Stay curious. Think further together.
A good conversation.
A new idea. What next?
I like seeing where it can lead.
In technology, in music and with people.
Personal perspectives · Cologne / Bonn
01 / About me
At IBM I work with technology. Alongside my professional life, I make music and contribute to artists’ projects and cultural initiatives. I am interested in what happens when people with very different experiences come together.
Whether the subject is technology, a rehearsal or a concert, I want to understand what matters to the people involved. For me, good ideas often emerge through conversation. I particularly enjoy helping to turn those ideas into something tangible.
Guido Leidheuser
02 / My background
Professional background · IBM
I am interested in technology where it makes a practical difference: making information easier to understand, helping people work together and turning requirements into sound decisions.
One publicly documented contribution is my involvement in the position paper on product lifecycle management produced through Germany’s Strategic Industry Dialogue.
Dierks Studios · Uli Jon Roth · Sky Guitars
For me, music is both artistic expression and collaborative work. Projects involving Dierks Studios and Uli Jon Roth bring these two aspects together.
I am particularly interested in how musical craft and new technical possibilities complement each other, and in creating the right conditions for an artistic idea to develop.
Rockinitiative · Kulturnetzwerk · Kulturpartner Rhein-Erft
As chair of Rockinitiative Pulheim, I support musicians and places where cultural life can thrive. This involves organising projects and events and working with people across the local community.
Through Kulturnetzwerk Pulheim and as a member of the executive board of Kulturpartner Rhein-Erft, my involvement extends beyond individual events. It is about bringing people together, widening participation and sustaining a vibrant cultural scene.
A personal approach
Sometimes a simple question takes us further than a polished presentation. I value people who share what they know, ask openly and make room for another point of view.
That is what makes the meeting of technology, music and culture so interesting to me.
03 / Culture & community
More happens together.For me, music and culture are part of our shared life. That is why I work with others to create places to meet, encourage diversity and support peaceful coexistence — in Pulheim, across the Rhein-Erft district and beyond.
As chair, I help organise projects and events. I want musicians to have opportunities to work together and perform.
I contribute to connecting people working in the arts and to developing shared projects. Bringing different disciplines together creates new possibilities for local cultural life.
As a member of the executive board, I work with my colleagues to strengthen cultural networks and participation across the Rhein-Erft district. Shared ideas should have a chance to grow beyond individual towns.
As a co-initiator and through my work on technical delivery, I support democracy, diversity and humanity. For me, this means bringing people together and giving shared values a public space.
This commitment also includes remembering Jewish life and the victims of the November pogroms. The silent walk in Stommeln offers a shared, deliberately quiet space for remembrance.
My own musical practice: guitar, punk rock and sharing a stage. It brings together the joy of playing, humour and a clear sense of values.
Through Rockinitiative, the concert series “Rock für Toleranz – gegen Gewalt” promotes an open and welcoming community. Music gives people a reason to meet and take a shared stand against exclusion.
Together with Dieter Dierks I started this initiative to connect people through music and make a shared statement for peace and humanity.
04 / Conversation starters
Three subjects I enjoy exploring with people from business, universities, public institutions and music.
Art and culture open up different perspectives, challenge familiar assumptions and create room to experiment. I am interested in how businesses can benefit when people look more closely, welcome different viewpoints and develop new ideas together. What changes when artistic thinking becomes part of everyday working life?
In the studio, the question becomes very practical: what can technology improve, and which decisions remain artistic? The discussion extends beyond music to questions of quality, understandable results and the value of experience.
Knowledge often already exists, but is spread across people and systems. What does it take to turn it into collaboration? For me, it starts with listening and a shared understanding of what should work better in the end.
Different experiences make a conversation interesting.
05 / Selected work
I guided the visiting group through the studios. The German Tonmeister Association (VDT) reported on the visit and the exchange about analogue and digital audio technology.
Read the reportTo mark the 50th anniversary of Dierks Studios, the Rockinitiative, which I chaired, organised an evening with Uli Jon Roth. A project bringing together artists, event organisation and a special venue.
Read the original report
Making music myself
With Die fidelen Senioren I take to the stage on guitar. Playing together means responding to each other, making space and being there at the right moment.
06 / Stay in touch
An observation, a shared question or an idea that is still taking shape. I would be glad to hear from you.
Ernst Guido Leidheuser
Frechener Straße 20
50259 Pulheim, Germany
guido@leidheuser.name
I operate this website in a personal capacity, independently of my employment at IBM. The views expressed here are my own and are not statements on behalf of my employer. Mentioning an organisation or project does not imply its endorsement or support of this website.
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The photographs were supplied by Guido Leidheuser. AI was used to remove the background from the opening portrait.