stefan buckenmaier

Stefan Buckenmaier, the Managing Director of NEXT SA, is a long-time executive in the Aviation, Space & Defense sector. He is a disruptive thinker and has a track record in leading and growing complex businesses.

Over the past 14 years Stefan has held different management and business development positions, mostly related to space hardware and satellite downstream services. Space is both his passion and his profession.

While working for Europe’s leading Space product supplier, RUAG Space, Stefan initiated and implemented the division’s expansion to the U.S. market, establishing sites for engineering and manufacturing. As manager of business development & sales for the product line Launchers, he was responsible for over US$ 400 million of new business capture in the U.S. alone. His relationships with the key U.S. customer ultimately led to the establishment of the U.S. manufacturing site.

Stefan has a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in International Management from the University of St. Gallen, ranked #4 of European Business Schools by Financial Times, where he focused his research on Business Model Innovation. His studies took him to the UK, Italy, Switzerland, the United States, Chile, Mexico, Argentina and China.

He is a proud dad of two children, enjoys a good run and is an aspiring essentialist.