The supervisory board of pferdewetten.de AG has appointed Frank Hartmann as chief financial officer and co-chief executive, with effect from 1 January 2027, according to a company statement dated 15 October 2026. Hartmann will share top leadership of the Düsseldorf betting group with Christian Gruber and will look after financial control, compliance, legal affairs and investor communication. The appointment places a former payments executive with BaFin-regulated business experience in a role that pairs financial oversight with legal and compliance duties.
Duties and leadership structure
Hartmann's brief covers financial control, compliance, legal affairs and investor relations, pferdewetten.de said. He will act as co-CEO alongside Christian Gruber. In the statement, the supervisory board said it "is looking forward to a successful cooperation" and wished Hartmann success. The release did not name a predecessor or state how the management board seats were allocated before Hartmann joins.
Transition period
Before formally joining the management board, Hartmann will assist the company on an advisory basis from mid-November 2026 through the end of the year. Pferdewetten.de did not specify the areas he will focus on during that period or whether the arrangement includes separate pay.
Professional and regulatory background
Pferdewetten.de described Hartmann as a qualified banking specialist who began his working life at Deutsche Bank. It said he has held CFO roles for many years and helped guide net mobile AG through its stock market debut and its later acquisition by NTT Docomo Inc. From 2014 to 2024 he worked as managing director and CFO of Payone GmbH, which the company called a leading payment provider in German-speaking markets. Because Payone operates as an e-money institution under BaFin supervision, the company said Hartmann is familiar with the demands of a regulated organisation through long experience. These biographical claims are taken from the company's announcement and have not been independently checked.
Company operations and regulatory scope
According to its own account, the Düsseldorf-based company has been in the betting business since 1997 and on the stock exchange since 2000. Its pferdewetten.de brand lets customers place wagers on flat, trotting and greyhound events across more than 40 nations. Since 2018 the group has also offered sports betting online and in stores through sportwetten.de. Bets are provided by the subsidiary netX Betting Ltd in Malta, which holds a licence from the Malta Gaming Authority and a permit under Germany's interstate gambling treaty. Hartmann's compliance and legal duties will sit within that existing framework.
Unanswered details
The announcement does not state how long Hartmann's contract runs, who previously held the CFO position, or whether co-CEO Christian Gruber's remit will change after 1 January 2027. Payment terms have not been published, and the exact scope of the mid-November advisory work remains unspecified.
