Petra Ehmann, who currently serves as Chief Innovation Officer of the Ringier Group, will expand her responsibilities to include the group-wide coordination of AI initiatives effective on January 1, 2024. This expansion aims to further drive innovation and digital transformation across the company in all 19 Ringier countries.

Marc Walder, CEO Ringier AG: “In her new role as Chief Innovation & AI Officer, Petra will help the Ringier Group Executive Board to define and execute the Group’s AI strategy and coordinate AI efforts within the company. This strategic move reflects Ringier AG’s commitment to using AI to improve its products, services and operational efficiency. This organizational and strategic move underscores Ringier’s commitment to leveraging innovation and artificial intelligence (AI) as critical enablers for the company’s future.”

Petra Ehmann brings a wealth of experience and a proven track record in innovation and AI to her new role. Prior to joining Ringier AG as Chief Innovation Officer in September 2022, she spent nine years at technology giant Google. Most recently, she served as global head of product partnerships for Google Maps augmented reality products. Prior to that, she led new EMEA partnerships in Google’s Emerging Business Development Unit Ads & Commerce and held key positions at Google Maps in EMEA and Google Finance in EMEA and APAC. In January 2023, Petra Ehmann and her Ringier Innovation team launched Ringier X, a group-wide accelerator. Ringier X offers all Ringier employees a space to test, optimize and launch the most promising product ideas. The goal of Ringier X is to shape the future – today.

In addition to innovation, AI is a key topic for Ringier. At the SPEAK event (Ringier Annual Report Conference) in May 2023, Marc Walder announced that Ringier will leverage the power of AI to optimize content delivery, personalize the user experience and create innovative solutions that meet the evolving needs of its audiences and partners. To this end, the company has established AI guidelines that are binding across all countries in its Media, Sports Media and Marketplaces divisions, as well as an operational AI Board.

In addition, Ringier announced an AI Advisory Board at the end of August 2023 with international specialists in the field of artificial intelligence such as Anna Mossberg, a digitalization and technology expert as well as board member of Ringier AG, Volvo Cars, Swedbank AB, Swisscom AG and the global FMCG company Orkla ASA, Prof. Damian Borth, Director of the Institute for Computer Science at the University of St. Gallen and Full Professor for Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AIML), and Dr. Léa Steinacker, award-winning journalist, entrepreneur and co-founder of ada learning. The AI Advisory Board members will broaden the Ringier Group’s perspective on Gen AI and support the exchange on general developments and trends around Gen AI by leveraging their extensive international networks.

In her role as Chief Innovation and AI Officer, Petra Ehmann will report directly to Ringier Group CEO Marc Walder. She will collaborate closely with the members of the Group Executive Board and Ringier AG’s local CEOs, technology & data experts, and business units to collectively identify opportunities for AI integration, develop AI-driven solutions, and ensure the company maintains its leadership in AI innovation.

Petra Ehmann: “As Chief Innovation & AI Officer, I am excited to lead Ringier’s AI initiatives at the group level, across all 19 countries and 150+ brands. Improving the lives of millions of people with technology is not only personally gratifying for me as an ETH Zurich & Stanford trained engineer. It also allows me to leverage my professional experiences that I honed during my extensive journey at Google for nearly 9 years. Keen to shape Ringier’s future for the better — together.”

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About Ringier

Ringier is a Swiss media and technology company. The Group comprises around 140 companies in 19 countries, which operate a range of leading media brands, digital platforms, and marketplaces. Almost 80 percent of the operating profit comes from the digital business. This makes Ringier one of the leading media companies in Europe. The family business has been based on entrepreneurship, cooperation, innovation, trust and courage for 190 years.