Sten Wendel

Lifetime Achievement

At the 2025 NFC Forum Member Meeting in Paris, France, Sten Wendel was recognized with the Lifetime Achievement Award. For the better part of two decades Sten served as a calm and visionary leader of the group that today defines the contactless lifestyle.

Biography

Sten Wendel served as the Certification Program Manager at the NFC Forum, where he played a pivotal role in shaping the organization’s global compliance and interoperability program for NFC products. With a career grounded in telecommunications testing and industry standards, Sten guided countless companies and accredited laboratories through the certification process, ensuring NFC devices delivered consistent, high-quality performance across the ecosystem.

During his tenure, he oversaw the evolution of the NFC Forum’s certification and plugfest programs, fostering collaboration between member organizations, test labs, and standards groups worldwide. His leadership helped strengthen interoperability among tags, readers, and devices across multiple industries—including mobile, automotive, and IoT applications.

Known for his deep technical insight, clear communication, and approachable leadership style, Sten was a trusted resource for engineers and program managers throughout the NFC community. His work built the foundation for ongoing certification excellence and helped expand the reach and reliability of Near Field Communication technology across the globe.