Tim recently joined vivenu as our Chief Financial Officer (CFO). With a LL.M. from University of Cologne, an EBS MBA and a Ph.D. in Business Administration from University St.Gallen and an accreditation as a German tax advisor, Tim has spent the last four years at the Head of Finance at Funke Mediengruppe GmbH & Co. KGaA (one of the largest media companies in Germany) managing the entire finance function, driving M&A processes and leading important restructuring efforts.

Previous to this, he has spent almost a decade at Linklaters and Clifford Chance, advising some of Germany’s household name family-owned companies and multinationals on cross-border transactions, including in the US.

As vivenu’s CFO, Tim will own the whole finance function at the company to support our rapid international growth. He will be preparing financial reports, plan and engage in major financial decisions and scale up all relevant tax and controlling topics of our organization.

In this interview, Tim reflects on why he joined vivenu, his first week with the company, and shares what he will be working on in the next months and years.

So Tim, why did you decide to join vivenu?

I have joined vivenu for a few reasons. First and foremost, I was extremely impressed by the founding team from the minute we met. The two Simons and Jens have built an impressive product and have proven more than just a product-market-fit. I also had the feeling that we share the same values and think very much alike. And, last but not least, I felt that with my experience, I can have a substantial impact on the company and our journey to become clearly the world’s leading ticketing solution.

How did vivenu recruit you?

Carlo, our VP Operations, introduced me to the founding team and from there we picked up the conversations.

What is your responsibility as the CFO?

As CFO, I am responsible for the finance function and oversee, among others, all tax, financing, accounting, reporting, FP&A and payroll related issues. Besides that I share my knowledge in setting up scalable processes as well as the implementation of, in particular, finance tools.

Is there anything that surprised you in your first days at vivenu?

I was warmly welcomed by a fantastic team and surprisingly I felt „at home“ after only a few days.

How do you spend your time outside of vivenu?

I’m a father of three little children and spend a lot of my free time, of course, with my fantastic family. Furthermore, I enjoy sports, especially running and cycling.

What event are you most looking forward to this year?

I guess the most I look forward to the marathon I am training for.

Tim, thank you for your time!