Dear readers,
Those who know themselves well can not only appear confident but also develop and sell their service offerings on a sound basis. Against this background, the year 2026 stands under the motto „identify AS ONE“ as a milestone within our 2030 strategy. We therefore used March intensively to strengthen the networks within and knowledge about the group.
In the HR development program for junior managers and during the team workshop at the corporate headquarters, the smallest unit was the focus when identifying personal strengths and skills, or „bottom-up“ as it's called in modern German: the individual. More on this in the current newsletter. In parallel, our companies are working on concretizing their brand cores and sharpening their brand values. We will also present these results to you in the coming weeks here.
Two colleagues from the company, whom we identified as role models in a social media special for International Women's Day, have relied on their own strengths. We are pleased to also introduce Ingrid and Marième in this format. A third interesting personality and appointment is Holger Mennigmann, who will join the management of IB Nordhorn starting April 1, 2026.
The topic of innovation is again of outstanding importance for our group this month, and we are happy to report on that as well.
With energetic greetings
Your Thomas Biedermann and Dr. Fabian Fechner
InnovationCircle.
At the beginning of March, the new RWTÜV InnovationCircle, organized by RWTÜV Innovation Manager Anika Corte, took place for the first time. The managing directors and innovation managers of the RWTÜV Group's subsidiaries met in a virtual meeting via MS Teams.
The InnovationCircle ensures a continuous exchange on this important topic. New ideas, technological trends, and potential innovative services are regularly put under the microscope. This allows for joint evaluation of opportunities, discussion of feasibility, and quick identification of synergies within the group.
Even in this first meeting, a very open, constructive exchange took place regarding practical approaches with which the RWTÜV subsidiaries can further develop their services and thus offer their customers real added value.
RWTÜV Managing Director Thomas Biedermann comments: „This exchange is so important and valuable to us. Innovation thrives on diversity, different perspectives, industry knowledge, and experience. The RWTÜV InnovationCircle unites precisely this strength and thus creates a space where the future is shaped. We look forward to the next meeting on April 17, 2026, and to many more inspiring sessions to advance bold ideas together.“
Development Program.
From March 9th to 11th, 2026, the first in-person event for the so-called „Development Program“ took place in Cologne, the current further education offering for junior executives of the RWTÜV Group.
The colleagues from the various subsidiaries used three intensive days to improve their leadership skills. The focus was on topics such as self-leadership, understanding the role of a leader, communication and conflict management, as well as the transition from personal self-organization to leading employees.
In addition to professional insights and practical exercises, the exchange across departmental boundaries offered great added value. Different perspectives and varied discussions characterized the diverse program. Participants gained the realization that leadership begins with one's own attitude and matures through dialogue with others. Development coach Wibke Schindler praised the all-encompassing commitment of those present: „It's wonderful to witness how young leaders are increasingly perceiving their role clearly. How they focusedly reflect on topics such as self-management and responsibility, and deepen and apply them in real case studies.“
In his closing remarks, Thomas Biedermann thanked everyone involved for their openness, constructive exchange, and enriching shared days. „We are delighted that the concept, which we planned beforehand with a mix of virtual and in-person modules, is proving so successful in practice. Fully in line with our move AS ONE strategy, we are thus strengthening not only personal competencies but also individual networks and cooperation throughout the entire Group.“ The initiative will continue in mid-April with a „Connect Call.“.
International Women's Day.
March 8 was International Women’s Day. The RWTÜV Group has been promoting equality and equal rights within the company for years and regularly uses this day to reflect on its own activities and review its results. For RWTÜV, International Women’s Day isn’t just about March 8—it’s about every day: listening, observing, and taking action.
At the RWTÜV Group, nearly 46 % of the employees are women. This provides a strong foundation for genuine opportunities, confident visibility, and a commitment to a workplace where women can pursue their careers without restrictions.
Attention for this important topic should also be generated by the short campaign on LinkedIn organized by social media manager Kim Tran and developed with colleagues at the corporate headquarters. It opened with individual statements and addressed the compatibility of family and career, the desire for more women in leadership positions, and the self-confidence to be effective even without being loud.
The heart of the campaign was the look at two women from the RWTÜV Group who follow their own path with passion and courage.
Marième: Stay open to life's adventures!
One of them is Marieme N'Doye, colleague of the Ingenieurbüro Nordhorn, who encourages taking the scenic route: She describes her passion for language and storytelling as a starting point for a journey and as the reason she entered journalism. She remained open to change and discovered her enthusiasm for marketing during her studies, as it allowed her to combine creativity and strategy and use words purposefully to bring brands to life. She didn't see her switch to marketing as a break, but as a consistent development of her strengths. Today, she works with joy in this field. Her most important lesson: Career paths don't have to be linear. It's okay to change plans, seize opportunities, and reorient yourself. Her message: „Stay open to life's adventures. You never know where your path will lead you!“
Ingrid: Challenge yourself and benefit from support
The career path of Ingrid van Bommel from Van Ameyde shows what really matters. She recommends a strong foundation as the basis for success. Early on, she harnessed her analytical strengths and invested in high professional standards, earning a CA certification along the way and thereby laying a foundation that continues to support her career to this day. For her, lifelong learning is a fundamental mindset; professional development is not an extra, but part of the journey. By moving between industries and roles, Ingrid has consciously cultivated diverse perspectives. Her decisions are clearer today because she can draw strength from a wide range of experiences. Above all, however, Ingrid is grateful to two mentors: „Their encouragement and support inspired and motivated me, and the open dialogue with them shaped my path.“” Today, as Chief Financial Officer, Ingrid embodies a leadership style based on trust, support, and the freedom to shape her own path. She passes on what has benefited her personally. Her journey makes it clear: Successful careers flourish where people support one another, are allowed to grow, and can realize their full potential.
Marième and Ingrid are great examples of how RWTÜV envisions career paths for women within the company group.
Succession planning.
Holger Mennigmann will join the management team at IB Nordhorn starting April 1, 2026. Klaus Nordhorn, who founded the company 30 years ago, is thus preparing for an orderly succession and a seamless transition for his retirement in 2027. In the meantime, he and Holger Mennigmann will lead IB Nordhorn GmbH & Co. KG together.
Holger Mennigmann brings extensive experience—gained over three decades—in energy, building, and plant engineering, as well as extensive leadership skills. In addition to his technical expertise, he has a broad network in the energy and real estate industries. Above all, Holger Mennigmann will drive the further development of IB Nordhorn within the RWTÜV Group.
The IB Nordhorn teams at the Münster, Berlin, and Hamburg locations are focused on jointly strengthening their position as a quality-oriented building services engineering firm. To this end, they are also leveraging synergies within the corporate group. Dr. Fabian Fechner, Managing Director of RWTÜV GmbH, comments: „We are pleased to have gained an experienced and competent managing director in Holger Mennigmann to consistently capitalize on growth opportunities in building services engineering.“
Team Workshop
In order to provide constructive and success-oriented support to the companies of the RWTÜV Group, a structured organizational setup and well-organized workflows at the Group headquarters are essential. In mid-March, Dr. Fabian Fechner and Thomas Biedermann therefore deliberately focused on all employees and the holding company’s responsibilities during a joint team workshop.
This is because the number of tools, especially digital ones, has grown in recent years, colleagues have left or joined, processes have changed, and the range of tasks has expanded. Under the guidance of development coach Wibke Schindler and with the help of the analysis tool Profile Dynamics®, a joint reflection took place on how individual behaviors can best be aligned, how the workflow and also personal well-being at work and in the team can be optimized. With openness and acceptance, different working and thinking styles were made visible, and concrete approaches were developed to promote constructive teamwork. Dr. Fechner is certain: „This was a very valuable exchange, very much in the spirit of move AS ONE, also here in the Holding company. I thank all our employees for their openness, and I am sure that these impulses will be very helpful for our continued development together.“
Impulse tag.
RWTÜV’s affiliate, isn – innovation service network, participated in the digital.tirol keynote day on March 19 as part of Tyrolean Innovation Week 2026. The event focused on artificial intelligence and how it is fundamentally transforming the economy, society, and organizations. Digital transformation was explored in a practical and well-founded manner from various perspectives through panels, workshops, and keynote presentations featuring AI case studies and real-world experiences from the business world. digital.tirol is a regional network dedicated to advancing digital development in Tyrol.
Reinhard Willfort and the isn team presented their AI services at the event. Willfort commented: „I am particularly pleased to see the great interest in a structured yet pragmatic approach to artificial intelligence. This is exactly what we are focused on in the European Digital Innovation Hub (EDIH) „Crowd in Motion AI,“ a consulting and service offering without administrative effort or costs. We aim to meet companies where they are and quickly get things done together. The AI Sprint is just one example of how quickly concrete, testable solutions can emerge from ideas – without long lead times, but with a clear focus on real added value. My appeal to all companies: Just start. isn is a member of the EDIH, a consortium of non-profit research and technology organizations, innovation accelerators, crowd platform providers, and digital fabrication labs from the Austrian digital innovation landscape. Within the RWTÜV Group, isn – innovation service network also offers consulting and support to all its subsidiaries in innovation processes and regarding AI utilization in the spirit of move AS ONE.