New Administrative Director at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht

Silke Simon, new Administrative Director at the research centre. [Foto: HZG/HZG/Jan-Rasmus Lippels]

“Silke Simon is a proven expert in the field of facility management and administration. Her wealth of experience in terms of technical infrastructures and financing within the Helmholtz Association forms an excellent basis for the future growth of our centre”, says the Scientific Director, Professor Wolfgang Kaysser.

The 50-year-old studied civil engineering before becoming a certified manager at the Malik Management Centre in St. Gallen, Switzerland and began her career with private construction companies. Since then, the native of Düsseldorf, Germany has held various positions within the Helmholtz Association: for seven years, she worked for the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) as head of construction and operations. This was followed by six years at the Helmholtz-Zentrum München as Head of Central Technical Infrastructure. She has been working at the Helmholtz-Zentrum for Ocean Research (GEOMAR) in Kiel since April 2014, where she has headed the Technical Service and Central Purchasing.

At HZG, Silke Simon is responsible for the areas of finance, controlling, human resources, and accounting, and also for dismantling the nuclear facilities at the former GKSS Research Centre.

“HZG is already very well-positioned and I am looking forward to being able to continue shaping the future of the centre. Personally, I value respectful cooperation and have the impression that I will be working with a professional team supporting me”, says Silke Simon.
She is taking over the Administrative Management from Kay Bern, who has been interim manager since August 2018. Prior to this, Michael Ganß had been instrumental in shaping HZG’s fortunes for almost 15 years. He was appointed Vice President for Business Affairs and Finance of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) on 1 August 2018.