Helmut Mothes studied Chemical Engineering at the Technical University Karlsruhe (today Karlsruhe Institute of Technology). In 1982 he received a PhD in Chemical Engineering at Karlsruhe. After spending 15 months as PostDoc at the University of California (Berkeley) he started his professional career in Central Research of Bayer in Leverkusen (Germany) in 1984. He spent several years as Plant Manager in Elkhart (USA), Head of Global Flavor Production in Holzminden (Germany), and Member of the Management Team of Bayer's Animal Health Division leading global Technical Operations. In 2002 he joined Bayer Technology Services as member of the management team responsible for Process Technology and Innovation. He initiated the F3-Project and the Invite Research Center evaluating and demonstrating novel modular production concepts. Since 2011 he shares his experience in process technology, operational excellence, and supply chain management in lectures and presentations. He also gives a course on process design at the East China University of Science and Technology (Shanghai) and at the Ruhr University Bochum (Germany).