CTS Eventim announced the appointment of Karel Dörner to the management board as chief technology officer (CTO), a newly created position, effective Jan. 1, 2025.
Dörner is considered one of Germany’s leading experts for digital transformation, and developing digital business models. In the same year as he graduated with a master’s in business administration from WHU Koblenz and temporarily joined McKinsey as a consultant, he and some friends founded the startup alando.de, which he led as CFO and CTO until 2000. That company is better known today as eBay Europe.
With the founding of aventeon.com and his role there as CEO, Dörner went on to build another successful company, which is still active today. In 2006, he returned to McKinsey, rising to senior partner and member of the digital & analytics global leadership team. During this time, he also spent a year as interim CTO at MediaMarktSaturn Holding.
As a member of the CTS Eventim management board, Dörner will bring “his extensive experience as a consultant on numerous complex projects for major companies, his outstanding entrepreneurial spirit and his ability to spot trends early and put them to economic use,” the press release on Dörner’s appointment states.
He’ll be responsible for the technological backbone of CTS Eventim, for the ongoing digitalization of its business processes, and for the further development of its data-driven business models.
Dörner will also “oversee the technological evaluation and, where relevant, the integration of new Group members, as well as the extensive implementation of (generative) AI as a key component of the company’s future success,” the press release continues.
See: CTS Eventim Reports Accelerated Growth In The Second Quarter
With Dörner will assume responsibility for CTS Eventim’s technology-focused units, including IT, product, and information science, effective Jan. 1. Managing director Christoph Bodi, who has been leading the internal IT unit CTS Eventim Solutions for 14 years with great success, will remain in position and report to the new CTO.
The same applies to chief product officer James Brooke and to the Information Science management team.
With the expansion of the top management team, COO Alexander Ruoff, who is currently responsible for IT and product and has actively assisted with the creation of the new C-level position, will gain more time to intensify his focus on the company’s extensive international development.
Ruoff, who successfully led and expanded the technology side of the business for many years, has been increasingly occupied with internationalising the group’s activities, integrating new group members into the organisation, and coordinating the global operative ticketing business.
Dr. Bernd Kundrun, chair of the CTS Eventim’s supervisory board, commented, “I’m delighted that Karel is joining CTS Eventim as the new CTO. He will help strengthen our technological foundation for even more dynamic growth. The Supervisory Board thanks Alexander Ruoff for his outstanding work overseeing technology these past years. Through his leadership, the CTS Eventim system landscape has become the industry’s undisputed benchmark for performance and reliability. Now relieved of these duties, Alexander will be able to once again focus his energy fully on other crucial areas such as expanding our global activities.”
See: Rob Wilmshurst To Lead CTS Eventim’s UK Ticketing
Klaus-Peter Schulenberg, CEO, CTS Eventim, said, “I’d like to extend a warm welcome to
Karel on behalf of the entire Management Board. I’m very much looking forward to working with him. With his proven expertise and his entrepreneurial skills, Karel is a valuable addition to our management team. He will bring fresh impetus to the company and, together with all our employees, ensure that thousands of promoters and millions of fans worldwide will be able to continue relying on our ticketing services every day.”
The designated CTO, Karel Dörner, added, “I’m grateful to the Supervisory Board for
putting their trust in me, and to Klaus for his support. I’m excited to get started in this new role. CTS Eventim is a global player with big ambitions. Together with my future team, I’ll be working to further strengthen the technological foundation for the company’s continued growth, to bring innovative ideas to market, and to make our systems more user-friendly for both our B2B customers and the fans over the long term.”