Springer Nature Chief Financial Officer Dr Ulrich Vest to retire end of 2023
New CFO Alexandra Dambeck joins from global healthcare company, Fresenius Medical Care
Berlin | London | New York, 22. September 2023
Dr Ulrich Vest is set to retire from Springer Nature at the end of the year following a long career with the company. He will be succeeded by Alexandra Dambeck, currently Executive Vice President Global Accounting & Controlling and a Member of the Executive Committee of global healthcare company Fresenius Medical Care. Dambeck will start in her new role with Springer Nature in January 2024.
Dr Vest started his relationship with Springer more than two decades ago. Whilst at media company Bertelsmann, he played a key role in the acquisition of Springer and then subsequently, as Springer CFO, the sale of Bertelsmann Springer to private equity. In total, he steered the company through three changes in ownership involving private equity partners and buyouts. He helped to significantly shape and scale the business via numerous acquisitions and divestments, as well as co-managing the merger with Kluwer Academic Publishers in 2004 and a merger with Macmillan Science and Education which led to the creation of Springer Nature in 2015.
During her more than twenty years with Fresenius Medical Care, Alexandra Dambeck worked in various roles across the global healthcare group and in different locations. This included responsibility for Finance and Accounting in Europe, Efficiency Programs in the US and the Global Functions Research & Development and Manufacturing & Supply Chain as CFO. Prior to this, she started her career at KPMG and worked for international company, Dyckerhoff.
The Chair of Springer Nature's Supervisory Board, Dr Stefan von Holtzbrinck, said: “Ulrich has played a crucial role in making Springer Nature as strong as it is today by driving the company's financial development with great skill and acumen. He is an extremely valued colleague who will be greatly missed by us all. On behalf of the Board, I thank him extraordinarily for his invaluable support and wish him all the best in his retirement.”
He continued, “In Alexandra Dambeck we have found an excellent successor for the key position of Chief Financial Officer. She not only has a solid financial track record; her work on several continents also makes her ideal for working in our global organisation. In addition, she shows great intellectual curiosity for the company's mission as well as a strong team spirit.”
CFO Dr Ulrich Vest commented, “After more than two decades with the company in its various forms, I will certainly miss the wonderful colleagues and culture that make up Springer Nature. I am particularly proud of the strong finance leadership team and our global finance organization who have supported the growth of our business, continuously improved our capital structure and established Springer Nature as a highly reputable and reliable player in the financial communities.”
Commented Alexandra Dambeck, “The global reach of Springer Nature coupled with its warm and welcoming culture and a focus on learning and discovery, made Springer Nature a perfect choice for me. I am eager to dive deeper into the business and am really thrilled at the prospect of working together with the team to build the next successful chapters of the company.”
CEO Frank Vrancken Peeters commented, “I have a lot to thank Ulrich for. We have worked so closely these past few years and I’ll miss his sound business judgement, deep knowledge of the industry and on a personal level, his dry sense of humour. He was instrumental in driving the business from print to digital and will leave behind him a strong financial track record for Springer Nature.
I very much look forward to welcoming Alexandra to Springer Nature and to introducing her to my Executive Team colleagues over the coming months”.
ENDS
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Susie Winter | VP External Communications | Springer Nature
susie.winter@springernature.com
