WeAreDevelopers Logo WeAreDevelopers
Sign in
For You LIVE
Coffee With Developers • Jul 2, 2025

Inside Mercedes-Benz: How CIO Katrin Lehmann is Empowering 5,000 Developers and Driving Digital Change

Katrin Lehmann , Sead Ahmetovic

Mercedes-Benz CIO Katrin Lehmann argues that AI will not kill coding jobs, but instead skyrocket developer demand. Discover how she empowers 5,000 engineers to drive digital innovation.

Pause
Mute Enter Fullscreen
#1 about 6 min

Transitioning from economics to a tech career path

Learning programming through data migrations builds a technical foundation without a traditional computer science degree.

#2 about 2 min

Establishing the first chief data officer role at SAP

Building a dedicated data department highlights the imperative of top-down data-driven decision making.

#3 about 4 min

Moving from a pure software company to automotive

Transitioning to physical products showcases the real-world impact of software embedded in daily life.

#4 about 3 min

Utilizing personal networks for executive career opportunities

Bypassing traditional application processes through industry networking can lead directly to executive leadership interviews.

#5 about 3 min

Governing enterprise IT as a global automotive CIO

Managing global enterprise IT encompasses workplace support, production software, and cybersecurity across multiple subsidiaries.

#6 about 2 min

Rolling out GitHub Copilot to thousands of developers

Testing new tools with pilot groups ensures successful adoption and encourages peer-based learning among technical teams.

#7 about 3 min

Implementing agile frameworks alongside legacy milestone product planning

Balancing agile methodologies with strict hardware launch dates requires persistent cultural evolution within traditional product organizations.

#8 about 2 min

Removing developer friction through continuous feedback and tooling

Utilizing process mining and regular surveys streamlines internal workflows to maximize programming creativity.

#9 about 2 min

Leveraging generative AI and agents for executive productivity

Adopting large language models to prepare for meetings and retrieve institutional knowledge frees up time for critical tasks.

#10 about 6 min

Prioritizing continuous tech learning through executive reverse mentoring

Dedicating formal weekly time with innovation experts enables leaders to build hands-on skills with new automation tools.

#11 about 4 min

Driving software demand through increased developer productivity tools

Lowering software delivery costs via productivity assistants expands the market necessity for highly skilled technical talent.

#12 about 2 min

Advancing autonomous driving capabilities with specialized software talent

Experiencing high-speed autonomous systems on closed tracks underscores the critical safety role of embedded software engineering.

#13 about 4 min

Accelerating European technology ecosystems with increased strategic investment

Shifting from a conservative mindset to active regional venture funding prevents technical talent from migrating abroad.

#14 about 2 min

Encouraging underrepresented talent to pursue software engineering roles

Studying informatics and embracing advanced technical challenges empowers new professionals to disrupt static industry norms.

#15 about 3 min

Rapid fire perspectives on modern technology and habits

Quick reflections on daily preferences reveal an enthusiasm for the upcoming industry disruption caused by quantum computing.

Matching moments

3:16 min

Driving developer productivity with AI in automotive tech

Mike Butcher Mike Butcher +3 · WWC 2024

2:59 min

Driving organizational change through clear engineering mandates

Brian Scanlan Brian Scanlan · WWC Europe 2026

2:23 min

Strategic goals for the Cariad automated driving division

Lukas Sucher Lukas Sucher +1 · WWC 2024

1:34 min

Transitioning from traditional software development to artificial intelligence consulting

Patrick Schnell Patrick Schnell · Coffee With Developers

1:56 min

Scaling AI adoption to non-traditional enterprise developers

Neel Sundaresan Neel Sundaresan +1 · WWC Europe 2026

2:23 min

The transforming role of developers in the AI era

Mateusz Gren Mateusz Gren +1 · WWC Europe 2026

More from Coffee With Developers

What to Do About Hackathons in the Time of Agents - Mike Swift thumbnail
46:03
9 days ago

What to Do About Hackathons in the Time of Agents - Mike Swift

Mike Swift

Moving from Playing with AI to Implementing AI - Lee Stott thumbnail
18:43
13 days ago

Moving from Playing with AI to Implementing AI - Lee Stott

Lee Stott

Evals vs. Evil - AI and Package Security - Laurie Voss thumbnail
16:57
22 days ago

Evals vs. Evil - AI and Package Security - Laurie Voss

Laurie Voss

Burning Satellites, Talking Plants and Agents Hiring Each Other - Fake or News with Matt Zeunert thumbnail
4:57
27 days ago

Burning Satellites, Talking Plants and Agents Hiring Each Other - Fake or News with Matt Zeunert

Matt Zeunert

Web Scraping, AI Agents, and the Future of Open Source - Kevin Lewis (Apify) thumbnail
40:29
about 2 months ago

Web Scraping, AI Agents, and the Future of Open Source - Kevin Lewis (Apify)

Making Teaching Code Less Academic and More Market-Ready - Peter Ruppel thumbnail
32:22
about 2 months ago

Making Teaching Code Less Academic and More Market-Ready - Peter Ruppel

Upcoming sessions on this topic

Open session

World Congress 2026 North America

The Broken Rung: How AI is Rebuilding Software Development from the Ground Up

Tomislav Tipurić

Chief Technology Officer, Nephos

Tomislav Tipurić
Open session

World Congress 2026 North America

Beyond the Code: Human-AI Synergies in Product Development

Ajita Kanchivakam Ananth

Staff Technical Program Manager at Google

Ajita Kanchivakam Ananth
Open session

World Congress 2026 North America

Building the AI Era Through Developer Communities: A Competitive Advantage for Engineers & Teams

John Komarnicki

National Executive Advisor at Code & Coffee | Engineering & AI Community Leader

John Komarnicki
Open session

World Congress 2026 North America

Ship 10x Faster: AI-Powered Development with Claude Code and MCP Tools

Viktoria Semaan

Principal Technical Evangelist at Databricks

Viktoria Semaan
Open session

World Congress 2026 North America

Culture Doesn't Scale Itself: Leading Engineering Teams Through Hypergrowth and the AI Transition

Thanos Baskous

VP of Engineering and Co-founder of Cogent Security

Thanos Baskous
Open session

World Congress 2026 North America

Engineering the Pivot: How Creative Strategy Solves the Hard Problems of AI Accuracy and Scale

Shruti Tiwari

AI/ML product manager, Dell

Shruti Tiwari

Related videos

Inside Mercedes-Benz: 140 Years of Heritage meet AI thumbnail
21:03
WWC Europe 2026 • about 1 month ago

Inside Mercedes-Benz: 140 Years of Heritage meet AI

Daniel Geisel, Jens Petersohn

Software is the New Fuel, AI the New Horsepower - Pioneering New Paths at Mercedes-Benz thumbnail
18:05
WWC 2025 • 12 months ago

Software is the New Fuel, AI the New Horsepower - Pioneering New Paths at Mercedes-Benz

Katrin Lehmann, Magnus Östberg

AI in Leadership: How Technology is Reshaping Executive Roles thumbnail
28:19
WWC 2025 • 12 months ago

AI in Leadership: How Technology is Reshaping Executive Roles

Bernd Datler, Jasmin Kaiser, Jeff Hausmann, Sonja Alvarez

How Visionary Leaders Drive Transformation thumbnail
28:29
WWC 2025 • 12 months ago

How Visionary Leaders Drive Transformation

Anu Bharadwaj, Boris Nemsic, Tobias Schlottke, Wolfgang Wendt

How is AI changing the leadership role? thumbnail
33:24
WWC 2024 • almost 2 years ago

How is AI changing the leadership role?

Laura Möller, Laura Moritz, Nica Huestegge, Nina Levchuk

Software defines the vehicle: Why customers and developers will love cars even more thumbnail
27:17
WWC 2024 • almost 2 years ago

Software defines the vehicle: Why customers and developers will love cars even more

Peter Bosch

Related articles

From learning to earning

Jobs that call for the skills explored in this talk.