Cognitec

Our Team

joining expert algorithm, software and hardware developers; supported by highly skilled sales and support staff

Cognitec employs a talented, dedicated team of experts in the areas of mathematics, software development, image processing, computer vision, and pattern recognition technologies.

Members of our R&D team received either a doctorate or master's degree, and build on many years of research experience to drive our world-leading algorithm development.

The company's success also relies on highly skilled customer service, sales, and operations management staff.

Cognitec's founders and leaders have worked on face recognition technologies for almost three decades and brought many innovations to the market.

Alfredo Herrera

Managing Director

Alfredo Herrera has spearheaded the design and development of the FaceVACS system since 1995. As a software engineer at Siemens, he participated in the development of neurocomputer software, OCR algorithms and, eventually, face recognition applications.

As head of the biometrics development team at plettac electronics security GmbH, he was responsible for the ongoing development of the FaceVACS technology. On this basis he founded Cognitec in May 2002.

Mikael Fagerlund

Vice President Sales and Marketing

Mikael Fagerlund holds the position of VP Sales and Marketing at Cognitec Systems, and manages global sales activities, customer relations and growth strategies.

Fagerlund joined the sales team at the company’s Dresden headquarters in 2011. His various roles included Director Sales EMEA.

Before joining Cognitec, Fagerlund worked for various international software and telecom companies.

Roger Kelesoglu

Vice President Americas, Cognitec Systems Corporation

Roger Kelesoglu joined Cognitec Systems Corporation in 2003 as Business Development Executive for North America, Canada and Mexico. He brings to Cognitec Systems his lifelong experience working for several high-tech Fortune 500 companies in various business management positions, including Unisys, Hewlett Packard, Polaroid and Viisage.

Mr. Kelesoglu speaks several foreign languages and has held management positions in Europe, Latin America, the Far East and Middle East.

Terry Hartmann

Vice President Asia Pacific, Cognitec Systems Pty Ltd

Terry Hartmann leads business development and client relations as Vice President Asia Pacific at Cognitec Systems Pty Ltd. Before joining Cognitec in January 2017, Hartmann worked for Unisys in various high management positions.

He became an internationally acknowledged thought leader on applying biometric and chip technologies to border control/identity management during his tenure with the Australian Passport Office. Hartmann was the author of the ISO/ICAO international standards for face recognition in ePassports. Organizations worldwide invite him as a key speaker.

Dr. Thorsten Thies

Director Algorithm Development

After receiving his Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of Karlsruhe (KIT), Dr. Thorsten Thies joined Cognitec in 2003. Since then he has made numerous contributions in advancing Cognitec's core technology, mainly in the areas of face detection and face recognition.

He has been leading the algorithm development team at Cognitec since 2015.

Michael Müller

Director Software Development

Michael Müller started his career in software development at the Dresden Frauenhofer Gesellschaft, Institute for Integrated Circuits.

Starting at Siemens in 1995, he has acted as principal software architect and developer for the FaceVACS technology and innovative face recognition applications. He is a co-founder of Cognitec.

Erik Eichhorn

Director Technical Support

Erik Eichhorn assumed the leadership of our technical support team in July 2019. Since 2013, he had gained substantial technical and client relations experience through his roles in Cognitec’s professional services and customer support teams.

Before joining Cognitec, Erik filled similar positions at IT service provider Experis. He started his career working in the government sector as an IT coordinator.

Dr. Jörg Helbig

Director Product Management

Dr. Jörg Helbig has been working for Cognitec Systems since 2007, playing a fundamental role in the design and development of Cognitec's products and services.

Dr. Helbig began his specialization in object recognition during his university studies in information technology. Before joining Cognitec, he conducted research in the areas of automated speech recognition and synthesis, and worked in the industry on development and marketing of speech technology products.

Dr. Jürgen Richter

Technical Fellow

Dr. Jürgen Richter started his professional career as a Scientific Assistant at the Technical University of Karl-Marx-Stadt (now Chemnitz), and then developed radiation planning software for radio-oncology at the Klinikum Chemnitz hospital.

In 1996, he joined the FaceVACS development team at Siemens as a senior software engineer, and later co-founded Cognitec.