Oliver Thum studied chemistry at the Unversity of Bonn/D with research stays at State University of Stony Brook in NY/USA and at Max-Plack-Institute of Chemical Ecology in Jena/D. He started his industrial career at a biopharmaceutical start-up in Berlin/D before joining Evonik in 2003. There he held several positions in R&D and Innovation management in different company units. Since 2020 is is responsible for the gobal Applied Technology and Technical Service of the Business Line „Interface&Performance“, focusing on performance improving additives for a bread range of industries. Additionally, in 2023 he has been appointed Full Professor at the Technical University of Delft/NLin the department of Biotechnology.