After 31 years with d&b, Kay Lange, Chief Financial Officer of d&b audiotechnik, is handing over his role to the next generation. Lange made this decision in 2016, in agreement with investors and the management team, to spend more time with family and pursue life-long dreams, but planned to only do so once a successor was found.
On 1 December 2017, Jens Nilsson was appointed Chief Financial Officer and Managing Director, becoming the 3rd General Manager of d&b audiotechnik, working alongside Amnon Harman (Chief Executive Officer) and Markus Strohmeier (Chief Operations Officer). “Kay Lange’s contribution to the growth, successes and spirit of d&b audiotechnik can’t be valued highly enough. We owe him a lot”, commented CEO Amnon Harman: “We plan a secure handover for the next months.” Lange has committed to be fully available for d&b until the end of 2018.
Lange joined d&b in 1986 when the company, and its then 10 co-workers, had just moved from a garage into a former furniture shop. Fast-forward to 2009, he was responsible for introducing d&b’s first sales financing program with international scope transferring approaches e.g. of the automotive industry to the pro-audio industry.
The latest d&b Chief Financial Officer and Managing Director is responsible for Finance, Sales Finance, IT and Facility Management at d&b. Originally from Sweden, Nilsson has been working in Germany for more than 20 years. He brings management experience from roles in Finance and Controlling, as well as Sales and Marketing. In Nilsson’s last position as Group Chief Financial Officer, he was a member of the Executive Board of Knauf Insulation, a manufacturer with 1.6 billion Euros of annual revenue, and more than 5,500 employees worldwide.
“We look forward to working with Jens Nilsson as new CFO at d&b audiotechnik”, concluded Harman. “He has the right experience to strengthen the management team on its way from a loudspeaker systems manufacturer to become an audio technology and solution company.”