Following a preliminary announcement in mid-July, Koenig & Bauer AG has now named the new CFO appointed by its supervisory board with effect from 1 October. While the creation of the new post was prompted by the growing complexity of financial processes and regulations, it will also allow president and CEO Helge Hansen to focus more intensely on the group's strategic realignment.

Axel Kaufmann (40), KBA's new CFO from 1 October
The new CFO is Axel Kaufmann (40), formerly head of business insight and planning at Helsinki- and Munich-based Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) with a remit encompassing global market analyses and strategic co-ordination of the company's planning process. Prior to that he was head of finance and control for almost three years with responsibility over several global NSN business units. In both functions he played an instrumental role in activities that have recently occupied many companies in consolidating sectors, ie restructuring operations, implementing corporate alliances, mergers, acquisitions and divestments, and streamlining business infrastructures – valuable experience for his new position at KBA.

Mr Kaufmann has extensive experience in international industry and finance, holding various executive positions at Siemens operations in Germany and abroad for more than ten years prior to the group's merger with Nokia. These included head of finance at a software business unit of Mobile Networks, head of business administration at the supply chain division for Siemens' European plants, CFO at a shared services unit in the US, and director of business development at Procurement and Logistics Services in Munich. Mr Kaufmann originally joined Siemens as assistant to the head of corporate purchasing at group headquarters.

Axel Kaufmann started his career as a trainee at Deutsche Bank, with secondments to New York and Toronto. He also studied in Paris as part of an exchange programme. This was followed by a BA in business administration at Würzburg University and a masters degree in international business at Paderborn University, where he also gained a PhD in banking and finance. Axel Kaufmann is married and has two children.