Original announcement here.

HEIDELBERG – July 24, 2025 – Aleph Alpha, a leading European provider of sovereign generative AI solutions, is strengthening its leadership team with two seasoned executives to steer the company through its next growth phase.

Reto Spörri assumes the newly created position of Co-CEO and will work alongside founder and Co-CEO Jonas Andrulis to scale operations and ensure the uncompromising alignment of technological innovations with the sovereign success of enterprises and governments. Ilhan Scheer joins as Chief Growth Officer and will lead strategic market development, including tailoring commercialization strategies to specific market needs and driving co-innovation with customers and partners.

These new appointments come with an adjustment to Aleph Alpha’s management structure: Christopher Kränzler, previously VP Product, is promoted to Chief Product Officer (CPO). As head of the company’s largest division, he will anchor product leadership at the executive level and spearhead the further development of PhariaAI, Aleph Alpha’s AI operating system. As part of the reorganization, the Chief Customer Officer (CCO) role is transitioned into the new Chief Growth Officer role. Ramin Mirza, the previous CCO, is departing the company on amicable terms. Aleph Alpha sincerely thanks him for his trusted collaboration and contributions during the company’s foundational growth phase.

Founder and Co-CEO Jonas Andrulis, explains: “Today marks the beginning of a new chapter for Aleph Alpha. PhariaAI is live and delivering real value across public administration, security, defense, automotive and manufacturing, retail, and financial services. Our team has grown rapidly with exceptional talent. We are now establishing a leadership structure to achieve our ambitious goals in the next 12 months and beyond. With Reto and Ilhan, we gain two exceptional leaders whose complementary strengths are exactly what we need for our next growth step.”

Two experts for scaling and market expansion

Reto Spörri has over 25 years of cross-industry experience in scaling digital business models – from start-up environments to multinational corporations. Most recently, he served as Divisonal Board Member at Schwarz Digits and CEO of Lidl e-commerce. In these and previous management positions at companies such as Tchibo and Sunrise, he successfully led digital initiatives, implemented large-scale transformation processes, and guided business units through complex growth phases.

“Aleph Alpha has established a strong foundation: excellent technology, a robust network of strategic partners and investors, and a growing customer base,” explains Spörri. “My priority is to build on this momentum, systematically scale our successes, and further strengthen our market position – all while ensuring consistent operational excellence.”

With Ilhan Scheer, Aleph Alpha gains a seasoned deep-tech strategist with international experience and in-depth understanding of transforming AI innovation into scalable enterprise solutions. Most recently, he led Accenture’s global product unit for AI and Decision Intelligence as Global Lead Products and Managing Director. Previously, he founded and scaled the startup Fable+, whose analytics platform for workplace culture and team performance was successfully integrated into Accenture following its acquisition.

“After years of implementing AI in global enterprises, I’ve learned that even the best technology is useless if it doesn’t solve the right problems,” emphasizes Scheer. “At Aleph Alpha, I can ensure our sovereign AI solutions address the most impactful challenges and generate maximum business value.”

Aleph Alpha: Strong market position and established ecosystem

These leadership appointments highlight Aleph Alpha’s clear focus on commercialization and business scaling. Over the past year, Aleph Alpha has grown to over 300 employees. With its AI operating system PhariaAI, Aleph Alpha has evolved into a full-stack provider of sovereign, customizable generative AI solutions. Additionally, Aleph Alpha has advanced the development of a scalable solution portfolio for domain-specific applications – including the Pharia Engineering Suite for industrial product development showcased at this year’s Hannover Messe and the Pharia Government Assistant for public administration.

With a robust ecosystem of strategic partners and investors – including Schwarz Group, SAP, Bosch and Deutsche Bank – as well as substantial multi-year framework contracts with the German Federal Employment Agency and BWI (the IT service provider of the German Armed Forces), Aleph Alpha is well-positioned for accelerated growth.

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