Oliver Grün, PhD. is a German engineer and entrepreneur. He is the founder and CEO of GRÜN Software Group GmbH in Aachen and President of the Federal Association IT-Mittelstand eV Since 2015 he has also been President of the European DIGITAL SME Alliance aisbl. in Brussels.
Biography Oliver Grün, PhD.
DPhil Oliver Grün, born in 1969, is the founder and majority shareholder of GRÜN Group as well as president of the Federal Association IT-Mittelstand eV and President of the IT-Mittelstand-Europaverband European DIGITAL SME Alliance. For many years he has worked as a consultant for politics, business and science, for example through long-term appointments to digital advisory boards of the federal government and the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia.
In his scientific career based on the principle of lifelong learning, Grün first completed his studies in engineering in 2001, then did a double doctorate in the field of business informatics and is the author of several publications over the years.
As early as 1989, the family man, who now lives in Belgium, founded his current IT group GRÜN Group, which now employs around 500 people in 18 companies. Grün remains a co-founder of the non-profit operator of the donation platform. betterplace.org, now Germany's largest donation portal on the Internet. In addition to the family, his greatest interest is sailing.
| 2017 - today | Chairman of the Board of the digitalHUB Aachen eV |
| 2015 - today | President of European DIGITAL SME Alliance, the European Association of IT SMEs in Brussels |
| 2011 - today | Managing Partner of GRÜN IT Group GmbH |
| 2010 - today | President and CEO of the Federal Association IT-Mittelstand eV (BITMi), Aachen / Berlin |
| 2009 - today | Co-founder and founding shareholder of gut.org gAG, Berlin, operator of the donation platform betterplace.org |
| 2007 - today | Co-managing director in various subsidiaries GRÜN Software Group GmbH |
| 1989 - today | Founder, majority shareholder and CEO of the GRÜN Software Group GmbH (from 1989 to 1992 as a sole proprietorship), Aachen |
| 2013 - 2025 | member of Advisory Council of the Federal Government "Young Digital Economy" |
| 2017 - 2022 | member of Advisory Council Digital Economy of the NRW State Government |
| 2008 - 2013 | Second Promotion, Comenius University, Bratislava; Focus: business informatics, dissertation topic: requirements management & knowledge-based model for software implementation; PhD supervisor Assoc. Prof Michal Gregus, PhD; Doctoral examination 2013, title Doctor of Philosophy in Economics (PhD.) with entitlement to teach |
| 2005 | Award at the IT Innovation Award, Hanover; Category knowledge management for knowledge-based model for software implementation |
| 2004 - 2005 | Promotion, Comenius University, Bratislava, Major: Business Informatics, Thesis topic: Knowledge-based model for software implementation; Doctoral Assistant Assoc. Prof. Michal Gregus, PhD., Doctoral Exam 2005, Doctor of Philosophy in Economics |
| 2004 - 2007 | Founder and head of the sole proprietorship GRÜN Business Services Slovakia, Bratislava; Second home in Bratislava, Slovakia |
| 1995 | Awarded the European Software Marketing Award, Hannover |
| 1990 - 2001 | Education, RWTH University, Aachen; Main focus: civil engineering, structural engineering Diploma examination 2001, diploma in engineering |
| 2023 - today | member of Board of Trustees of the RWTH Aachen University Foundation |
| 2019 - today | member of Advisory Board of the Aachen University Medicine Foundation |
| 2019 - today | Member of the steering committee of the initiative IT security in the BMWK economy |
| 2016 - today | member of Economic forum of the FDP federal party as a party independent expert |
| 2016 - today | Member of Advisory Board for Economy of the Gesellschaft für Informatik (GI) the Society for Computer Science, Bonn |
| 2015 - today | Board member of the Luisenhospital Aachen Support Association and member of the Evangelical Hospital Association of Aachen from 1867 as sponsor of the Luisenhospital |
| 2015 - today | member of Senate of the German Industrial Research Association Konrad Zuse eV |
| 2014 - today | Member of Federal Economic Senate of the Federal Association of Small Business, Berlin |
| 2023 | Jury member Digital X Award 2023 Telekom and BVMW |
| 2017 - 2022 | Platform member “Digital economy and digital work” at the federal government's digital summit, Berlin |
| 2016 - 2021 | Member of the Managing Board of the European Cyber Security Organization (ECSO), Brussels |
| 2017 - 2020 | Member of the Governing Board of the Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition of the European Commission, Brussels |
| 2008 - 2018 | Jury member of the IT Innovation Award the Initiative Mittelstand |
| 2016 - 2017 | Jury member for the announcement of the "German Internet Institute " for the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Berlin |
| 2014 - 2015 | member of CDU commission "Work of the future - future of work", CDU Germany, Berlin, as a party independent expert |
| 2014 | Jury member "Germany's digital heads“Of the GI on the initiative of the Federal Ministry of Education, Berlin |
| 2012 - 2015 | Full member of the working group 1 on IT Summit, Federal Ministry of Economics, Berlin |
| 2011 - 2014 | Appraiser for the sponsorship competition usability in small and medium-sized enterprises within the framework of the Initiative Mittelstand Digital, Federal Ministry of Economics, Berlin |
| 2011 - 2015 | Member of the Supervisory Board of SOPTIM AG, Software Company, Aachen / Essen |
| 2005 - 2010 | Member of the Audit Committee of the IHK Aachen to IT-Professionals Training, Aachen |
