TOKYO, April 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- 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.
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
About DEKRA
DEKRA has been active in the field of safety for almost 100 years. Founded in 1925 in Berlin as Deutscher Kraftfahrzeug-Überwachungs-Verein e.V., it is today one of the world's leading expert organizations. DEKRA SE is a subsidiary of DEKRA e.V. and manages the Group's operating business. In 2022, DEKRA will generate preliminary sales totaling almost EUR 3.7 billion. The company currently employs over 48,000 people (as of 30.09.2022) in approximately 60 countries on all continents. With qualified and independent expert ser-vices, they work for safety on the road, at work and at home. These services range from vehicle inspection and expert appraisals to claims services, industrial and building inspections, safety consultancy, testing and certification of products and systems, as well as training courses and temporary work. The vision for the company's 100th birthday in 2025 is that DEKRA will be the global partner for a safe, secure, and sustainable world. With a platinum rating from EcoVadis, DEKRA is now in the top one percent of sustainable businesses ranked.
