All change at congatec

Business news | December 21, 2021

By Nick Flaherty

German board maker congatec has announced a new leadership team, with Dr. Dirk Haft taking over as the new CEO, replacing Jason Carlson, and Daniel Jürgens as the new CFO.

Gerhard Edi, previously CTO, will assume the newly created position of CSO (Chief Strategy Officer). Konrad Garhammer, previously Worldwide Director of Engineering, will move to the position of CTO.

The aim of the new top management team is to accelerate internationalization, make the supply chain even more reliable and efficient, and generate further growth in new markets such as functional safety and critical infrastructures, which require congatec to build up new competencies in both software and manufacturing.

Dr. Haft, who took over on 1st November, will continue as CEO of nanotech test system developer attocube systems, a subsidiary of Wittenstein, where he is also a board member. Wittenstein High Integrity Systems in Bristol has extensive experience in functional safety with the SafeRTOS operating system and may well be a target for a merger as a result.

The move follows a €115m sale to a private equity firm last year with plans for faster growth through acquisitions, and Jürgens brings international acquisition and private equity experience. Outgoing CEO Jason Carlson and CFO Josef Wenzl will stay as Senior Advisors to facilitate a smooth transition.

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Gerhard Edi, a congatec co-founder and a veteran of the embedded computing industry, will be responsible for the future technology and product strategy as CSO and also drive expansion of strategic partnerships with technology suppliers, partners and customers.

“It is an honour to become the CEO of such an innovative high-tech company. congatec has a clear focus, direction and mission in a dynamic and growing market,“ said Haft. „My task now is to identify and coordinate internal and external growth opportunities, with the goal to continue elevating congatec’s status as a global player in embedded computer technologies. With Gerhard Edi as CSO, Konrad Garhammer as CTO, Daniel Jürgens as CFO and Thomas Schultze as COO, I am very fortunate to have such strong and experienced partners in the executive board who complement my skills and will support me in driving our growth strategies.”

Jürgens joins congatec from his previous position as CFO at VIA optronics, a fast-growing high-tech company listed at the New York stock exchange. On the basis of this experience, Jürgens also sees strong growth potential for congatec. “congatec is an iconic company in the embedded computing segment and already well positioned for growth,” he said “I’ll be bringing my M&A and private equity experience plus my own motivation to the table to accelerate the growth and success of congatec.”

The new CTO Konrad Garhammer joined congatec in 2016 from what is now Saab Sensor Systems Germany (formerly Saab Medav Technologies). Under the leadership of Gerhard Edi, he expanded the global development team to over 100 employees in his role as Worldwide Director of Engineering, drove technological development, introduced agile workflows and led the team as Edi’s right hand. “I am very pleased to have been entrusted to take on full responsibility for this team and look forward to expanding our performance further,” explains Garhammer.

The congatec advisory board said it wants to take the opportunity to thank Carlson and Wenzl for their efforts and leadership in helping to institutionalize congatec’s organization and processes, and in securing its global leadership position in embedded computing.

www.congatec.com

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