Following a year of reorganisation under the leadership of Olaf Koch as Chairman of the Board of Directors, the Executive Board has been substantially reconstituted with effect from 1 January 2026.
Felix Kalkum has been Managing Director of BurdaSolutions, Burda's internal IT service provider with around 250 employees, and CIO of the Burda Group since October 2024. Previously, the doctor of physics was Managing Director at Aldi-Nord, where he was responsible for data & analytics, strategy and corporate development as well as financial IT. Prior to that, he worked for eight years as a consultant at McKinsey, specializing in technology, digital and IT, and for Detecon, a consulting subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom.
“I am delighted that Felix Kalkum will be joining Burda as the ideal successor to Gerhard Thomas. With his in-depth technological expertise, Felix will play a key role in driving forward high-performance, future-oriented IT at Burda."
Marc Al-Hames, member of the executive board
Gerhard Thomas has held various positions at Burda since 2005. As Group CIO and Managing Director of BurdaSolutions, he was responsible for technological innovations and the development of a high-performance, future-oriented IT infrastructure. In 2008, he founded Valiton, which today develops customized software primarily for the companies of the Burda Group. At the end of the year, Gerhard Thomas will retire after twenty years with the company.
“On behalf of the entire Management Board, I would like to thank Gerhard for his entrepreneurial achievements and his outstanding commitment. We will miss him very much and wish him all the best for the next stage of his life,”
Marc Al-Hames, member of the executive board
Felix Kalkum also takes over the management of Valiton from Gerhard Thomas. Valiton, a BurdaSolutions company with around 50 developers, project managers and data scientists, develops digital products and services. Bastian Behrens joins Felix Kalkum on the management board. He has been with Valiton since 2011, has headed the Munich tech team as Head of Technology since 2019 and has been COO since January 2023.
Ulrich Heckenberger will leave the Valiton Management Board at the end of the year. He will remain with Burda as a consultant until his retirement in March 2026.
