d.velop AG reshapes leadership as founder steps back after 33 years

A new era begins at d.velop AG as its visionary founder transitions roles. Meet the leaders steering Europe's top digital document firm into AI and cloud innovation.

, and Administrator

2026 May 16 . 10:02 PM

1 min read

The image shows a diagram of the organizational structure of a company, with a white background and... — The image shows a diagram of the organizational structure of a company, with a white background and text that outlines the stages of a business process. The diagram is composed of several boxes connected by arrows, each box representing a different stage of the company's growth and development. The text provides further details about each stage, such as the roles and responsibilities of each stage.

d.velop AG reshapes leadership as founder steps back after 33 years

d.velop AG, a leading European provider of digital document management platforms, has announced key changes in its leadership team. After 33 years at the helm, founder Christoph Pliete has stepped down from the executive board. The company, known for its innovation in enterprise content management, continues to expand its focus on cloud and AI-driven solutions. Christoph Pliete founded d.velop AG and guided its growth into one of Europe’s top digital document management firms. Over three decades, the company expanded to over 1,000 employees and earned repeated recognition as a top employer. Though leaving the executive board, Pliete will remain involved as a supervisory board member.

The leadership transition includes two major appointments. Nico Bäumer will join the executive board on January 1, 2025, taking responsibility for the 'Product Development' division. Meanwhile, Rainer Hehmann will head the newly created 'Delivery and Service Excellence' division.

d.velop AG has reaffirmed its commitment to innovation, particularly in cloud-based solutions and generative AI. The company plans to integrate advanced AI tools for extracting knowledge from documents, reinforcing its position as a leader in enterprise content management. The restructuring aligns with d.velop AG’s strategy to enhance its cloud and AI capabilities. Bäumer’s promotion and Hehmann’s new role will support the company’s push for service excellence and product innovation. Pliete’s continued involvement ensures stability as the business moves into its next phase.