Supervisory Board
Ralf W. Dieter
Chairperson of the Supervisory Board
Dr. Abraham (Abe) Peled
Deputy Chairperson of the Supervisory Board
Swantje Conrad
Member of the Supervisory Board
Stefan Dziarski
Member of the Supervisory Board
Dr. Jörg Rockenhäuser
Member of the Supervisory Board
Axel Salzmann
Member of the Supervisory Board
Hera Kitwan Siu
Member of the Supervisory Board
Christina Stercken
Member of the Supervisory Board
Name: Dr. Abraham (Abe) Peled
Year of Birth: 1945
Nationality: American/USA
Member since: August 2019
Elected until: AGM 2027
Committees:
Chairperson of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee
Practised profession:
Abraham Peled is a partner at Peled Ventures and an industry adviser to Hg Capital Private Equity.
Professional Career:
Abraham Peled began his career in 1974, first as a researcher and later as a manager in IBM’s research division in the United States. In 1993, he moved to Eltron Industries before being appointed CEO of NDS Group Ltd., in 1995. In 2004, he also became Chairman of the company, which was listed on NASDAQ from 1999 to 2009. Following the acquisition of NDS Group Ltd. by Cisco Systems, Inc. in 2012, Abraham Peled served as Senior Vice President and chief strategist of Cisco’s Video and Collaboration Group until 2014. Today, in addition to his role as a partner at Peled Ventures, he is primarily active as consultant. Between 2012 and 2021 he was senior advisor to the Permira Private Equity Tech Group and since 2021 he has been an industry advisor to Hg Capital Private Equity.
Academic Career:
Abraham Peled studied electrical engineering and received a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degrees from the Technion Institute in Israel. In addition, he holds a PhD in digital signal processing from Princeton University, USA.
Further Mandates:
- Chairman of the board of directors of CyberArmor Ltd.
As of May 25th, 2023.
Name: Dr. Jörg Rockenhäuser
Year of Birth: 1966
Nationality: German
Member since: August 2019
Elected until: AGM 2027
Committees:
Member of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee
Practised profession:
Partner at Permira, Chairman of the DACH Region and member of the global investment committee
Professional Career:
Before joining Permira in 2001, Jörg Rockenhäuser was a principal at A.T. Kearney.
Academic Career:
Jörg Rockenhäuser holds a PhD from the University of Bochum and a master’s degree from the University of Münster, Germany.
Further Mandates:
- Member of the advisory board of Best Secret GmbH
- Chairman of the advisory board of neuraxpharm Arzneimittel GmbH
- Member of the advisory board of Engel & Völkers Holding GmbH
- Member of the board of various charities i.e. Off Road Kids
As of May 25th, 2023.
Name: Stefan Dziarski
Year of Birth: 1980
Nationality: German
Member since: August 2019
Elected until: AGM 2027
Committees:
Member of the Audit Committee
Practised profession:
Partner at Permira in Frankfurt
Professional Career:
Stefan Dziarski started his career in the investment banking division at Salomon Smith Barney/Citigroup in Hong Kong and New York where he was part of Citigroup’s New York Media and Telecom M&A practice and Citigroup’s Asia Pacific Technology practice.
Academic Career:
Stefan Dziarski studied business administration at the European Business School in Germany, the Thunderbird School of Global Management, USA and the National University of Singapore.
Further Mandates:
- Member of the supervisory board of P&I Personal & Informatik AG
- Member of the supervisory board of Flix SE
- Member of the board of directors of McAfee TopCo, Inc
As of May 25th, 2023.
Name: Axel Salzmann
Year of Birth: 1958
Nationality: German
Member since: August 2019
Elected until: AGM 2027
Committees:
Member of the Audit Committee, Member of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee
Practised profession:
Managing Director and CFO of Best Secret GmbH
Professional Career:
Axel Salzmann began his career with Philips Group in Hamburg, where he held various management functions. From 2002 to 2007, he was Chief Financial Officer and Deputy Chief Executive Officer of O2 (Germany) GmbH & Co. OHG, a Telefónica Group company. In 2008, he was elected as management board member of ProSieben Sat. 1 Media AG, where he served as Chief Financial Officer until 2015. From 2015 until 2016, Axel Salzmann was the Chief Financial Officer of Bilfinger SE and responsible for group controlling, finance, investor relations, legal and regulatory affairs and administration, before being appointed to the Management Board and CFO of Hensoldt AG in Taufkirchen in 2017. Since 2022, he has been CFO of Best Secret Group in Aschheim.
Academic Career:
Axel Salzmann holds a degree in industrial engineering and economics from the University of Hamburg, Germany.
Further Mandates:
- No further mandates
As of May 25th, 2023.
Name: Hera Kitwan Siu
Year of Birth: 1959
Nationality: Hong Kong Chinese
Member since: 26 November 2021
Elected until: AGM 2026
Committees:
Member of the Audit Committee
Practised profession:
Consultant
Professional Career:
Beginning in 1988, Hera Kitwan Siu held positions of increasing responsibility and leadership for companies including Nortel, Inc., Hong Kong Telecom, Ltd., Computer Associates, Inc., and Nokia Telecommunications, Ltd. Thereafter Siu served four years at SAP, the global software and data processing firm, first as senior vice president, then president, of the company’s business in China and Hong Kong and later as senior vice president of e-commerce. From 2014 to 2016, she served as the senior vice president and managing director, Greater China, for Pearson, LLC, a global education company that leverages technology to enhance teaching and learning. She joined Cisco Systems, a global technology leader, in 2016 as the chief operating officer for the company’s business in the Greater China Region. In her last executive role, she worked as chief executive officer, Greater China, for Cisco Systems from 2017 to 2020. Today she serves as consultant for technology companies as Digital China Group.
Academic Career:
Born in Shanghai, Siu finished high school in Hong Kong and earned her bachelor’s degree in finance and her MBA from the University of Nevada, USA.
Further Mandates:
- Member of the board of directors of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
- Member of the board of directors of Vallourec S.A.
- Member of the board of directors of ASMPT Limited
As of May 25th, 2023.
Name: Ralf W. Dieter
Year of Birth: 1961
Nationality: German
Member since: October 2022
Elected until: AGM 2027
Committees:
Member of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee
Practised profession:
Ralf W. Dieter is an Entrepreneur and Managing Partner of RWD Vermögens- und Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH.
Professional Career:
Ralf W. Dieter is an internationally experienced manager who spent 16 years as CEO of Dürr AG, a global machinery and plant manufacturer. He started his career at the IT consulting company DAT and moved to IBM a few years later. There he first was Sales Manager Germany and Central Europe and later Sales Director of the European headquarters based in Paris. From there, he moved to Carl Zeiss Industrielle Messtechnik GmbH where he became Chairman of the Management Board. His next professional station led to Darmstadt, to Carl Schenck AG, a subsidiary of Dürr AG. A few years after, he became Member of the Board of Management of Dürr AG leading to the appointment as Chairman of the Board of Management.
Currently, Ralf W. Dieter is an Entrepreneur and Managing Partner of RWD Vermögens- und Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH.
Academic Career:
Ralf W. Dieter studied civil engineering at the University of Applied Sciences Karlsruhe (HKA) and economics at the Universities of Karlsruhe and Freiburg. He holds a diploma in economics.
Further Mandates:
- Member of the Supervisory Board of Körber AG
- Member of the Supervisory Board of Schuler Group GmbH
- Chairman of the Advisory Council of ADAMOS GmbH
- Chairman of the Advisory Council of Dantherm Group A/S
- Member of the Advisory Board of Leadec Holding BV
As of May 25th, 2023.
Name: Christina Stercken
Year of Birth: 1958
Nationality: German
Member since: 24 May 2023
Elected until: AGM 2027
Committees:
Member of the Audit Committee
Practised profession:
Self-employed consultant and non-executive director
Professional Career:
Christina Stercken is an accomplished Corporate Finance and buy-and-build (M&A) expert. She has extensive experience in consulting, entrepreneurship, and management. From 2006 to 2017, she served as Executive Partner at EAC – International Consulting, a management consulting company advising its multinational clients in strategy, M&A and operational excellence in growth markets. Prior to this, Christina Stercken spent most of her career with Siemens, holding various management positions, including serving as Managing Director Corporate Finance M&A at Siemens AG in Munich, as Head of Business Unit Public Sector, Federal and Municipality Governments, where she was responsible for the IT solutions business with public sector customers globally, and as Head of Task Force China. Prior to that she was working in Marketing & Sales at BMW Pty Ltd., South Africa.
Academic Career:
Christina Stercken holds an Executive MBA from Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA and a Master of Economics degree (Dipl. Volkswirt), from the University of Bonn.
Further Mandates:
- Non-Executive director at Landis+Gyr Group AG, Switzerland (listed)
- Non-Executive director at Ansell Ltd., Australia (listed)
- Vice Chair of Myanmar Foundation, Munich, and active in various associations
As of May 25th, 2023.
Name: Swantje Conrad
Year of Birth: 1965
Nationality: German
Member since: 24 May 2023
Elected until: AGM 2027
Committees:
Chairperson of the Audit Committee
Practised profession:
Self-employed consultant and non-executive director
Professional Career:
Swantje Conrad has held non-executive directorships with listed and private companies since retiring as Managing Director from J.P. Morgan Corporate & Investment Bank in 2017. During her 26 years tenure at J.P. Morgan, Swantje gained extensive experience in corporate finance/M&A, global capital markets and investment management. In her final position she was responsible for managing global relationships with institutional asset management and hedge fund clients across global markets trading and asset servicing. Previously she was a highly ranked equity research analyst heading the European diversified industrials team and led specialist equity sales for the industrials, automotive and aerospace sectors. She started her career in M&A/corporate finance in Frankfurt.
Academic Career:
Swantje Conrad holds an International MBA from University of South Carolina, Columbia South Carolina, USA and a degree in Industrial Engineering (Diplom-Wirtschaftsingenieur) from University of Karlsruhe (KIT).
Further Mandates:
- Member of the Supervisory Board of RENK GmbH, Augsburg, Germany (not listed)
- Non-Executive Director at CT Private Equity Trust Plc, Edinburgh, United Kingdom (listed
As of May 25th, 2023.