Dr. Oscar Slotosch is the founder and Executive Board Member of Validas AG, a global leader in tool and library qualification. With deep expertise in software quality and safety standards, he has positioned Validas at the forefront of this niche.

Oscar’s passion for software began in the early 1980s when he started programming games on an Atari computer. In the late 1980s, he studied Computer Science (Informatik) at the Technical University of Munich, focusing on neural networks and automated theorem proving. His thesis explored analogy reasoning in automated theorem proving.

During his doctoral degree at the Software Engineering Chair of Prof. Broy, Oscar worked with the then-new modeling language UML and developed code generators that powered the award-winning project Quest. Quest combined the graphical modeling tool AutoFOCUS (still maintained by fortiss) with formal method tools such as model checkers and theorem provers. His research on “Refinements and Quotients in Higher Order Logic” enabled him to create efficient code generators for languages like C, Java, Ada, and Prolog. During his university years, Oscar attended the renowned Markt Oberdorf Summer School, learning from computer science pioneers such as Edsger W. Dijkstra and Tony Hoare.

In 1999, Oscar won first prize at the Formal Methods World Conference, which inspired him to found Validas in 2000. Since then, he has invented, designed, and prototyped numerous products and solutions, including the Tool Chain Analyzer, Process Modeling Tool, ATLAS, MSC2C, and various test code generators. Under his leadership, Validas has successfully completed more than 160 qualification projects and developed tools like the C++ STL Qualification Kit. He also actively contributes to safety standards as a member of ISO 26262 and other standardization groups, and regularly speaks at conferences and trade fairs on qualification and safety topics.

Oscar’s entire career has been dedicated to software quality—from formally proven correctness to building safe and compliant foundational software. His experience allows him to anticipate the next steps in improving software safety and to guide roadmaps for tools that enhance software quality.

Oscar is married and a proud father of two daughters. In his free time, he enjoys long-distance running and board sports such as snowboarding and windsurfing.

Dr. Peter Braun is the co-founder and Executive Board Member of Validas AG, a global leader in tool and library qualification. He has a long and deep expertise in software development tools, tool chains, and software quality.

Peter began programming games around 1984, first on a Commodore C64 and later on an Amiga 1000. In 1992, he started studying Computer Science with a minor in Mathematics at the Technical University of Munich. By 1998, he embarked on his doctoral research, focusing on metamodel-based integration of tools and data exchange within toolchains.

During his doctoral work, Peter contributed to Quest, an integrated tool environment for specifying and verifying embedded software. As part of this project, he developed a coupling between the modeling tool AutoFOCUS and the theorem prover VSE, and integrated the Object Constraint Language (OCL) into AutoFOCUS/Quest. He also co-organized and attended the renowned NATO Summer School in Markt Oberdorf multiple times, learning from computer science luminaries such as Edsger W. Dijkstra and Tony Hoare.

In 2000, he co-founded Validas AG. A year later, he earned second prize at the OMER Congress for modeling the car seat software according to the specification of a Mercedes-Benz S-Klasse using AutoFOCUS/Quest. By 2003, he was involved in developing the successor to the German Federal V-Model, known as V-Modell XT, which was released as version 1.0 in 2005.

Starting in 2006, Peter contributed to defining requirements for tool qualification in the automotive sector, working with industry leaders such as BMW and TÜV Nord. That same year, he participated in the first-ever qualification of MATLAB/Simulink/TargetLink tool chain. These efforts laid the foundation for more than 160 tool qualification projects completed by Validas to date.

Peter’s expertise also shaped automotive software standards: in 2014, he contributed to the BMW Group Standard 95014 Embedded Software, 2nd Edition, BMW’s interpretation of ISO 26262. In 2021, he worked on the 3rd Edition, aligned with ISO 26262’s second edition.

Peter is married and has one stepson. Outside of work, he is a passionate cook and enjoys fine dining. His hobbies include badminton, dancing, and indoor rowing.

Dr.-Ing. Julien Provost is a seasoned expert in functional safety and testing of safety-critical systems, with a foundation in mechanical engineering that evolved over time into a focus on automation and verification of safety-critical applications across multiple domains.

Julien earned his Ph.D. at École Normale Supérieure Paris-Saclay (France), where his research centered on testing and validation of safety-critical controllers for nuclear energy applications. His work contributed to advancing methodologies for ensuring reliability and compliance in highly regulated environments, emphasizing rigorous testing strategies for complex control systems.

Building on this expertise, Julien expanded his scope through postdoctoral research at Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden), addressing automation and Industry 4.0 challenges, and later as Assistant Professor for Safe Embedded Systems at the Technical University of Munich (Germany). At TUM, he led research on formal methods, model-based testing, and runtime monitoring for distributed safety-critical systems, with applications in automotive, aerospace, and industrial automation.

Julien has served as a Project Manager and Authorized Signatory at Validas AG since 2019, specializing in project management and coordination of customer projects for tool qualification and compliance, driving internal technical processes that enable successful delivery of safety-critical solutions as well as ensuring alignment with international standards such as ISO 26262, IEC 61508, EN 50128, and DO-330.

Julien’s role bridges technical depth and organizational leadership, ensuring Validas’ projects meet stringent safety requirements while fostering innovation in qualification strategies. His experience spans toolchain qualification, process optimization, and customer engagement, making him a key contributor to Validas’ mission of enabling safe and compliant software development.