Claus van der Velden, PhD brings significant expertise in management, accounting, internal controls, information security and risk management. Since May 2021, he has served as Managing Director (Chief Financial Officer) of NetCologne GmbH, a regional telecommunication provider in Germany. From July 2011 to May 2021, he served as corporate head of Management Accounting, Internal Audit and Risk Management at Stroeer SE & Co KGaA, a publicly listed German digital media company. As the prior head of internal audit at Stroeer SE & Co KGaA, Dr. van der Velden has experience in the area of information security risk assessment, and the internal control tools, processes, and policies needed to counter information security threats. Previously, Dr. van der Velden served as the Director of Corporate Business Controlling for the Nutrition & Health business unit at Cognis, a worldwide supplier of global nutritional ingredients and specialty chemicals. In this position, he was also a compliance representative and a member of the global leadership team. After the acquisition of Cognis by BASF, he was responsible for the management accounting processes of the BASF Nutrition & Health division, developing and producing mostly natural-source ingredients for the food and healthcare industries. Dr. van der Velden started his career as a strategy consultant at an international marketing and strategy consultancy firm. He studied in Kiel and Stockholm and received a degree in economics from the University of Kiel and later obtained his doctorate in business management from the WHU-Otto Beisheim School of Management where he also previously taught economics.