tonies-founders hand over to new CEO Tobias Wann

Luxembourg/Dusseldorf – November 2, 2023 – Today, the Supervisory Board of tonies SE, the largest interactive and screen-free audio platform for children with more than 5.3 million Tonieboxes sold worldwide, has appointed Tobias Wann as the new CEO of the group with effect as of January 1^st, 2024. After ten years, the two Co-founders and current Co-CEOs, Patric Faßbender and Marcus Stahl, step back from the operating business at their own request but remain associated with the company as senior advisors and second-largest shareholders. A move of the two founders to the Supervisory Board is not planned immediately but is being discussed for the future after a deliberate time-out.

Marcus Stahl and Patric Faßbender created a new category when they invented the Toniebox in 2013. Since then, they have led tonies to its position as love brand and market leader in the DACH region, where every second child now owns a Toniebox. tonies has consistently exceeded its growth targets and demonstrated the long-term profitability of its business model. Since 2018, the company has started to expand internationally and is now available in 24 countries on three continents with more to come. With more than 40 percent of revenues now coming from outside the DACH region, tonies has proven that children around the world love its products. Continuing to grow internationally and becoming a true global hero in children's rooms around the world is the next chapter in tonies' success story. This will happen with a new, specialized CEO leading into this era together with tonies’ existing and experienced leadership team.

Patric Faßbender on the change in management: “After a decade of imagining, building, and scaling tonies from our first idea to the largest interactive audio platform for children, Marcus and I believe the time has come for us to hand over the reins of management. We are happy to be able to initiate this process at this stage in tonies’ journey: We are at our strongest point yet and believe that the structures we have established will benefit from the valuable insights and skills of Tobias Wann. Our decision was not easy, but we know that this change is the logical next step to continue tonies’ success story: Despite its tremendous growth, tonies is still only at the beginning, and we are confident that Tobias is the right person to realize its full potential.”

The new CEO of tonies, Tobias Wann, has extensive experience in growing and expanding businesses on a global scale. Over the past twenty years, he has proven a track record of leading companies to international success. While the CEO captain is changing, the established and successful management crew remains on board: As of January, Tobias Wann will lead tonies together with his fellow board member Jan Middelhoff (CFO of tonies SE) supported by the unchanged leadership team.

“Tobias will be joining an excellent global team that has been instrumental in tonies’ success over the past decade and that will also ensure a smooth transition,” says Marcus Stahl. “With his international experience in successfully scaling digital businesses and as a former founder himself, he brings unique and relevant insights to our team. In Tobias, we have found not only an outstanding business leader, but also someone who understands tonies’ vision, shares our values, and understands the importance of the tonies culture.”

Anna Dimitrova, Chairperson of the Supervisory Board of tonies, states: “We are deeply grateful to our two founders whose passion and creativity have made tonies the successful brand it is today. Marcus Stahl and Patric Faßbender are true pioneers. They have succeeded in building a strong foundation for tonies that fulfils our mission of bringing joy and adventure to our young listeners, while building on the values of open-mindedness and empathy. We support their decision to set the course for further scalability and an even more international path for tonies. Retaining the wisdom of our founders as senior advisors and relying on our existing leadership team while adding the fresh perspective and experience of a new CEO is the best-case scenario for succession planning and will ensure continued success and growth for tonies.”

About tonies

tonies SE is the creator of an innovative, interactive, and screen-free audio platform for children. As a pioneer of connected, technology-enabled audio systems and a provider for curated audio content, it offers children a digital listening and storytelling experience that allows them to explore their creativity and imagination through intuitive interaction with the entertainment system. The intuitive and award-winning audio system has changed the way young children play and learn independently with its child-safe,wireless,and screen-free approach. Tonieboxes have been activated in over 100 countries, the content portfolio includes more than 700 Tonies figurines.