DETLEF BEITER

CHAIRMAN OF THE MANAGEMENT BOARD / CEO
AND SHAREHOLDER

Chairman of the board since 1 December 2015
Areas of responsibility Consulting, Sales/Marketing, Finance/Human Resources, IBM i-Services

Detlef Beiter, Diplom-Betriebswirt (graduate in business administration), has been chairman of the board and shareholder of SPH AG since the end of 2015. Before joining SPH AG, he worked for the international IT service provider Atos Origin. As a member of the executive board of Atos Origin Central Europe, he was responsible for Sales and Key Account Management. Subsequently, in his role as Managing Director, he was responsible for the German business of GFT AG. In his position as chairman of the board of ICT AG, Detlef Beiter established the company as the leading supplier of IT and media technology in Europe and developed the international business with large-scale projects. Most recently, he worked as CSO for Mackevision Medien Design GmbH in Stuttgart and excelled in achieving a strong increase in global business.

OLIVER SCHUMACHER

MEMBER OF THE BOARD / CFO
AND SHAREHOLDER

Member of the board since 1 August 2022
Area of responsibility Finance, Controlling and Human Resources Management

Oliver Schumacher has been a member of the board of SPH AG since 1 August 2022. Before that, he was already working for SPH AG as CFO. He is responsible for the financial department with the areas Finance, Controlling and HR. Oliver Schumacher is Diplom-Betriebswirt (FH) (graduate in business administration) and has built up extensive expertise in leading positions of renowned companies in the finance sector. These include the Hewlett Packard subsidiary CoCreate Software GmbH, PTC Parametric Technology GmbH and the drugstore chain Müller Service Ltd. & Co. KG.

STEFAN LERCHENMÜLLER

MEMBER OF THE BOARD / CTO
AND SHAREHOLDER

Member of the board since 1 December 2014
Area of responsibility Software Development, Service & Support, Address Management, IT

Stefan Lerchenmüller, Diplom-Wirtschaftsingenieur (graduate in industrial engineering), has been a member of the board of SPH AG since 1 December 2014. Before that, he was already working for the company as CTO. Stefan Lerchenmüller successfully completed his studies in industrial engineering and management at the University of Karlsruhe with a diploma. Before joining SPH AG, Stefan Lerchenmüller worked from 1992 to 2001 for bowi GmbH, a leading manufacturer of CRM systems. In his role as managing director, he was responsible for the Development Division. From 2002 to 2010, he worked as Head of Software Development for SPH AG and was responsible for the development of the ERP software SPH-Direct. Between 2010 and 2013, Stefan Lerchenmüller was Director of Software Development EMEA, for Frontrange Solution, a world-leading supplier of DSM/SAM. He was in charge of the entire development for Europe and played a key role in the company’s strategic realignment and turnover increase.

EDUARD VINOKUROV

MEMBER OF THE BOARD / CCO
AND SHAREHOLDER

Chief Consulting Officer since 1 February 2021
Area of responsibility Consulting Business

Since 1 February 2021, Eduard Vinokurov has been CCO of SPH AG. As a member of the management board, he is responsible for the Consulting Business area. Vinokurov is Diplom-Mathematiker (graduate in mathematics). In addition, he studied medical informatics in Heidelberg. He has long-time experience and in-depth expertise in the fields of digitalisation, e-commerce and omnichannel. For 13 years, he worked for diconium GmbH and, among other posts, he held the position of Director Business Development. Before joining SPH AG, he was head of Zeitfracht digital at Zeitfracht GmbH for seven years. He was responsible for e-commerce and digital business and worked with topics around AI and Big Data.

DR. STEFAN ELSSER

CHAIRMAN OF THE SUPERVISORY BOARD

Stefan Elßer is a PhD economist and studied in Tübingen (Germany) and Eugene (Oregon, USA). He has been involved in small company financing since 1993. Stefan started his carrier at KfW Group structuring public financing programs for venture & private equity in the early days of this industry in Germany.
In 1998 he moved to TH (Technology Holding), one of the most successful VC-investors in Germany. When 3i Group acquired TH in 2000, he was head of the TH-office in Stuttgart.
Later he was named member of the management board of 3i Group in Germany and, in addition, became managing director of a number of fund vehicles for 3i in Germany. Since 2002 Stefan Elßer, together with Hansjörg Ruof, led the 3i German Portfolio Team (DACH-Region). Both took responsibility for more than 130 companies and the portfolio management team. He contributed to significant proceeds and profits to 3i’s German investment business in a difficult environment post the 2000 dot-com crisis.
In 2008 Stefan Elßer left 3i to form with Hansjörg Ruof his own business, the partnership BBP – Beratung, Beteiligung, Portfolio Management. In this capacity, Stefan Elßer was advising investors in their portfolio management with focus on value creation. In some cases, he also acted as CEO appointed by the shareholders. In those mandates, he gathered in depth experience in direct management of small- and medium-sized enterprises backed by financial investors or family offices.
In his leisure time, Stefan Elßer enjoys reading good literature, playing the piano and sports with his family.

KLAUS-DIETER LAIDIG, SENATOR E.h.

VICE CHAIRMAN OF THE SUPERVISORY BOARD
AND SHAREHOLDER

Since 1997, Klaus-Dieter Laidig, Dipl.-Betriebswirt (FH) (graduate in business administration), has been Managing Partner of Laidig Business Consulting GmbH, a consulting company specialising in the high tech industry in Europe and the USA. Between 1967 and 1997, Klaus-Dieter Laidig worked for Hewlett-Packard Europe. In the 1980s and 1990s, he played a key role in the growth and expansion of Hewlett-Packard’s computer system business in Europe. From 1984 to 1997, he was also Managing Director of Hewlett-Packard Germany. Klaus-Dieter Laidig is a member of several supervisory boards in Germany and in the USA. Since 2007, Klaus-Dieter Laidig has been honorary senator at the University of Stuttgart.

HANSJÖRG RUOF

Hansjörg Ruof holds a degree in engineering and obtained a second degree in economics from the University in Munich. Coming from an entrepreneurial family background, he has always been involved with small- and medium-sized businesses.
Starting as a consultant in a Roland Berger subsidiary specializing in mid-sized companies, he became a private equity manager, first with BayBG and later with Technology Holding (TH), one of the most eminent technology investors in Germany. When 3i Group acquired TH in 2000, Hansjörg Ruof became part of 3i Germany where he invested in a number of technology companies, organized several IPOs and carried out numerous strategic sales.
Hansjörg Ruof and Stefan Elßer were responsible for running 3i’s German portfolio team from 2005 until 2008 with more than 130 companies. Both set up a sophisticated portfolio management system and contributed significant proceeds to 3i´s German investment business in what is today the largest sales process in German private equity.
Hansjörg Ruof has managed many deals covering the complete life-cycle of investments in the private equity industry. He has a wealth of experience in investments and portfolio management, including restructurings, additional funding and the preparation and execution of exits. Realized exits include IPOs (CAA and Nanogate), trade sales (Interbrand Pro, CoCreate and Rodcraft), as well as secondary buy-outs and multi-case secondary transactions.
In 2008, Hansjörg Ruof founded BBP, together with his partner Stefan Elßer, following the idea to offer hands-on support in portfolio management to equity investors and to management teams alike. On behalf of BBP, he has been acting in different management and supervisory board roles where he achieved successful turnarounds and growth success stories.
Hansjörg Ruof is highly active within the German private equity industry and has a broad network of contacts.

DR. THOMAS FROHNMAYER

Dr. Thomas Frohnmayer is a lawyer and partner at the law firm Hennerkes, Kirchdörfer & Lorz who specialise in conceptional consulting of family businesses. His main focus of activity is on succession planning, restructuring, corporate transactions, corporate financing and foundation solutions. In addition, Dr. Frohnmayer is a member of supervisory boards and advisory councils for several companies.