Biography

Martin Schlegel has 25 years of international experience in the sports and recreation industry across novel materials, technology and R&D commercialisation.  He is the Principal of chemneera Consulting providing advice and technical expertise to communities, companies and stakeholders in the sport technology, sports infrastructure and sports business industries across Australasia, Europe and the USA.  As a Distinguished Member of the Sports Innovation Board of the International Sport Technology Association (ISTA) in Atlanta GA and a Director of the Australian Sports Technologies Network (ASTN), his work focuses on start-up programs, global partnerships with other clusters of innovation and facilitating export growth of sports technology companies.  He previously worked on major sports infrastructure projects across Australia, Asia, Europe, and the USA, including sports surfacing projects for the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games.  Throughout his manufacturing career, Martin worked globally in various roles including management positions in business information technology, quality management, engineering and business M&A.

He holds a Doctorate degree (Dr.rer-nat.) in natural science from the oldest technical university in Germany (Technische Universität Braunschweig) specializing in Chemical Engineering, a German Diplom (MSc) in Chemistry and engaged in economic studies as part of his doctorate program.  In addition, Martin completed the Certificate of Business Excellence (Executive Education) at the Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley, California.

He is a Director and Board Member multiple companies, a casual lecturer on sports management, entrepreneurship and innovation and volunteers as the President of a cross-border student exchange scholarship program.  As the corresponding co-author of the chapter ‘The Reach of Sports Technologies’, Martin contributed to the book ‘21st Century Sports – How Technologies Will Change Sports in the Digital Age’ edited by S. L. Schmidt and published by Springer Nature.  He is regularly engaged to present and speak on topics of the future of the business of sport, the impact of technology in sport and the use of advanced materials in sports.

General Specialties: Technology, Chemicals and Failure Analysis

Specialty Focus

• Sports Technology
• Sports Surfaces
• Artificial / Synthetic Turf
• Playgrounds
• Running Tracks
• Gymnasium Floors
• Court Surfaces
• Construction and Manufacturing Defects
• Recreational and Surface Coatings
• Technical Textiles
• Protective & Shock-absorbing Materials
• Material Fatigue & Failure.

Education

• Executive Education (COBE) - UC Berkeley Haas School of Business (USA)
• Dr. rer -nat. (German equivalent to PhD) - TU Braunschweig (Germany)
• Dipl.-Chem. (German equivalent to MSc) - TU Braunschweig (Germany)
• Vordiplom (German equivalent to BSc) - University Kiel (Germany)

Other Affiliations

International Sports Technology Association (ISTA), Atlanta GA (USA) - Member of Advisory Board / International Trade Advisor

Australian Sports Technologies Network (ASTN), Melbourne VIC (Australia) - Executive Chair

UC Berkeley Haas School of Business Open Innovation Squad, Berkeley CA (USA) - Member of Advisory Board

University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth (Germany) - Guest Lecturer

Connect with Martin on LinkedIn or visit Chemneera's company website