BI X hopes start-up spirit will take root in Rhineland

In a previous incarnation, Boehringer Ingelheim chief financial officer Michael Schmelmer spearheaded a bold approach to innovation which could bear digital fruit for the 130 year-old family-owned drugmaker.

As chief information officer, a role he left in March 2018, he led the establishment of the firm’s innovation hub, BI X, based in a refurbished cluster of low-lying buildings that formerly housed a casino for guests at the firm’s sprawling campus in Ingelheim.

Tasked with bringing forward new and potentially disruptive platforms, engineers at BI X must pass a simple test to proceed: convince the “digital board” with a simple five-minute presentation, followed by five minutes for follow up questions.