Change in Leadership at AOE Group

Change in Leadership at AOE Group: Dr. Lars A. Ludwig Appointed as New Group CEO

Wiesbaden, November 12, 2025

After 25 years at the helm, AOE Group founder and long-time CEO Kian Gould is handing over the leadership to Dr. Lars A. Ludwig, who will assume the role of Group CEO with immediate effect. Going forward, Kian Gould will focus on business development and sales, particularly in the telecommunications and energy sectors, as well as on advancing AOE’s growth areas in DevOps and AI.

With Lars Ludwig, AOE Group gains an experienced executive with extensive leadership experience in the IT and consulting industry, especially in the financial services sector. Previously, he served as CEO of targens, a consulting and software firm, CIO of Donner & Reuschel Bank, and senior management consultant at Droege & Comp. A physicist and computer scientist by training, he began his career in applied research in the field of artificial intelligence.

Lars Ludwig: “AOE Group is a company with an impressive track record, a loyal customer base, and a strong team. I look forward to working with the management team and employees to further expand the successful growth strategy and actively shape the future of AOE Group.”

Kian Gould: “I am very pleased that we have found in Lars an experienced Group CEO with deep expertise in IT/software and consulting. After 25 years at the top, now is the right time to initiate the next phase of our company’s development while opening up new areas of growth.”

With this leadership transition, AOE Group reinforces its strategic focus on sustainable growth, innovation, and long-term customer partnerships, as well as continued expansion in the financial services sector.

About AOE

AOE – From challenges to impact

AOE is a highly specialized partner for the design, development, and operation of mission-critical digital systems. Wherever standard software reaches its limits, we create custom-built, technologically advanced, and future-proof solutions.

Our portfolio spans strategy and architecture consulting, user experience, software engineering, cloud platforms, AI applications, and managed services. With a multidisciplinary team and a methodological approach that combines co-creation, sustainable scaling, and compliance-by-design, we enable companies to achieve a successful and future-proof digital transformation.

AOE supports organizations across telecommunications, banking, insurance, public sector, industry, and media, always with the goal of creating sustainable impact. Our reference clients include Deutsche Telekom, congstar, RTL, the Sparda Group, Evonik, 1NCE, Deutsche Flugsicherung, VON POLL IMMOBILIEN, Deutsche Sparkassen, and BARMER.

Press Contact

AOE
Sara Noori
+49 6122 70707-0
press@aoe.com
https://www.aoe.com

Download press release