Dirk Schapeler is Vice President Digital at Bayer LLC based in San Jose, CA and leads the BETS team. BETS's (=Bayer Emerging Technology Solutions) focus is on connecting with small and large technology companies to establish partnerships, new products and service offerings and create new revenue streams in lifesciences. The team includes data scientists, business model experts and physicians. Ideas and technologies can be bold and risky as long as they represent a major opportunity for Bayer in the 3-5 year time horizon.

Dirk previously served as Head of Bayer's LifeScience iHUB innovation center that he founded in Mountain View in 2015. Prior to that he served as the CEO of Bayer's ViviTouch subsidiary Artificial Muscle Inc. in Sunnyvale. An engineer in electronics and mechanics he studied in Karlsruhe, Germany.

Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the Life Science fields of health care and agriculture. Its products and services are designed to benefit people and improve their quality of life. At the same time, the Group aims to create value through innovation, growth and high earning power. Bayer is committed to the principles of sustainable development and to its social and ethical responsibilities as a corporate citizen. In fiscal 2017, the Group employed around 99,800 people and had sales of EUR 35.0 billion. Capital expenditures amounted to EUR 2.4 billion, R&D expenses to EUR 4.5 billion. For more information, go to www.bayer.com