Amadeus FiRe AG: Thomas Surwald will leave his position as a member of the management board of Amadeus FiRe AG at the end of the year

Frankfurt/Main, 12 October 2023: Thomas Surwald will leave his position as a member of the management board of Amadeus FiRe AG at the end of the year to take on new business challenges. As the responsible board member for the training, Thomas Surwald heads all training companies within Amadeus FiRe AG, including the Comcave Group, GFN and Steuer-Fachschule Dr. Endriss. Until further notice, Robert von Wülfing, CEO of Amadeus FiRe AG, will continue Mr. Surwald’s responsibilities. Robert von Wülfing was already directly responsible for the training segment in the group for several years before Thomas Surwald joined.

Thomas Surwald has been CEO of the Comcave Group, the market leader for subsidised training, since 2016. Thomas Surwald started his work at Amadeus FiRe AG at the end of 2019, when Comcave was fully acquired by Amadeus FiRe AG. Until then, Mr Surwald was also a shareholder of the Comcave Group. In November 2020, Thomas Surwald was appointed to the management board of Amadeus FiRe AG. GFN GmbH, a company specialised in the area of adult education in IT, has been acquired by Amadeus FiRe AG in 2020 on the initiative of Thomas Surwald. Thomas Surwald is also a minority shareholder to GFN GmbH. Steuer-Fachschule Dr. Endriss has been part of the Group’s training portfolio since 2001. Upon leaving the management board of Amadeus FiRe AG, Thomas Surwald will resign his management mandates for all training companies within the Group.

During his time at Amadeus FiRe AG, the Group’s training business was expanded with great success. Since Thomas Surwald took up his position as a member of the management board, Amadeus FiRe AG’s training business has grown significantly and profitably from € 90 million in revenue in 2020 to an expected revenue of around € 150 million  in 2023. All training companies are currently significantly ahead of the previous years in terms of both revenue and earnings (EBITA). The outstanding milestones of his commitment to Amadeus FiRe AG include the successful integration of the Comcave Group into the Group from 2019 and the comprehensive restructuring and targeted further development of GFN GmbH within Amadeus FiRe AG from 2020. In addition, the business models in training were digitalised under Thomas Surwald’s leadership. Dr.. Endriss has further expanded its leading position as a premium provider while significantly increasing profitability. Despite massive pandemic-related market declines in 2021 and 2022 and significantly changed market conditions in publicly funded training training in 2022, Thomas Surwald succeeded in giving all three companies strategic and entrepreneurial impetus, which today distinguishes them as Amadeus FiRe’s training segment as solid and fit for the future.

“Thomas Surwald has made a significant contribution by integrating the Comcave Group and GFN AG within the Amadeus FiRe Group and establishing a strong market position for our entire training division.
On behalf of the supervisory board, I would like to thank Mr Surwald for his achievements. Although I very much regret Mr Surwald’s decision, his decision has to be respected,” said Christoph Groß, chairman of the supervisory board of Amadeus FiRe AG.. “For the future, I wish Mr Surwald continued success entrepreneurially and all the best personally.”

Robert von Wülfing, chairman of the management board of Amadeus FiRe AG, adds: “The collaboration with Thomas Surwald on the management board was always characterised by open and interdepartmental cooperation. We were a real team. Thanks in part to his commitment in recent years, Amadeus FiRe’s training business is absolutely fit for the future. Thomas, I wish you nothing but the best for the future.”

“My time at Amadeus FiRe AG was special for me in several respects. Without the comprehensive trust that was placed in me by the supervisory board, within the management board, by the management team, by the employees, the co-determination bodies and by our customers and business partners, it would not have been possible to develop Amadeus FiRe’s education business. I am very grateful for this trust. I believe that the Comcave Group, GFN and Steuer-Fachschule Dr. Endriss are very well equipped for the future within Amadeus FiRe AG – the best possible time to take on new entrepreneurial challenges,” said Thomas Surwald.

Thomas Surwald joined Amadeus FiRe AG at the end of 2019 after Amadeus FiRe acquired the Comcave Group. As CEO and chairman of the management board, he had already been managing the Comcave Group, which was part of the Rivian Capital portfolio until its complete takeover by Amadeus FiRe, since 2016, as managing partner until the end of 2019. Before joining Comcave , Mr Surwald was a member of the management board of TecDAX-listed QSC AG from 2010 to 2015. Previous professional positions included member of the executive board of 1&1 Internet AG and member of the executive board of Unitymedia (now Vodafone). Thomas Surwald, born in 1968, studied industrial engineering (KIT) and is a senator of the Senate of German Business as well as a member of the Federal Economic Senate of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.