The Supervisory Board of German telecommunications company Freenet has appointed Robin John Andes Harries as new CEO and Executive Board member from 1 August 2025.
The appointment, initially for a 3-year term, follows the announcement by the long-standing CEO Christoph Vilanek that he will not renew his contract which runs until the end of 2025.
The future CEO Robin Harries (42, pictured) has been a member of the Management Board of NASDAQ-listed company Trivago since April 2024, having already held senior positions for the German technology company from 2012 to 2018.
Thanks to his many years of management responsibility as a member of the Executive Board and Managing Director of 1&1 Telecommunication and Drillisch Online from 2018 to 2024, where he was responsible for customer acquisition for all brands and products, Harries not only has excellent knowledge of the mobile communications market, but also extensive expertise in the areas of marketing, sales and digital transformation, according to Freenet.
“Robin John Andes Harries brings with him a wealth of industry-specific and strategic experience that will enable him to develop the company further and make it even more future- and profit-oriented. On behalf of the Supervisory Board, I wish the new CEO every success in developing the company,” said Marc Tüngler, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Freenet.
“I would also like to thank Christoph Vilanek for his successful and resilient leadership of the company over the past 16 years. Christoph Vilanek has led the company since 2009, transforming it from a pure mobile service provider into a company with two strong pillars: mobile communications and digital lifestyle services as well as TV and media,” added Tüngler.
Harries said: “I am very much looking forward to becoming CEO of Freenet AG and returning to the telecommunications industry. I am grateful for the confidence placed in me by the Supervisory Board. Freenet is an impressive and broadly based company with exciting prospects for the future. Together with the dedicated team, I look forward to seizing the opportunities and driving the company forward.”
Vilanek added: “I am delighted that Robin Harries is taking over responsibility for this great company. Along with this joy, I also feel a little melancholy today. Freenet has been my home and the centre of my life since 2009 and I will miss everything here.”
