The German IT security specialist gateProtect (http://www.gateprotect.com/) today announced the appointment of Dr. Reinhard Festag as its new CFO, effective July 1, 2011. Festag, responsible for Finance and Strategy, has already been working with the company for some time in a consulting role. With the appointment, gateProtect has gained a seasoned expert with a doctorate in physics whose role will focus on driving the company’s international expansion from a financial and strategic perspective.

Hamburg, Germany. August 3, 2011 – Prior to joining gateProtect, Dr. Reinhard Festag was a member of the executive board and headed up the financial and strategic areas at the German-based billing service provider acoreus AG. He also shares his extensive knowledge with students at University of Applied Sciences in Ludwigshafen, Germany, where he has been a lecturer in management consulting since 2007. Before acoreus AG, Festag held a number of management positions in the IT service area at Siemens Business Services (SBS, subsequently Siemens IT Solutions and Services, SIS). These included the commercial management of the company’s outsourcing sales division. Dr. Reinhard Festag began his career as a management consultant at McKinsey, where he advised international companies on strategic projects and operative improvement programs, and had achieved the level of Associate Principal by the time he left the company. Festag has a degree and a PhD in physics and concluded his academic work with a project at NASA, the US aeronautics and space exploration organization.
Dr. Reinhard Festag
Dr. Reinhard Festag

“With the appointment of Dr. Reinhard Festag, we have added an expert to our management team who has worked abroad as well as in Germany and has a track record of proven achievement,” says Dennis Monner, CEO of gateProtect. “With his significant experience, he will assist our efforts to expand our position in the IT security market.” Festag adds: “I’m looking forward to making a significant contribution to gateProtect’s national and international expansion and helping to make this innovative company even more successful. With the commitment and dynamism I’ve seen here so far, gateProtect is well-equipped to achieve these goals.”

A high-resolution photo of Dr. Reinhard Festag can be downloaded at http://www.gateprotect.com/de/festag_print.jpg.

More information at http://www.gateprotect.com/ and http://www.phronesis.de/