Thales Germany enhances customer focus

• Dr. Christoph Siegelin new Director Account Management
• Stefan Orlinski and Axel Leicht new Strategic Account Managers
• Viktoria Stürmer-Kuchelmeister new Director Marketing & Strategy

Thales in Germany reorganises its Account Management and Marketing in recognition of the key initiative of the Thales Group to further enhance its focus on strategic customers. In Germany, in particular the longstanding and trusted partners of the German Railways (Deutsche Bahn) and the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) are established as Strategic Accounts.

Since 1 April 2021 Dr. Christoph Siegelin (54) is the new Director Account Management and within this newly created post responsible for the Account Management of Thales in Germany. He reports to Oliver Dörre, the Chairman of the Management Board of Thales in Germany. Siegelin works since 1997 for Thales or Gemalto, last in Paris as Vice President Sales Programmes. He studied electrical engineering at Stuttgart University and obtained a PhD at Telecom ParisTech.

"Dr. Christoph Siegelin is a highly versatile manager who has already dealt with major challenges with his longstanding national and international sales experience and customer interface activities", Oliver Dörre commented on the appointment. “We are very pleased to have been able to attract him to this important post within our company. Together with him we want to leverage the strengths of Thales – especially for digital technologies – even more systematically on the German market”, Dörre continued.

“I and my team are looking forward to this new challenge”, Dr. Christoph Siegelin said. “Our excellent customer relationships, especially in Germany, are the key to further growth with our customers and partners and to generating new business. The new global customer structure with our Strategic Accounts and Key Accounts is the correct way forward and recognises the importance of the German market within the Thales Group”, Siegelin continued.

A further two management positions were also created on 1 April 2021 in the newly structured Account Management Team. Stefan Orlinski (55) assumes the post Strategic Account Manager Deutsche Bahn – with the Key Accounts Core Business and Digital & Innovation –, which he carries out in addition to his current function as Director Sales & Business Development of the Transportation Division at Thales in Germany. The graduate engineer of the Braunschweig/Wolfenbüttel polytechnic holds since February 2005 various management positions at Thales Germany.

Axel Leicht (52) assumes the function Strategic Account Manager Bundeswehr and is responsible for the long established Key Accounts Air force, Army and Navy. The graduate economist of Hamburg Helmut-Schmidt University and former navy officer has been with Thales Germany for a total of twelve years, last as Director Marketing & Strategy since February 2017.

Viktoria Stürmer-Kuchelmeister (35) takes over from Axel Leicht the function Director Marketing & Strategy and reports to Oliver Dörre. The graduate educationalist of the Munich Armed Forces University and former air force officer has been with Thales in Germany since September 2013, last as Key Account Manager Air Force since February 2018.

The combination of the hitherto separate functions Marketing and Strategy further highlights the enhanced focus on the German market and the strategic Accounts Deutsche Bahn and Bundeswehr. The sales management for the German market – for Defence & Security with Sven Colin Rowley and for Transportation with Dominik Veit – and the management of Political Affairs with Elke Vollrath remain unchanged.