Initially, the Berlin native had not even considered a career in his parents' high-tech company. History and archaeology fascinated the eldest son of Wilhelm and Marie Harting far more than business and technology. But his father thwarted all his plans. Dietmar Harting initially had to opt for electrical engineering, but eventually completed his studies with a degree in business administration after his brother Jürgen, two years younger, turned his attention to technology. In 1967, five years after the early death of the company founder, the then 27-year-old joined the family business, which at the time had almost 1,000 employees and a turnover of around 29 million Deutschmarks. Initially together with his mother and brother (he died in 1973), then from 1987 with his wife Margrit, Harting managed the up-and-coming company.

It was an era of constant change, major decisions and impressive development. After bidding farewell to the products of the first decades, such as waffle irons, hotplates and energy-saving light bulbs, medical devices and car electrics, record players and phono cases, Harting concentrated on connection technology. With the Han, patented in 1956, the company set a standard that is still valid today. In addition to industrial connectors, Harting also achieved a leading position as a manufacturer of cigarette vending machines for indoor and outdoor use.

The internationalization initiated in 1979 with the opening of a subsidiary in Paris was of great importance. "I was unsure and had doubts," Dietmar Harting later admitted. But the strategic courage was rewarded and was decisive for the conquest of important markets and the development of new business areas. Sales offices were opened in Europe, America and Asia in quick succession, and the first production facilities were established in Switzerland and the UK. The foreign share of turnover doubled from 30 percent (1981) to almost 60 percent in 1999 and reached around 70 percent in the 2017/2018 financial year. Harting became an international technology group and, with its global network of development, production and sales companies, is clearly on course to achieve its declared goal of becoming a "global company".

Harting became known far beyond the borders of the region and the country as president of German and international organizations and committees. In 1998, he became the first medium-sized company to head the influential German Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association (ZVEI) and steered the association back into safe waters after the turbulence following the founding of Bitkom. After his departure in 2004, the ZVEI appointed him Honorary President for life. In the same year, Dietmar Harting became a member of the Executive Committee of the Federation of German Industries (BDI) and headed the German Institute for Standardization (DIN) from 2003 to 2009, which thanked him for his work with the DIN Ring of Honour. German Chancellors Helmut Kohl, Gerhard Schröder and Angela Merkel appointed the Espelkamp native to the "Council for Research, Technology and Innovation" and the "Partners for Innovation" initiative respectively. At international level, "Mr. Standardization", according to former EU Commissioner Günter Verheugen, led the European Electronic Component Manufacturers Association (EECA) and the Comité Européen de Normalisation Electrotechnique (CENELEC).

Dietmar Harting was awarded an honorary doctorate from Leibniz Universität Hannover in 2009 for his outstanding commitment as an entrepreneur, promoter of science and technology, in associations and organizations. His many years of service to Deutsche Messe AG were honored in 2008 with the Golden Medal of Honor. The company has been an uninterrupted exhibitor at the industrial fair since it began in 1947. In 2009, the town of Espelkamp, the headquarters of the Technology Group, honored Dietmar and Margrit Harting with honorary citizenship; in 2009, the couple was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit 1st Class.

In 2015, son Philip, the grandson of the company founder, became the third generation to chair the Management Board, which also includes his parents, his sister Maresa Harting-Hertz and three non-family managers. Dietmar Harting was able to hand over an impressive body of work to his successor. Harting is a leading provider of industrial connection technology, a pioneer and partner of Industry 4.0 and one of the best in the industry with its products, solutions and services, particularly in the areas of automation, robotics, transportation, digitalization and networking of machines with the cloud. In the field of e-mobility, the company is a supplier to major car manufacturers with its charging technology portfolio, supports the energy transition with its products and services for wind turbines and has positioned itself in the retail sector with the production of checkout zones.

After retiring from his position as CEO and operational management, Dietmar Harting, always down-to-earth and modest, but restless even in his actual retirement, is devoting himself to new technologies and other topics of the future. Alongside history and archaeology, technology, its prospects and potential, has become his great, even greater passion. Always aware of the Harting vision formulated in 1996: "We want to shape the future with technologies for people."

He is not only the start-up entrepreneur of a software company in Berlin, but is also passionately dedicated to sustainable agriculture and renewable energy production on his farm in neighboring Uchte. Dietmar Harting has been working on reconciling ecology and economy for many years. The technology group is consistently committed to the energy transition, is a founding member of the Association of Climate Protection Companies and uses 100% CO2-free energy in its production. Of this, 25 percent alone comes from the company's own production via a biomethane gas plant in Uchte.

His passion for the future is also evident in his role as a passionate grandfather to his eight grandchildren. Whether it's puzzles, jigsaw puzzles or handicrafts - preferably involving technology - "just do it!" is his guiding principle. as