NZZ Media Group acquires 100 percent of the shares in Architonic
Last September and at the beginning of the year, the NZZ Media Group acquired the remaining 19 percent of shares in Architonic, the online community for architecture and design, from the founders. The Group now holds 100 percent. The new CEO as of January 2020 is the former COO Stephan Bachmann.
A full takeover of the founders' shares was already planned in 2015 when the majority stake in Architonic was acquired. "Together with the operational management team, we want to strategically develop Architonic as a brand and as a company and consistently focus on sustainable growth," says Felix Graf, CEO of the NZZ Media Group.
Stephan Bachmann took over the role of CEO on January 1, 2020 and has been managing the company together with founder Tobias Lutz and an extended Executive Board since then. From July 2016 to the end of 2019, Bachmann was COO and a member of the Executive Board at Architonic. During this time, he initiated and implemented key adjustments to processes and organization. Since January 2018, he has increasingly dedicated himself to market and customer tasks and has taken on a co-CEO role together with Tobias Lutz and Nils Becker. "The appointment as CEO was the logical next step in the strategic development of Architonic," says Etienne Jornod, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the NZZ Media Group.
All founders will continue to actively shape Architonic in various roles. Tobias Lutz will retain his current responsibilities as part of the management team. Thomas Navello will also continue in his role as Lead Software Developer. Nils Becker and Dieter Schumann will be available to the management in their new roles as consultants.
Daniela Schwarz, Director Operations, Renata Menet, Director Finance & HR, and Miljan Vranic, Director IT Development, have been appointed to the extended management team as long-standing employees and due to their outstanding track record. Together with Stephan Bachmann and Tobias Lutz, they form the new operational management of Architonic.
Architonic's Board of Directors was also adapted to the new circumstances at the Annual General Meeting in March 2020. The new members are Felix Graf, Chairman of the Board of Directors, and Sigrun Albert, Head of Products at the NZZ Media Group. Jörg Schnyder, CFO of the NZZ Media Group, and Nils Becker remain on the Board. Tobias Lutz, Attilio Capella, CEO ad interim of Moneyhouse, and Caroline Bjoenness-Vetter, former Head of Group Finance & Accounting of the NZZ Media Group, have stepped down.
