Dr. Hänsel studied Computer Science at the Technical University of Braunschweig where he also wrote his doctorate theses on processes within standardization.standardisation. As an expert for functional safety he supported Audi in the field of driver assistance systems. For many years, Dr. Hänsel was the lead functional safety expert of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles where he successfully introduced the topic in development processes and the organization. Since Feb. 2021 he is project leader for a change project within Volkswagen Passenger Cars to introduce some topics related with systems engineering.

The Volkswagen Group with its headquarters in Wolfsburg is one of the world’s leading automobile manufacturers and the largest carmaker in Europe. The Group is made up of twelve brands from seven European countries: Volkswagen, Audi, SEAT, ŠKODA, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, Ducati, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Scania and MAN. The Group operates 120 production plants in 20 European countries and a further eleven countries in the Americas, Asia and Africa. Each working day, around 630,000 employees worldwide produce some 43,000 vehicles, are involved in vehicle-related services or work in the other fields of business. The Volkswagen Group sells its vehicles in 153 countries. With its future programme "TOGETHER - Strategy 2025" the Group is aiming for a leading position in sustainable mobility. In order to achieve this, the Group will be transforming its automotive core business and will be launching a further 30-plus fully electric cars by 2025, as well as expanding battery technology and autonomous driving as new core competences.