Clara Fernau
Owner & Managing Director
Owner and managing director of FERNAU Präzisionstechnik GmbH. She carries the entrepreneurial responsibility and secures the future of the business in its second generation.
Lars Zimmermann · The AI Auditor
From the shop floor to the managing director's chair, and onto the auditor's seat.
No academic detour, no consultant CV. Real industry instead: the workbench, production management, running a company, restructuring. To this day I still run a manufacturing business myself, and audit at the same time. An entrepreneur and a certified auditor in one person.
Lars Zimmermann is a PECB-certified ISO/IEC 42001 Senior Lead Auditor and ISO/IEC 27001 Lead Auditor based in Germany (Darmstadt, Hesse), with more than 1,200 documented audit hours. Publicly verifiable through the PECB / Credly badges.
At a glance
Practitioner first, auditor second
- ISO/IEC 42001 Senior Lead Auditor & ISO/IEC 27001 Lead Auditor (PECB), internationally recognised, publicly verifiable on Credly
- 1,200+ documented audit hours since 2016
- Seven years of hands-on AI work, from building my own AI/ERP systems to AI governance
- Managing director and shop-floor practitioner, I have been on the audited side, not just advising
- On-site supplier audits in five countries across Europe, and I built up a manufacturing operation abroad from scratch
Why hands-on experience matters
A teacher once told me, “You'll never amount to anything.” That became my fuel. I started at the machine and worked my way up step by step, beginning in aviation as a process mechanic, then production manager on the international A400M programme at 26, all the way to managing director of a precision-engineering company that I restructured myself.
I know what a workshop smells like, where processes really jam, and why polished management systems fail in day-to-day operations. That is exactly why I audit differently: close to reality, without empty phrases, with the eye of someone who has sat on the other side of the audit table as the audited party, not only as the advisor.
Artificial intelligence as a tool, not a buzzword
At FERNAU I did not deploy AI as a buzzword but as a tool: an AI-driven ERP that drastically cut quotation time, predictive maintenance, and a knowledge bot for the shop floor. The restructuring turned the result around by +79,800 EUR, from −8,800 EUR to +71,000 EUR. Anyone who uses AI like that has to master it and be able to prove it, and this is exactly where ISO/IEC 42001 and ISO/IEC 27001 come in.
Audit experience
1,200+ hours on the auditor's seat
Senior Lead Auditor is PECB's senior tier, awarded only after 1,000+ documented audit hours and at least seven years of field experience. Behind it: 1,200+ documented audit hours since 2016, on-site supplier audits in five countries across Europe, and seven years of hands-on AI work.
1,200+
documented audit hours since 2016
10 years
of audit practice, hands-on, not theoretical
5 countries
on-site supplier audits across Europe, plus Germany, where I'm based
7 years
of hands-on AI work, from building my own AI/ERP systems to AI governance
- Plan and run audit programmes (ISO 19011), prepare audit plans, checklists and working papers
- Conduct audit interviews, analyse audit evidence and document, classify (major / minor) and root-cause nonconformities
- Write audit reports for top management, track corrective actions (CAPA) and verify their effectiveness
- Accompany certification audits (Stage 1 / Stage 2) and run independent second-party supplier audits across borders
On the ground in
the Netherlandsthe UK (Scotland)CroatiaSerbiaTürkiye
…plus Germany, where I'm based.
I set up a manufacturing operation in Serbia from the ground up and audited suppliers on-site in the Netherlands, the UK (Scotland), Croatia, Serbia and Türkiye. Because I have sat on the audited side as a managing director, I know how a management system has to work in real operations, not just on paper.
Career path
2007–2010
Process mechanic in aviation
Apprenticeship in the aviation industry. The start at the workbench.
from 2015
Production manager at 26
Responsible for the international A400M aircraft programme, from machinist to people leader.
2014–2024
Stations & turnaround
Aviation, plumbing wholesale (ERP and production, internationally), and a metalworking turnaround with +96% profit.
since 2025
Managing director, FERNAU Präzisionstechnik GmbH
Restructuring a precision-manufacturing company: ISO 9001, AI-driven ERP, lean, result: from −8,800 EUR to +71,000 EUR.
2026
ISO/IEC 42001 Senior Lead Auditor & ISO/IEC 27001 Lead Auditor
PECB certification. Senior Lead Auditor is PECB's senior tier, awarded only after 1,000+ documented audit hours and at least seven years of field experience. The practitioner becomes the auditor for responsible AI.
Qualifications & credentials
Senior Lead Auditor is PECB's senior tier, awarded only after 1,000+ documented audit hours and at least seven years of field experience. Publicly verifiable on Credly: the PECB certificates carry verification numbers and can be checked independently.
ISO/IEC 42001 Senior Lead Auditor
PECB
AI management systems (AIMS), Senior status, publicly verifiable on Credly
ISO/IEC 27001 Lead Auditor
PECB
Information security management systems (ISMS), publicly verifiable on Credly
PECB Certified Trainer
PECB
Authorised to deliver official PECB training courses
Certified AI Manager
IHK (German Chamber of Commerce)
Grade 1.7
Wirtschaftsfachwirt (Certified Business Economist)
IHK (German Chamber of Commerce)
Business management qualification
Metalworking master-level qualification
HWK (Chamber of Skilled Crafts)
Entry in the German register of skilled crafts
Train-the-Trainer aptitude (AEVO)
IHK (German Chamber of Commerce)
Recognised instructor qualification
The backing
FERNAU Präzisionstechnik GmbH, the substance behind the brand
“The AI Auditor” is a brand of FERNAU Präzisionstechnik GmbH. That is not just a legal anchor, it is real substance: a manufacturing company with ISO 9001 certification, established processes and a leadership team that carries operational responsibility every day. Your contract partner is always the GmbH, never a single individual.
Theodor Fernau
Senior Managing Director
Founder of FERNAU Präzisionstechnik and senior managing director. He brings decades of industrial experience in precision manufacturing, the technical foundation everything is built on.
Lars Zimmermann
Managing Director & The AI Auditor
Operational impact: ERP, lean, restructuring, AI in real production. At the same time an ISO/IEC 42001 Senior Lead Auditor (PECB) and the face of “The AI Auditor” brand.
Three managing directors. A well-rehearsed trio of owner, founder and operational lead, the legal and entrepreneurial substance clients can rely on, even if one of them is unavailable.
The expert network
External auditor partners, project-based and as backup
You have one dedicated contact, Lars Zimmermann. Where a project needs more depth, or a mandate has to keep running in parallel, we bring in independent auditor partners. This is also our backup logic: if the lead auditor is unavailable, vetted partners step in, so the mandate never stalls. The contract partner always remains FERNAU Präzisionstechnik GmbH.
KG
Kevin Grundmann
KI-Governance & HR-Transformation
ISO/IEC 42001 Professional (TÜV) · Manager Angewandte KI-Transformation (IHK)
TK
Timo Külbel
Softwareentwicklung & IT-Architektur
Gründer & Lead Consultant (Parlison) · 20+ Jahre Fullstack & IT-Beratung
Independent cooperation partners, brought in on a project basis. The contract partner remains FERNAU Präzisionstechnik GmbH; where personal data is processed, confidentiality and data processing apply under Article 28 GDPR.
Want an auditor who has run the shop floor?
Let's spend 15 minutes on where you stand with ISO 42001, ISO 27001 and the EU AI Act, an honest assessment, no sales pitch.
Imprint and privacy policy are available in German (the German version is legally binding): Imprint, Privacy (English summary).