Woom Bikes appointed Woom USA founder, Mathias Ihlenfeld, shown right, as the kids’ bike brand’s global CEO.
The company has also announced Paul Fattinger as CFO, and Martin Bartmann as its interim COO.
Ihlenfeld founded Woom Bikes USA in 2014, one year after the brand was first established in Austria. With a direct-to-consumer focus, Ihlenfeld said “We want to continue to grow and advance, while at the same time preserving the special spirit that defines Woom. For us, it’s still about one thing above all: conveying a love of cycling to children. That is our mission.”
Fattinger, Woom bikes’ new CFO, is a long-standing partner of financial group BDO Austria, which specialized in scaling companies. After career positions at KPMG and the Boston Consulting Group, Fattinger orchestrated the merger of Woom USA and Woom Europe into ‘one Woom,’ a global brand, for 2021. In his new role as managing director for finance and strategy, he is responsible for its financial structure and oversees strategic direction.
“In just under eight years, a garage start-up has become an international player,” said Fattinger. “We now want to ensure that this rapid development for Woom continues without growing pains.”
Bartmann, an IT specialist and international manager, is responsible for the company’s logistical processes and supply chain. He takes over this role from Guido Dohm, who will focus on the further development of Woom’s European production and assembly site in Świebodzin, Poland, as well as the automated production of bike frames and forks in Eastern Europe.
As part of the reorganization of the company’s executive team, its founders, Marcus Ihlenfeld and Christian Bezdeka, are stepping down from day-to-day operations, but remain shareholders in the company. Moving forward, they will focus their attention on the vision and long-term strategic development of the brand and product portfolio.
