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 had already 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 third 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”, says 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.

Kay Lange (58) 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. With a diploma in technically oriented Business Administration from the University of Stuttgart, he soon became the financial mastermind of the start-up. In 1989, when the number of co-workers had raised to more than 20, Lange had three months to find a new location, successfully finding the Backnang premises, a former spinning company of Eugen Adolff. This decision still pays off today, as d&b continues to expand its 25,000 m2 headquarters, with over 350 co-workers in Backnang.

Among Lange’s long list of other achievements, the one that stands out is the d&b Finance-Series. In 2009, d&b introduced a sales financing program with international scope transferring approaches e.g. of the automotive industry to the pro-audio industry.

The new d&b Chief Financial Officer and Managing Director, Jens Nilsson (46), 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. Nilsson graduated with a Business Sciences degree at the University of Gothenburg, and has a masters degree in Business Administration.

“We look forward to working with Jens Nilsson as new CFO at d&b audiotechnik”, says 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.”

Photo credits to Mak Richter.

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