APEX Group appointed Axel Funke (58) effective January 1, 2024. As Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Axel Funke will be responsible for project management and engineering and will drive forward the expansion of expertise and reliability in the project implementation stage. As part of its growth strategy, APEX Group is expanding its management team from five to six members.

Axel Funke has more than 30 years of experience in plant engineering with a special focus on the energy sector. Since 2021, he has been Head of Business Line Integrated Projects in the Technology division of Bilfinger SE, where he was responsible for Sales & Business Development, Project Management, Engineering, Quality Assurance, Assembly & Service, as well as the strategic development of the business unit in the Green Hydrogen, Energy Efficiency and Process Plant Project Development segments. Previously, he was Project Director at thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions, where he was instrumental in the design of the HyLIOS project, which comprises the delivery of a 2.2 GW electrolysis plant for one of the world's largest green hydrogen production projects in Neom, Saudi Arabia.

Axel Funke was also Project Director and a member of the management team in the Engineering Division at Linde AG, where he had overall responsibility for project management, engineering, procurement and installation of major international projects in the areas of petrochemical plants, natural gas plants and hydrogen and synthesis gas plants. At MAN AG, he was furthermore Head of Project Management and Senior Executive Manager, responsible for the planning and implementation of various power plant projects. Funke holds a degree in mechanical engineering from the Technical University of Munich and a degree in industrial engineering from the Lahr University of Applied Sciences.

The appointment of Axel Funke as CTO completes the management team of APEX. Following the recent appointment of Bert Althaus as CFO, the management team is now staffed with top personnel across all areas. Apex's new management team will thus be comprised of Peter Rößner (Chief Executive Officer), Bert Althaus(Chief Financial Officer), Axel Funke (Chief Technology Officer), Gunnar Krüger (Chief Business Devepment Officer), Bojan Petrov (Chief Operating Officer) and Dr. Peter Sponholz (Chief Research Officer).