16th March 2022
Founder Karsten Renz leaves the company after 31 years – Integration largely completed after joining the Kyocera Group
On April 1, 2022, Karsten Renz will relinquish his position as CEO of OPTIMAL SYSTEMS, a company he co-founded in 1991. Since the German enterprise content management (ECM) specialist joined the Kyocera Group in April 2020, Renz has been overseeing its integration, a process which can now be considered complete. Renz will be replaced by COO Gregor Wolf, who has been part of the management team since 2013.
Karsten Renz was most recently involved in setting the course for the future of the German software manufacturer. This concerns, in particular, the further development of products for the international market, to which the new owner Kyocera opens up broad access for OPTIMAL SYSTEMS. “The preparations will already bear fruit noticeably in the next fiscal year,” says Renz, who will then celebrate the expected successes merely as a minority shareholder: “My tasks here have been fulfilled, the integration process has been successful.”
Stability in the team
This has also been made possible by the stable management structure consisting of capable minds which extends into the second and third rows of OPTIMAL SYSTEMS and which will be fully preserved. The company will be managed by the well-established german speaking management team even after joining the Kyocera Group. Thus, the previous COO Gregor Wolf will take over the management of the company after Renz’s departure on April 1. The tasks of the COO will be taken over by Björn Grabe, Chief Services Delivery Officer, and Nikola Milanovic, Chief Technology Officer at OPTIMAL SYSTEMS.
The mother company also supports the change at the top: Tateki Kuri, Director and Senior General Manager of the Corporate Business Solutions Division at Kyocera Document Solutions Inc., paid tribute to the achievements of founder Karsten Renz, who for almost 31 years had contributed significantly to the growth of OPTIMAL SYSTEMS and established the company as a leading provider of ECM solutions. “The new CEO, Gregor Wolf, has a broad range of experience as a computer scientist and has already contributed significantly to the positive development of OPTIMAL SYSTEMS with his diverse knowledge and skills in management. We are convinced that Mr. Wolf is the right person to take on new challenges in the market and to further expand the business.” The Kyocera Document Solutions Group will continue to work closely with OPTIMAL SYSTEMS and support the European business with a focus on Germany, which OPTIMAL SYSTEMS has built up over the years, as well as further market development worldwide such as in Asia and the US, Tateki Kuri added.
Exciting task for Gregor Wolf
Gregor Wolf, who holds a degree in computer science, joined OPTIMAL SYSTEMS in 2013. Stages of his career led him, after several years in research, to responsible positions at the web CMS startup B2B Company in the early 1990s and to Klopotek AG as board member and CTO. After joining OPTIMAL SYSTEMS, he first built up the product management. Since 2015, Gregor Wolf has been responsible for all operational business areas since as COO. Karsten Renz has full confidence in his successor and considers OPTIMAL SYSTEMS to be well positioned for the upcoming challenges, thanks to the rest of the management team: “I am leaving with mixed feelings: I am looking forward to a new phase of my life in retirement, but of course I also regret that I will no longer be actively involved in shaping the next steps.”
This task is now in the hands of Gregor Wolf, who is looking forward to his new management role accordingly: “OPTIMAL SYSTEMS is facing enormous growth opportunities which challenge and motivate me and my team in equal measure. I could not ask for a more exciting position professionally.”
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OPTIMAL SYSTEMS is a
Group company of
Kyocera Document Solutions.