Change in Bookwire Management: Marlies Hebler leaves; Franziska Heger becomes Head of Product

Frankfurt, 16 April 2019 – Reorganization of key management positions is underway at Frankfurt digital services provider, Bookwire GmbH. Director Business Relations Marlies Hebler has chosen to leave both the executive management board and Bookwire, Franziska Heger is taking on the new role of Head of Product, and Barbara Zeppenfeld is sole Head of Account Management.

Marlies Hebler, Director Business Relations, has taken the decision to leave Bookwire GmbH on 30 April 2019, after five years in executive management: “I can look back on some defining and highly innovative years at Bookwire, and I am grateful to have been able to play a role in shaping the fate of the company with its competent and inspiring team”, says Hebler, who was responsible at executive management board level for the marketing and corporate communications departments, as well as Business Relations. “I have a desire to tackle something new again, but I will continue to follow the exciting new developments at Bookwire and its continued expansion, as a fan.” CEO Jens Klingelhöfer and Managing Director John Ruhrmann will take over Marlies Hebler’s areas of responsibility.

“Bookwire has continued to develop in recent years, from a digital distributor to a digital services provider in international publishing, as well as an innovator of new solutions for the publishing industry. Marlies Hebler has played a decisive role in shaping this path and our strong growth, for which I am very grateful. She was the perfect complement to John Ruhrmann and me as founders, and competently and tactfully helped to shape the profile of Bookwire in the eyes of both partners and clients. ‘Goodbye is not forever’, as the saying goes, and that’s how it is with Marlies Hebler”, says Jens Klingelhöfer, CEO of Bookwire GmbH.

The business, which is headquartered in Frankfurt am Main and has branches in Spain, Latin America, Brazil and the UK, is also reorganising key functions at management level – and preparing itself in terms of staffing for further innovations in the sphere of digitalisation in publishing.

Franziska Heger, who has until now worked together with Barbara Zeppenfeld as equal Head of Account Management, moved to the technology department of the business on 1 April 2019, where she now occupies the new position of Head of Product. As exclusive Head of Account Management, Barbara Zeppenfeld has since taken care of all matters in relationships with publishing clients from the spheres of eBooks, audiobooks and Print-on-Demand.

“In a few weeks’ time, we will be launching Bookwire OS, the next step in the evolution of our comprehensive software solution for publishers. For Bookwire, this means the logical next step towards an ‘operating system for digital publishing’, the leading ‘one solution’ for production, distribution, marketing and analysis. It is therefore the perfect time to create a new management position in the form of the Head of Product role that acts as an interface between the technology department and all other departments, and is strategically responsible for the further development of Bookwire OS. As a long-standing member of our management team, Franziska Heger is perfect for the role, because of her in-depth knowledge of the needs of our clients and our system”, says Jens Klingelhöfer about the new position.