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DEKRA expands the Management Board

Petra Finke and Peter Laursen to fill newly created Board of Management positions at DEKRA

Apr 06, 2023 Corporate
  • Two new Board Members to join DEKRA SE: Petra Finke (55) to become Chief Digitalization Officer (CDO) as of July 1, 2023, Peter Laursen (47) appointed as Chief Operation Officer (COO) with immediate effect.
  • They both complete the DEKRA SE Board of Management together with Stan Zurkiewicz as CEO and Wolfgang Linsenmaier as CFO.
  • The recent appointments result from significant changes made by DEKRA in both its Board of Management composition and organization, as the company seeks to accelerate its transformation and facilitate the execution of its Focus Strategy 2025.
  • The newly created CDO role will focus on enhancing DEKRA’s existing service portfolio and introducing new advanced digital services in the light of the ongoing digital transformation.
  • The newly created COO role is dedicated to strengthening DEKRA’s global position, improving the company’s business results, and better serving the needs of its customers across the globe.
  • Stefan Kölbl, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of DEKRA: “DEKRA’s vision is to become the leading global force in safety, security, and sustainability. The recent changes in the composition of the Board of Management are designed to advance our strategic growth plans and accelerate the pace of execution.”
DEKRA appointed two new members to its Board of Management today: Petra Finke (55), currently Global CIO Rhenus Freight Logistics and CEO of Rhenus Freight Network GmbH, will join the company as Chief Digitalization Officer (CDO) on July 1, 2023, while Peter Laursen (47) will fill the role of Chief Operation Officer (COO) with immediate effect.
Stefan Kölbl, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of DEKRA: “DEKRA’s vision is to become the leading global force in safety, security, and sustainability. The recent changes in the composition of the Board of Management are designed to advance our strategic growth plans and accelerate the pace of execution. Petra Finke and Peter Laursen are the perfect choice for these new roles, and we are glad to welcome them as our new board members. We are convinced they will do great in their new responsibility.”
Petra Finke (55) has been working with Rhenus Group for over 20 years, most recently as Global CIO Rhenus Freight Logistics and CEO of Rhenus Freight Network GmbH. She was responsible for global IT and digitalization, and in this role successfully managed the transformation of the company’s heterogeneous IT and process landscape into a distributed, cloud-based digital ecosystem. Furthermore, she established Rhenus Freight Network GmbH as the central IT service provider and advisor for the global network, while developing digital customer solution to optimize logistics value chains.
In her newly created role as CDO of DEKRA, Petra Finke will pursue the company’s target to fully leverage the business potential of digitalization. DEKRA expects digital services to play a crucial role in the TIC industry (Testing, Inspection and Certification), and it is set to develop its service portfolio accordingly. Petra Finke will focus on improving existing services, as well as creating reliable services for DEKRA’s focus business areas future mobility, sustainability, and cyber security, by deploying the use of cutting-edge tech like AI and remote services.
Peter Laursen (47) has been employed at DEKRA for the past 10 years. He has an outstanding track record in business development, turning Denmark’s DEKRA Academy into the country’s undisputed market leader. In addition, he significantly expanded the range of services beyond trainings, providing for two-digit sales growth over the past years. Being responsible for the Region of North-West Europe, he successfully turned around underperforming businesses navigated external challenges such as impacts of the current geopolitical situation and inflation as well as supply chain bottlenecks.
As DEKRA’s new COO, he will oversee the company’s six business regions which comprise legal entities and operations in 60 countries on all continents, as well as Group Marketing & Sales. He will be responsible for expanding DEKRA’s global footprint, especially in the strategic growth regions of North America and Asia. Working with the company’s business regions, he will match DEKRA’s strong service portfolio with regional demands and work towards achieving the regions’ strategic and financial ambitions.
“I look forward to working closely with Petra Finke and Peter Laursen to deliver the best customer experience in our industry, across the globe. Their leadership qualities, expertise, and track record of success will be invaluable as we continue to evolve our business and accelerate our digital transformation,” said Stan Zurkiewicz, Chairman of the Board of Management and CEO of DEKRA.
Caption (f.l.): DEKRA – New Board Members
Stan Zurkiewicz, Chairman of the Management Board DEKRA e.V. and DEKRA SE
CEO
Petra Finke, as of July 1, 2023, Member of the Management Board DEKRA SE
CDO
Stefan Kölbl, President of the Presidential Board of DEKRA e.V. and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of DEKRA SE
Peter Laursen, Member of the Management Board DEKRA SE
COO and Head of Region North-West Europe
Wolfgang Linsenmaier, Member of the Management Board DEKRA e.V. and DEKRA SE
CFO, HR and Organizational Excellence
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