Management Team

Dr h.c. Albrecht Hauff has been the personally liable partner and CEO of the Thieme Group since 1990. Under his leadership, the company has evolved from a specialist publisher into a diverse digital healthcare service provider. Recognising the importance of digital transformation early on, the business administration graduate was committed to making medical knowledge reliable, understandable and accessible to all. In 2006, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Tübingen in recognition of his services, and he was also a long-standing member of the university council. He was also active in various media and publishing committees, including the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels (German Publishers and Booksellers Association), Deutsche Fachpresse (German Trade Press Association), International Association of Scientific, Technical and Medical Publishers, and the advisory and foundation boards of Deutsche Luftrettung (DRF). As a collector of modern art, he has supported the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart through serving on the board of the Friends of the Staatsgalerie, and he has been active on the board of the Friends of the Literaturhaus Stuttgart for many years. After more than three decades at the helm, he is now gradually handing over responsibility to his daughter, Joana, thus ensuring the continuation of the family tradition.

As Chief Transformation Officer, Joana Hauff is driving the consistent further development of the Thieme Group, with the aim of improving medicine by making it more personalised and inclusive, and utilising technological excellence to do so. Having been a member of the Thieme Advisory Board since 2014, she has held the position of Chief Transformation Officer since 2025, overseeing strategy, culture and transformation. The company she is aiming to shape will have one core focus: the needs of people. This includes healthcare workers, patients and employees. With this in mind, she is fostering a corporate culture that promotes diversity, openness, participation, and personal responsibility, all the while preserving the family tradition. A political sciences graduate, she previously worked with Médecins Sans Frontières and on charitable projects in Beirut and with the Berlin-based association Freunde fürs Leben (Friends for Life), where she raised awareness of depression and suicide prevention. This social commitment has shaped her belief that entrepreneurial activity should always be understood as a social responsibility. She believes that transformation is an ongoing process in which employees should play an active role so that Thieme can remain future-proof, culturally adaptable and socially relevant.

In her role as Chief Business & Innovation Officer, Katrin Siems is spearheading the Thieme Group's transformation into a technology company, with a clear focus on the market, growth, and customer orientation. She leads Thieme's Future Teams and is responsible for developing and marketing market offerings that are consistently tailored to customer needs based on data. She combines digital transformation with clear economic growth targets, strengthening the company's entrepreneurial performance through data-driven decision-making. Following training as a publishing manager and studying international management, she began her career as a management trainee at Springer Nature. International assignments in Denver, New York, Paris and Vienna shaped her early career, during which she drove the development of recurring B2B subscription revenue (ARR) and collaborated on digital product innovations. At De Gruyter and later at Beuth Verlag, she played a pivotal role in the digital transformation of medium-sized companies, holding management positions. During this time, she spearheaded the digital repositioning of key market offerings, established data-driven growth strategies, and developed the international B2B business. She has been a member of Thieme's management team since 2017, shaping the group's strategy with her entrepreneurial vision. Combining in-depth market knowledge with innovative strength, she enhances existing offerings and opens up new business areas, positioning Thieme for long-term success and sustainability.

As Chief Products & Solutions Officer, Martin Spencker is responsible for the Science division and, together with Katrin Siems, for Learning & Knowledge. In addition, he is engaged in Medical Data and Process Management in collaboration with her. The aim is to develop content and digital solutions that effectively support professionals in science and medicine. Since June 2025, he has also led the publishing team, strengthening the connection between print and digital offerings. After completing his training at Thieme and studying philosophy in Munich, he gained experience at national and international specialist publishing houses. He returned to Thieme in 1993 and headed the educational publishing division from 1999 onwards, providing impetus for innovative educational offerings. From 2019 onwards, he managed international business as Executive Vice President, clearly aligning the group with the needs of global markets. He has been a member of the management board since 2022. Combining quality content with practical solutions, he sees himself as a bridge builder between scientific standards, user-friendly implementation, and strategic future orientation.

As Chief Technology Officer, Elmar Weber oversees the technological development and digital transformation of the Thieme Group. A member of the management board since February 2025, he heads IT and the eProduct Governance and Solutions division. He began developing software at a young age and later studied computer science in Paderborn. After spending several years as a freelance developer and consultant for clients such as SAP, HolidayCheck, and Heidelberger Druckmaschinen, he founded a start-up in 2013 and successfully established it. In 2018, he became the CTO of the medtech startup Amboss. He led Amboss into a new phase of growth, expanding its product organization to 150 employees. Most recently, he served as interim CTO at Morressier, where he promoted the use of AI in scientific publishing. He focuses on using technology as a strategic tool to create sustainable solutions and establish structures that enable product teams to work in an agile, independent, and innovative manner.

Dr Dietmar Scheja has been the Thieme Group's Chief Financial Officer (CFO) since 2025. He has focused on further developing the financial organisation, digitising commercial processes, and using modern technologies to ensure the group's future success. Dr Scheja, who holds a Doctorate in Business Administration, has many years of management experience in transforming financial and organisational structures. Since 2020, he has undertaken interim management roles at various companies, including Charité CFM GmbH, Innok Robotics GmbH and Argen Dental GmbH. Prior to this, he worked at the Melitta Group for many years, where he established a central finance organisation in his role as managing director of the Business Service Centre. Together with his team, he harmonised processes, modernised the IT infrastructure, and significantly increased efficiency. At Thieme, Dr Scheja aims to create financial structures that promote transparency and flexibility while enabling sustainable growth.