editor: Ulrich Dietz
Ulrich Dietz studied mechanical engineering and product engineering in Reutlingen and Furtwangen. After receiving his engineering degree, he cofounded the Transferzentrum für Informationstechnologie (TZI; Transfer center for information technology) of the Steinbeis-Stiftung für Wirtschaftsförderung. In 1987, he cofounded the information technology company GFT in Sankt Georgen, and as its managing director he took the company public in 1999. GFT now has 1,200 employees and is one of the leading IT service providers in the finance sector. As a member of the board of the largest European IT association, BITKOM, Dietz also addresses the concerns of the IT business in Germany and supports Germany as a site for innovation. Since 2010, he has been teaching entrepreneurship at the Universität Stuttgart Hohenheim.

Moderator: Dr. Eva Karcher
Dr. Eva Karcher studied art history, philosophy, and history in Munich and Berlin. She began working in galleries, publishing houses, and as a critic for the Süddeutsche Zeitung, followed by eight years as arts editor at the Burda Verlag and for Gruner + Jahr, before going freelance in 1997 as a journalist, author, and expert on the art market. For Süddeutsche Zeitung and Vogue, she conducted interviews with famous figures from the art and creative scene.


Portrait Photographer: Michael Dannenmann
Michael Dannenmann studied painting and photograph at the Kunstakademie Stuttgart and the Fachhochschule Dortmund. In 1990 he opened his studio in Düsseldorf, which is now considered one of the most renowned internationally as well. He has photographed numerous stars, including Bill Gates, Dennis Hopper, Michael Schumacher, Phil Collins, Patricia Kaas, and Isabella Rossellini.