Generation shift at LucaNet: Elias Apel becomes part of the executive board
How can finance be simplified? This was the question that the two founders Oliver Schmitz and Rolf-Jürgen Moll asked themselves over 20 years ago – and thus set the foundation for LucaNet. Today – with more than 500 employees, 14 locations worldwide, and 3,500 customers in over 50 countries – we are still successfully pursuing this goal.
Oliver Schmitz passes the baton to Elias Apel
With Elena Aubell (COO) and Alexander Domene (CTO) joining, there was already some change in the executive board last year. After Rolf-Jürgen Moll retired in January 2021, his co-founder Oliver Schmitz now follows. On May 1, 2022, he hands the baton over to Elias Apel, who will complete the executive board surrounding Dominik Duchon as the new CFO. Oliver Schmitz – just like Rolf-Jürgen Moll – will continue to be available to LucaNet in an advisory role.
CFO with a focus on customers and partners
Elias Apel has already been an important part of the company since 2018. Since joining the company, he has made a decisive contribution to the successful internationalization as well as the strategic repositioning and further development of the partner ecosystem and thus also of LucaNet. In this position, Elias Apel and Oliver Schmitz have already worked together closely. As the newest member of the executive board, he can now combine his enthusiasm for business development with his passion for numbers, since he will continue to be responsible for the International Operations, Business Development, and Channel business units in addition to Finance as the new CFO. "Elias Apel is the right person in the right place at the right time," says Oliver Schmitz about his successor. "Not only does he know our company and the business very well, Elias Apel is also very knowledgeable in finance. With him as a board member, we are redistributing the emphasis of our business areas. The fine line between internationalization, partner business, and the German-speaking market is thus even more balanced."
"I am looking forward to the new role and to further developing LucaNet with my fellow board members Elena, Dominik, and Alexander," explains the Freiburg native. "After all, not only we have to face great challenges. Our customers also have to constantly adapt to changes in the market or new regulatory requirements. Like the current economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic situation or the upcoming ESG reporting requirements. Our goal is and remains to always be a reliable partner for our current and future customers in central financial matters and to offer software that allows our users to quickly and flexibly respond to the changing requirements of the market. Although we are already excellently positioned on the market, we are nevertheless driven by our commitment to continuously develop ourselves as a company and our product accordingly," Elias Apel continues.
Focused on: Customer centricity and new markets
With the generation shift in the top management, the strategic reorganization launched in recent years continues and extends through all levels of the company. The new executive board is now primarily focused on meeting the requirements of the market and customers. This is underlined, among other things, by the transformation into a leading SaaS provider for financial performance management and the entry of the investment company Hg. International sales are also to be sustainably strengthened for the planned growth and the development of new markets.
"We have set ourselves high goals. And we have the right team, the right partners and, above all, the right product to achieve these goals. That's why I'm sure there is a remarkable future ahead of us", the new CFO concludes optimistically.
