(from left: Dr. Wolfgang Heimsch, Verena Rathjen, Dr. Albrecht Schleich, Karl Bals)
We are proud to announce that we have gained two new Supervisory Board members for the next five years.
We warmly welcome Verena Rathjen and Dr. Wolfgang Heimsch!
Verena Rathjen is Vice President for the EMEA region at Axis Communications, a leading provider of innovative security and network solutions. There, she is responsible for the operational business and strategic direction for the entire region. Previously, she was Vice President at LEDVANCE, where she built up the global luminaire business and led the SMART business unit. She has extensive leadership experience from various positions at Siemens and Osram.
Dr. Wolfgang Heimsch brings over 37 years of experience in various leadership positions at Siemens. From 2001 to July 2023, he was President Customer Services at Siemens Healthineers. Previously, he led the Industry Business at Siemens Nixdorf/Siemens Business Services and Consumer Electronics at Siemens Semiconductor. His career began in the field of Ultra High-Speed Micro Processors and as a project manager in mobile communications.
Our long-standing member, Mr. Manfred Dietlmeier, has decided not to stand for re-election at his own request. Mr. Manfred Dietlmeier was an important cornerstone and strategic supporter for the successful business development of the digatus Group. We sincerely thank him for his consistently committed, loyal and outstanding service and the valuable cooperation over the past years.
With this reappointment, our Supervisory Board will continue with four members effective immediately.
In addition to the new appointments of Ms. Verena Rathjen and Dr. Wolfgang Heimsch, Mr. Karl Bals and Dr. Albrecht Schleich remain important bearers of experience and guarantors of continuity on the board.
Mr. Karl Bals will continue to chair the Supervisory Board, Dr. Albrecht Schleich will be the future Deputy Chairman.
Mr. Karl Bals has extensive experience in leading large international IT organizations. As CIO, he gained many years of corporate experience at Siemens AG and Infineon Technologies AG. Among other things, he was involved in the IPO of a DAX company and the spin-off of various parts of a large DAX group. In 2015, he took over as Chairman of the Supervisory Board at digatus.
Mr. Dr. Albrecht Schleich is a lawyer with more than three decades of management experience in politics and business. After his studies, he worked in the ministerial administration of the Free State of Bavaria and the federal government before moving to the energy industry in 1990. There, he participated in the development of eastern Germany and established a new corporate communications department for the legal predecessor of today’s Vattenfall GmbH. In 2001, he took over the development and management of the Upper Bavaria region at E.ON Bayern AG. From 2008 to 2017, he was a board member of Rhein-Main-Donau AG in Munich. He is involved in numerous business associations and has been active as a political consultant in the field of energy policy for many years. He has been strengthening the Supervisory Board of digatus since 2018.
Stephan Bals
He studied Business Administration with a focus on Management at the Beuth University of Applied Sciences Berlin. After completing his studies as a graduate in Business Administration, he began his career at Siemens AG in Munich.
Early in his career, he gained experience in various executive positions. Among other roles, he was responsible as managing director for medium-sized IT consulting and service companies, most recently Xiopia GmbH, as well as serving on the board of Allgeier IT Solutions AG. With the founding of digatus it group, he continued his career as a founder and entrepreneur. In early 2015, together with Felix Kirschner, he founded digatus it group AG with the goal of "building" a market-relevant IT service provider in Germany. His main focus within the digatus Group is in the areas of sales, growth management, and M&A. At the interfaces between business and IT, he is a sought-after mediator, sparring partner, and idea generator.
In addition to his role as CEO of digatus it group AG, he is involved entrepreneurially as a co-founder and investor, volunteers in various non-profit initiatives and associations, and serves as an advisory board member, senior advisor, and supervisory board member.
