About Larissa Zeichhardt
Larissa worked as the CEO of the family-owned rail construction company LAT Group. She had previously been employed by a large international corporation in Switzerland and other countries. Due to a private incident, she took over the company from her father, along with her sister. She quickly learned to navigate the construction business and became passionate about the rail industry. Larissa began implementing innovative products through collaboration with universities. As an active member of women in mobility, she aims to encourage and inspire more women to join the railway sector. She holds an academic degree in engineering and business. She is married with two kids and resides in Berlin, Germany.
www.womeninmobility.org
Abaut LAT
LAT is a German, second generation family owned and operated firm for mobility related services, including (cable) construction for railroad tracks and passenger safety systems for public transport. The SME is managed by two sisters, and supplies a broad range of services and products from special civil- to safety engineering for every aspect of trackage, including signal-, construction- and video surveillance systems.
www.lat.de
Key Take aways
- Initiating Projects with Vision: Jumpstart your projects when inspired by a great idea – RAILTALKS and RAIL^UP collaboration seek to galvanize a broader audience.
- Fostering a Dynamic Corporate Culture: The agility and intimate scale of family businesses can accelerate decision-making processes and fuel a deeper passion for product and service innovation.
- Empowering Teams for Sustainability: Entrust your experts with decision-making responsibilities. While initially challenging, this empowerment strategy promises enduring benefits.
- Rethinking Failure: Embrace a paradigm shift in failure - it's an indispensable teacher that helps us evolve and enhance our capabilities.
- University-Industry Partnerships: Collaborations with academic institutions can expand intellectual boundaries and spawn groundbreaking methods - often, it begins as simply as sharing a cup of coffee.
- Research and Development Initiatives: In collaboration with a university, Larissa launched a study to explore how robots can traverse railway tracks both efficiently and safely.
- Infrastructure as the Backbone of Connectivity: The bedrock of connectivity lies in tangible infrastructure such as cabling and 5G technology, necessitating rigorous physical labor.
- Inclusivity in Railway Innovation: The railway sector must extend invitations to startups, fostering a culture of innovation and fresh thinking within the industry.
- Addressing GDPR with Innovation: Novel and imaginative strategies, including anonymization techniques like 'fake faces,' can effectively reconcile GDPR compliance challenges.
- Collective Effort and Data Sharing: Unified efforts and open data exchange are key to mutual advancement - collaboration is our collective strength.
- Solution-Focused Tender Processes: Tenders ought to be crafted with flexibility to incorporate cutting-edge technologies and accommodate innovative approaches.
- Expert-Driven Tender Design: The drafting of tender documents should be guided by professionals with practical, on-site experience to ensure relevance and applicability.
Sebastian Sperker
www.railup.club
sebastian@railup.club
