Frankfurt, Germany, June 30, 2025
Schlafender Hase, the creator of TVT, the content verification tool built for regulated industries, today announced that Founder & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Frank Hessler will step down from his operational role effective June 30, 2025. Frank Hessler will remain deeply involved with the company as a member of the advisory board and through his ongoing commitment as majority shareholder.
“Building Schlafender Hase from a two-person startup into a trusted partner for the world’s most demanding life science brands has been the honour of my professional life,” said Frank Hessler. “Becoming a member of the board allows me to focus on strategic growth, M&A opportunities, and shareholder value while our outstanding leadership team keeps the growth momentum going.”
Over the past several years, the leadership team has expanded to include André Cerbe as co-Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Karthikeyan Pandiyan as Chief Technology Officer (CTO).
- André Cerbe – CEO. A coarchitect of Schlafender Hase’s recent double-digit revenue growth, André Cerbe will assume sole CEO responsibilities on July 1, 2025.
- Karthikeyan Pandiyan – CTO. In his new role, assumed earlier this year, Karthikeyan Pandiyan has spearheaded the creation of Schlafender Hase’s cloud-native version of TVT, which will underpin the next generation of cloud-based content assurance solutions.
“Frank’s vision and entrepreneurial spirit remain integral to our culture,” said André Cerbe. “As we take this next step, Karthik and I, are committed to driving innovation, and ensuring our customers’ experience remains the top priority. With Frank’s ongoing guidance, we’re excited to lead Schlafender Hase into a bold new chapter.”
This leadership transition marks the start of a new phase for Schlafender Hase. With Frank Hessler’s continued involvement at the board level, and a proven leadership team at the helm, the company is poised to accelerate global expansion, advance its SaaS strategy, and pursue high-impact opportunities that drive long-term value for customers and stakeholders alike.
About Schlafender Hase
Founded in 2001, Schlafender Hase developed TVT, the content verification platform trusted by health authorities and companies in regulated industries to catch errors that others miss. The Unicode-based technology detects invisible changes, formatting differences, and deviations across any file format or language – eliminating the risk of recalls and compliance failures. Headquartered in Frankfurt with an office in Boston, the company serves more than 6000 brand, labeling, marketing, quality assurance and regulatory professionals worldwide.
