After an excellent journey of over 3 years at Ringier, our Group Chief Innovation and AI Officer Petra Ehmann decided to leave at the end of September 2025 to pursue new ventures. Going forward the current Innovation and AI team will be integrated into the existing Ringier divisions.
Petra`s tenure marked a pivotal era of progress, during which she architected a comprehensive and cohesive strategy to evolve our company’s capabilities: Petra successfully elevated innovation and product management to a unified approach by establishing a group-wide accelerator that empowers 130 companies and around 6,000 employees worldwide. Under her leadership, the company developed a high-value portfolio of strategic solutions and sharpened our efforts on high-impact AI initiatives, tailored to meet market needs and enhance our competitive edge.
As a dynamic and forward-thinking leader, Petra cultivated an excellent team that served as a center of excellence for the entire group. She leaves behind a powerful and lasting cultural impact: a culture defined by rapid prototyping, rigorous experimentation, and data-driven insights that empowered teams to innovate with confidence and speed.
Marc Walder, CEO at Ringier: “I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation for Petra’s outstanding tenure. Her impact at Ringier has been transformational: she brought a rare combination of strategic vision and high-paced execution that shaped how we approach innovation as a group. Petra’s energy and determination were infectious: She challenged us, inspired us, and consistently pushed us to achieve remarkable results. Her decision to pursue a new venture is a significant loss for us – on both a personal and professional level. We are immensely proud of what she built here. We wish Petra the absolute best for her next chapters.”
Petra Ehmann, Chief Innovation & AI Officer at Ringier: “It has been a privilege to lead innovation and AI for the Ringier group over the past years. I am deeply proud of what we have achieved together, laying strong foundations for the future across all our businesses – from media, to marketplaces, to sports media. Now is the right moment to pass the innovation torch to the individual companies and I am confident these efforts will continue to thrive. I will miss my incredible team, the family, the GEB and Marc whose leadership has meant so much to me, and I look forward to watching your continued success with great pride.”