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Ralf Biesemeier has been named managing director of Zebralution Audiobook, a German distributor of audiobooks and podcasts, taking over from Nils Hollmann.
Hollmann will leave the company after more than 11 years of service at the end of July. While Biesemeier officially took up his new position on 17th June, he and Hollman will jointly manage the division until Hollman’s departure.
Most recently, Biesemeier worked as an independent consultant for various international companies in the media, publishing and learning technology sectors, focusing particularly on strategic business development, process design and artificial intelligence.
Prior to this, in 2009, he founded readbox publishing GmbH, which he developed into a provider of software solutions and services for digital and physical content creation, as well as the marketing and distribution of content for book and magazine publishers. He sold the company in 2020.
Hollmann said: "I couldn’t be happier to hand over the business to such trustworthy hands as Ralf’s. Ralf brings both the professional and personal qualities that I wish for my team, my partners and the future of Zebralution. Combined with the visionary and entrepreneurial spirit essential for this role, he is the perfect successor for me. I feel immense gratitude for having positively influenced the audiobook market with an outstanding team and fantastic partners.
"I also thank Tina and Kurt for their full trust. After over a decade as part of Zebralution, I now look forward to exploring small islands in Southern Europe and diving into the world of artificial intelligence for the rest of the year, before reshuffling the deck in 2025."
Nils Hollmann has been part of the Zebralution group since 2012. As head, and later director, of sales and marketing, he led the company’s sales and marketing activities for music while simultaneously building the audiobook business globally. As part of the restructuring of the Zebralution group at the beginning of 2020, he was given overall responsibility for the audiobook and Lismio divisions as managing director.
Tina Jürgens, chief executive, said: "We thank Nils Hollmann for his tremendous commitment and enormous success. Zebralution Audiobook has a unique portfolio of services thanks to his innovative strength. Through his creative and strategic acumen, he has sustainably built and expanded Zebralution Audiobook and Lismio into highly successful divisions. With Ralf Biesemeier, we have found someone who can build on these successes and further expand them through his experience in publishing and tech."
Biesemeier said: "I am very much looking forward to working with the team to shape a successful future for the company, its employees and customers. Zebralution is excellently positioned in the audiobook sector. The market for publishing audiobooks changes continuously and dynamically. It is essential to pair the right channels with the right products internationally and to make the right decisions quickly despite increasingly complex requirements. I aim to build on our previous success and set up new ways to support publishers more comprehensively in producing content cost-effectively, and marketing and selling it better than ever before."