Lange hands over finance reins to Nilsson at d&b

d&b audiotechnik’s chief financial officer Kay Lange (pictured left) is handing over his role to new chief financial officer and managing director Jens Nilsson (pictured right).

Lange has spent 31 years with the

company and had already decided in 2016 to spend more time with family and pursue lifelong dreams, in agreement with investors and the management team, but only once a successor was found.

Nilsson becomes the third general manager of d&b, and will work alongside ceo Amnon Harman and chief operations officer Markus Strohmeier.

“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,” said 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, 58, joined d&b in 1986 when the company, and its then 10 coworkers, 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 coworkers had risen 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 coworkers in Backnang.

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

Jens Nilsson, 46, is now responsible for finance, sales finance, IT and facilities 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 in 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,” said Harman. “He has the right experience to strengthen the management team on its way from being a loudspeaker systems manufacturer to becoming an audio technology and solution company.”