Dr. Feiyu Xu studied computational linguistics at Saarland University, received her doctorate in 2007, and has led language technology projects with a strong practical orientation at DFKI. For example, the Compass project (COMprehensive Public informAtion Services, funded by the BMBF, FKZ 01IMD02A) aimed to develop a multimodal and multilingual assistance system in the context of the Olympic Games in Beijing 2008 that could support tourists in everyday situations. Feiyu Xu was previously honored as a DFKI Research Fellow in 2014, left DFKI as a Principal Researcher in 2017, joined Lenovo in 2017, and SAP in 2020.
Dr. Feiyu Xu explains: "Being elected to the ZF Supervisory Board means a lot to me personally. The times are challenging, and the innovation dynamics are immense; for me, ZF is one of the lighthouses worldwide for the application of industrial AI to realize the opportunities that AI opens up for economic, environmental, and social development. I look forward to the challenging tasks ahead and would like to express my sincere thanks for the trust the shareholders have placed in me."
DFKI CEO Prof. Dr. Antonio Krüger: "I congratulate Dr. Feiyu Xu, ZF and their shareholders on this excellent choice. Feiyu Xu received her PhD at DFKI, has led major AI projects, successfully driven DFKI spin-offs, and has had an impressive international career. ZF has been one of DFKI's industrial shareholders since 2019. We are collaborating in numerous application fields of industrial AI and with the ZF Technology Center for AI and Cybersecurity, also established in Saarbrücken in 2019. I look forward to more joint activities."
Dr. Feiyu Xu (born in 1969) has headed the artificial intelligence division of the software group SAP SE as senior vice president since 2020. She previously held this position for three years at the computer and smartphone manufacturer Lenovo. Xu received her doctorate in computational linguistics from Saarland University in 2007 and earned her teaching credentials there in 2014 through habilitation. Until 2017, she was a research fellow and research group leader at the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), whose supervisory board she now represents SAP SE. During this time, she also founded and led the AI start-up Yocoy Technologies GmbH, which developed mobile multilingual translation and dialog systems.
About ZF
ZF is a global technology company supplying systems for passenger cars, commercial vehicles, and industrial technology, enabling the next generation of mobility. ZF allows vehicles to see, think and act. In the four technology domains of Vehicle Motion Control, Integrated Safety, Automated Driving, and Electric Mobility, ZF offers comprehensive product and software solutions for established vehicle manufacturers and newly emerging transport and mobility service providers. ZF electrifies a wide range of vehicle types. With its products, the company contributes to reducing emissions, protecting the climate, and enhancing safe mobility. With some 157,500 employees worldwide, ZF reported sales of €38.3 billion in fiscal 2021. The company operates 188 production locations in 31 countries.
Further information:
ZF press release, 12/20/2022: https://press.zf.com/press/en/releases/release_49088.html
Projekt COMPASS2008: Multimodal, multilingual and crosslingual interaction for mobile tourist guide applications, 2005: https://www.dfki.de/en/web/research/projects-and-publications/publication/3005
DFKI Research Fellows: https://www.dfki.de/en/web/about-us/fellows/research-fellows