- Dr. Roland Folz will retire from his position as CEO effective April 30, 2023
- Successor Carsten Höltkemeyer starts as CEO designate on November 1, 2022
- Solaris will continue its course towards profitability and strengthen its competitive position in the embedded finance market
Berlin — 27. October 2022. Solaris, Europe's leading embedded finance platform, today announced that Dr. Roland Folz, Chief Executive Officer of Solaris, will retire from his position effective April 30, 2023. He will be succeeded by Carsten Höltkemeyer, previously Chairman of the Supervisory Board of auxmoney. Höltkemeyer, who will join as CEO designate and member of the Management Board on November 1, 2022, will orchestrate a smooth transition in the coming months in close cooperation with Folz.
It has been a privilege serving as CEO of Solaris. Looking back on my six years, I see an eventful growth story. I was fortunate to lead the company from being an innovative startup into an international market leader. Now is the right time to write the next chapter with a new CEO at the helm. The progress we have made in 2022 lays the foundation for strong performance in the coming years under Carsten’s proficient leadership. I am grateful to the supervisory board, the management board and all Solarians for their support and dedication over the past years, and want to thank them as well as our loyal business partners.Dr. Roland Folz, CEO of Solaris.
Solaris is in the midst of an exciting transformation phase. Following the acquisition of Contis and expansion into the three largest European markets, the premiere Banking-as-a-Service specialist recently published its 2021 financial statements and announced new important partners such as ADAC and Paycell. These partnerships underline the company’s strategy to focus on the emerging embedded finance market, enabling established corporations with large ecosystems. Additionally, Solaris has set its course to achieve profitability and strengthen the company's resilience.
After years of impressive growth and a stellar trajectory, Solaris has established itself as the leading platform for embedded finance in Europe. In recent months, the Solaris team has steered the company well through a challenging market and paved the way for the next phase of growth. I am honored and excited to have the opportunity to lead this outstanding company as CEO going forward. I look forward to working closely with my new colleagues in all our markets. Together, we will strengthen our competitive positioning and create long-term value for all of our partners.Carsten Höltkemeyer, CEO designate of Solaris.
Höltkemeyer's extensive career in the banking and fintech industry has included several positions in investment and retail banking, consumer finance, and the credit card industry. An experienced entrepreneur with a strong focus on transformative growth and reorganization, he most recently served as CFO at Nets Group and Concardis. Höltkemeyer also spent ten years at Barclaycard, where he was CEO of the German market. With his move to Solaris, he hands over the chairmanship of the supervisory board at auxmoney to Ben Langworthy, Senior Managing Director at Centerbridge Partners, and remains an ordinary member of the supervisory body.
I want to thank Roland for building Solaris into the company it is today, and positioning it so well for years to come. As we hand over the baton to Carsten in the coming months, we will build on this strong heritage and start writing the next chapter of Solaris. I am delighted that we have been able to attract such a high-profile executive as successor. As a proven industry expert with extensive experience in working with international corporate clients, Carsten was the candidate of choice for the position as Solaris' future CEO. The supervisory board and I are very much looking forward to a fruitful collaboration and will fully support a smooth transition process.Ramin Niroumand, Chairman of the Supervisory Board at Solaris.
Solaris is Europe’s leading embedded finance platform empowering the future of financial services. The tech company enables businesses to easily provide trusted and innovative financial experiences to their customers. Through smart APIs, partners can embed financial services quickly and compliantly into their own product offerings. Solaris is headquartered in Berlin and employs over 750 people at eight locations in Europe and in India. Combined net revenue in 2021 exceeded 100 million euros, representing growth of over 90 percent year-on-year.