Raphael Leiteritz: Entrepreneur, Computer Scientist, MBA.

Senior Product Manager Google Maps in Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Enjoying bringing innovations and new products to the market.

Latest news:

04.07.2011 Please connect with me with Google+ as I have moved my updates there.

02.04.2011 We recently launched Google Maps Navigation in Russia with a big media event. See some pictures here and a TV feature here. The Russian office is very well done, designed by the same architects that also did "my" home office Google Zurich.

19.11.2010 After years of work we finally launched Street View on Google Maps in Germany. What a project :)

12.08.2010 I again spent some time in Germany to explain Street View and the upcoming launch. TV clips here and here and here.

11.04.2010 A new feature in German TV on Street View, this time in "W wie Wissen". I enjoyed that particularly because I got the chance to explain some of the background of Street View.

23.02.2010 I recently spent time in Germany on helping explaining Street View to the public. Here some reporting, including some great blog coverage (fantastic how a citizen blog video adds value compared to regular reporting). Tagesschau aired it as well today.

29.01.2010 Two new TV features about Google I was involved in: In the German/French TV station Arte about "new work types" (minute 20+) and in the Swiss feature "10vor10" about the newest trends in the mobile Internet. Sorry all in German.

18.08.2009 Google recently launched street view in my new home country, Switzerland. Find an interview here with me where I explain the product and the benefits and a couple of launch pictures.

23.01.2009 A recent glance into my work at Google. We launched the Transit Layer on Google Maps in 50 cities globally as well as a new product page.

29.09.2008 When I joined Google I was very lucky to become product manager of a very successful project: Google Transit. I just returned from New York where we launched Transit at Grand Central station, together with the governor of New York, Marissa Mayer and the founders of Google. Some pictures, an article in the New York Times and some other mentions.

09.07.2008 We just had our wedding party, seriously the best party of our life.

06.06.2008 After 3.5 great years working with Utimaco I felt that I wanted a change. I recently joined Google as Product Manager and moved to Zurich in really the most exciting office I've ever seen. I am working in the Geo group that launched great products like Maps and Earth and works on all sorts of technologies to make geo-information accessible and useful. Here is a glimpse at what I am currently working on.

27.04.2008 Finally, 11 years after I co-founded the company, innominate was sold in a trade sale. The company Innominate Security Technologies was based on our Open Source product and services company we founded 1997. Congratulations and good luck to the team!

16.03.2008 Got married :-). Good news, after quite some time Andrea und I finally decided to get married.

21.01.2008 This week was very important for me. We at Utimaco launched a new product SafeGuard LeakProof, a significant milestone of my work of the last 12 months. It's an important step towards a vision of granular, content-based encryption and the management of risks associated with sensitive corporate information falling into the wrong hands. You find the press announcement here and an article here.

21.10.2007 My former faculty at the Technical University of Berlin is publishing a yearly book on Open Source Software. Each year they highlight the latest resarch on OSS. Now, they proudly announce that one of this year's authors is actually among the winners of the Economics Nobel prize. Well done.

19.10.2007 Long time no see :). I am actually posting new photos only on Facebook. It's such a nice platform to stay in touch with friends. If you want, join my network here.

28.09.2006 Last week, Thorsten Wichmann, the founder of Berlecon Research, died at the age of 40. I knew Thorsten for nearly ten years and he was very instrumental in founding my company and later also joined the supervisory board. Thorsten taught me many things and I owe him a lot. He was one of the smartest guys I ever met, while having a big heart and not taking himself too serious. I will miss him a lot.

01.09.2006 Starting September 1st, I am heading a new strategy team for Utimaco. Our goal is to implement a new strategy by conceptualizing a new product vision for 2010, shaped and verified with international key customers. A big element will be to identify the right partner technologies to implement our vision of "Data Security".

13.05.2006 Lawrence Lessig, expert for Internet Law at Stanford Law school, testifies at the US congress on network neutrality. In his document, he cites Barbara's work (see below). Congratulation, amazing achievement.

19.11.2005 Barbara van Schewick, a former colleague at my research group at the Technical University of Berlin, received a price for her research on "Economics of network neutrality". She demonstrates that there is a threat for internet innovation without network neutrality regulation, and that discrimination by the carriers will reduce application-level innovation. Barbara is one of the brightest talents I ever met when it comes to the intersection of economics, computer science and law. Barbara wrote her dissertation with my former Professor Bernd Lutterbeck as well as Lawrence Lessig.

24.07.2005 Utimaco, the company I am currently working with, was ranked by Gartner, the worldwide leading IT analyst company. In the "Magic Quadrant for Mobile Data Protection" we were ranked as the most "visionary" company in our marketspace, and second best on "execution". This clearly makes us one of the global leaders in our market. This is a huge success, especially because typically in these reports US based companies dominate.

17.07.2005 I updated the "Profile" section with a description of my current role as "Innovation and Corporate Business Development Manager" at Utimaco Safeware AG.

20.03.2005 Update on the entry from the 10th of March: Two more open source service providers recently received VC funding: Spikesource and Openlogic. Spikesource got money from Kleiner Perkins.

10.03.2005 History repeating? There is a latest wave of funding for Open Source service companies. They act as intermediators between Open Source innovation and the enterprise world. One of the companies is Optaros. It literally looks like a clone of my company in the early 2000s: Same value proposition, same technology areas, similiar amount of VC. From my experience I see two main challenges: (1) How to build a scalable, sustaining business with a service model combined with very low barriers to entry (2) How to keep the necessary laser focus if you neither restrict yourself to industries nor to specific technology areas.

09.03.2005 My former colleagues from the Technical Unversity of Berlin published the Open Source Yearbook 2005 (sorry, mostly in German). Like last year it is an complex and inspiring "snapshot" of the latest Open Source developments. My respect for the high quality of the contributions and the authors. One must not forget that the project is mainly run by a student team, coached by experienced researchers. Also my compliments for the innovative teaching methods: How can education be more motivating and practical?

15.02.2005 It's exciting to see how much my work on Open Source Business models spread in the last 2 years. Have a look here and here. ETH Zurich also lists it.

05.01.2005 Happy new year! Just a few links: For anybody interested in the tech entrepreneur / VC scene I can very much recommend these blogs: Jeff Nolan, TJ, Ross Mayfield. I read them frequently.

03.10.2004 I found a very nice quote from an INSEAD alumn about the INSEAD experience: "The uniqueness of INSEAD is that you learn how to live, work, argue and have fun with people from a different galaxy (François Hériard-Dubreuil, MBA '75). I really like the quote because it sums up a lot of the grateful feelings I have for the year at INSEAD.

01.10.2004 Since 1st of August I have a new position as "Innovation- and Business Development Manager" at Utimaco, a public software company and one of the global market leaders in mobile security. My key task is to identify new growth opportunities.

05.07.2004 The MBA experience at INSEAD finally is over. At the beginning of July we received our diplomas and are now offically "Masters of Business Administration" ;-). It was an amazing year, with lots of work, learning and fun. I will especially miss the diverse, interesting and outgoing colleagues. A participant has blogged her experience here, very worthwile reading.

16.03.2004 The "Open Source Jahrbuch 2004" is published. In this book my former research colleagues at the TU Berlin give a comprehensive overview about the latest development in the Open Source sector. In my article I describe the development of Open Source business models. You can download a PDF-Version or order the book here (mostly german).

23.01.2004 Singapore pictures in the photo section.

10.11.2003 Included some pictures about the MBA at INSEAD in the photo section. The pictures are taken at the Fontainebleau/France campus. Since I am going to Singapore in the beginning of January I will later also include photos of the asia campus.

10.11.2003 The study about the the secure use of mobile devices for the German ministry of interior had a big impact. At the end of this document you can read expert comments about our findings and our work. Microsoft also gave comments.

04.08.2003 The german Ministry of Interior decided to publish a press version of our project "Mobile access to secure networks - solutions for the future". In this study we examined the secure use of mobile devices in the ministry. The project was one of my main tasks as project manager at the TU Berlin. Here the press release, the executive summary and the study (all in german). Update: The study has been downloaded more than 2000 times in the first 24h hours. First reactions here.

31.07.2003 My contribution for the "Open Source Yearbook 2004" is published. In the paper (german) I present an current analysis of Open Source business models and how companies try to earn money with free software.

21.07.2003 Today I received news that the INSEAD Gesellschaft Deutschland (IGD) is going to support my MBA studies at INSEAD financially.