Change in IAV’s Top Management

• CEO Matthias Kratzsch no longer available for a further contract extension
• Dr Uwe Horn assumes CEO role
• Karsten Gierke becomes COO

The Supervisory Board of IAV GmbH today announced that CEO Matthias Kratzsch will not be available for a further contract extension at his own request. His mandate will thus end on June 30, 2023.

Matthias Kratzsch moved from BOSCH to IAV in 1997, and has since held various management positions. Since 2018, as CTO, he has been responsible for the management of the Technology division, and in 2020, he also took on the role of CEO and Chairman of the Management Board.

Under his leadership, the company has recently undergone a strategic and technological realignment, with a strong focus on overall system responsibility and on internationalizing the IAV Group and expanding its global partner network.

Matthias Kratzsch: "It goes without saying that my decision not to extend my contract at IAV was not an easy one. For more than 25 years, I have been driving innovation and technology for our customers, helping IAV succeed in making mobility and technology increasingly sustainable and in moving the world a little bit for the better. With its new alignment, IAV is well positioned for the future. Now it’s time for me to take a different path. I would like to thank all our customers, partners and employees for a wonderful and very successful time."

Dr Nikolai Ardey, Chairman of IAV’s Supervisory Board: "I very much regret Matthias Kratzsch’s decision not to be available for a contract extension. He already informed me of this decision some time ago. IAV is not only losing an experienced manager and a top engineer, but also a person who has known IAV inside out for more than 25 years and has led the company with foresight, courage, humanity and technological innovation through what has probably been the most difficult phase in the company’s history to date. Matthias Kratzsch is both CEO and CTO as well as an innovation driver for new technologies in not just the automotive sector but also in the areas of energy and agricultural systems, which are new to IAV. He stands for interconnected systems and software architectures, modern AI and Big Data applications, new environmentally friendly powertrains and the mobility of the future. On behalf of the entire Supervisory Board, I would like to thank Matthias Kratzsch very much for his great achievements and wish him all the best for his onward personal journey."

Deputy IAV Supervisory Board Chairman and Works Council member Mark Bäcker adds: "Working with Matthias Kratzsch was always characterized by fair, cooperative and solution-oriented dealings with one another. With Matthias Kratzsch, IAV is losing a top engineer and a CEO who dedicated himself to IAV with all his heart and soul. I wish him all the best for his future and thank him on behalf of all our staff."

Dr Uwe Horn, who has been a member of IAV’s Management Board since 2020, will assume the role of CEO in addition to his previous role as Director of Labor Relations. In this role, Dr Uwe Horn will actively continue to shape IAV’s chosen path and consistently align the company to market and customer needs. At the same time, the new CEO will continue to strongly expand internationalization and continue the successful voluntary transformation of IAV’s employees, which is among the best-in-class in the automotive industry in Germany.

At the same time, Karsten Gierke will be appointed COO (Chief Operating Officer), and will be tasked with coordinating and managing the technical divisions. Karsten Gierke studied engineering in the field of transportation and logistics and has been with IAV since 2012. He has held several management positions within the company, demonstrating his specialist expertise in the fields of key accounting, infotainment and electronics, among others. Karsten Gierke is currently responsible for personnel transformation and change management and will continue to bring this experience to the organization in his new role as COO.