IGEL Leadership

Klaus Oestermann is the Chief Executive Officer of IGEL Technology – The Secure Endpoint OS for Now & Next. Since joining IGEL in 2023, Klaus has been the driving force behind the significant growth and repositioning the company as a key leader in endpoint security with the IGEL Preventative Security Model™.

Klaus is known for his exceptional ability to combine strong team-building skills with financial acumen, along with expertise in go-to-market (GTM) strategy, product positioning, product development, and strategic partnerships.  Prior to his role at IGEL, Klaus served as the CEO of Bluerock Systems. He is perhaps best known for his 18-year tenure at Citrix Systems, where he held various key executive roles. For the past 11 years, he served as the company’s Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Networking Division, where he played a crucial role in shaping the company’s strategic direction and enhancing its market position. Klaus’s career began at IBM, where he built a strong foundation in technology, before going on to serve as the CEO of CMA Systems.

In addition to his executive roles, Klaus has been an active figure in the Silicon Valley startup ecosystem, contributing as an investor, advisor, and board member to several breakthrough innovation companies. His involvement spans a diverse range of innovative firms, including The Fabric Venture Funds, Mesh7 (VMware), Iotium (View), Zigna (eSoft), Rancher Labs (SUSE), Spanugo (IBM), CloudVolumes (VMware), and Cotendo (Akamai).

As Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Thomas leads the company’s financial strategy, overseeing and optimizing all aspects of financial operations to drive growth and sustainability. With more than 30 years of experience in finance and leadership roles, he has built a strong reputation for helping organizations achieve their financial objectives and navigate complex business challenges.

Before joining IGEL, Before joining IGEL, Thomas served as CFO for several manufacturing and technology companies, where he honed his expertise in financial planning and analysis, budgeting, mergers and acquisitions, and risk management. His extensive background in these areas has enabled him to deliver strategic financial solutions that support long-term corporate success.

Thomas holds a Bachelor of Arts (HONS) in Finance and Accounting from Metropolitan University of Leeds, a Diplom Betriebswirt (FH) from the University of Applied Sciences in Bremen, Germany, and an MBA from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland. His comprehensive academic and professional credentials, combined with his hands-on experience, make him a highly effective leader in driving IGEL’s financial performance.

As Chief Technology Officer at IGEL Technology, Matthias Haas spearheads the development of strategic technology partnerships and oversees the company’s hardware and software portfolio. With over 20 years of experience in the IT industry, Haas designs solutions tailored to the specific needs of IGEL’s customers while ensuring adaptability to the dynamic global market. His focus is on delivering solutions that optimize the efficiency of IGEL’s customers’ endpoint operations. In collaboration with leading technology partners such as Citrix, Microsoft, Omnissa, and Island, Matthias plays a key role in providing innovative managed workspace solutions. Prior to joining IGEL in 2007 as a software developer, he spent six years as a Linux software developer at Linogate, a company specializing in Linux-based internet security appliances.

Matthias holds a degree in Computer Science (Dipl.-Inf. (FH)) from the University of Applied Sciences Augsburg.

Jeff Mitchell serves as IGEL’s chief revenue officer (CRO). He brings to IGEL deep expertise and proven leadership in the End-User Computing (EUC) market. He is known for his strong combination of strategic vision and operational excellence, driving growth, innovation, and strategic partnerships in areas such as Mobile Device Management (MDM), Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM), and Digital Employee Experience (DEX).

Before joining IGEL, Mitchell served as CRO for Aisera and Nexthink. Prior to that, he was a senior vice president responsible for VMware’s rapid expansion into EUC and drove sales at AirWatch that was acquired by VMware. His work has included scaling revenue beyond $1 billion and establishing partnerships with tech giants like HP, Lenovo, key software partners and Global System Integrators.

Jeff holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services from the University of Indianapolis School of Business.

As IGEL’s Chief Customer Success Officer, Irfan oversees all aspects of the company’s Customer Experience, ensuring that customers maximize the value of IGEL products and achieve their desired outcomes more efficiently. With over 20 years of expertise in End User Computing (EUC), Workspace Management, Virtualization, and Mobility, Irfan brings extensive experience to IGEL. He previously held senior management roles leading global Customer Success and Services teams at AppSense, Ivanti, and Agari. Irfan has a strong track record of driving growth, increasing customer retention, and delivering measurable results, all while passionately championing Customer Success as a key driver of organizational growth.

Anja brings over 20 years of experience as a corporate lawyer.  She served as the General Counsel of the M-DAX listed Scout24 AG, a leading online platform provider for real estate and cars.  During her time at Scout24 Group, she held multiple roles with diverse responsibilities, including establishing the legal department at AutoScout24, serving as the group’s data protection officer, and overseeing corporate, commercial, compliance, and data protection matters as General Counsel. Prior to joining IGEL, Anja worked with technology companies in the internet and telecommunications sectors. She is the experienced leader of our modern Legal & Compliance Department, providing pragmatic guidance to support business growth.

Lars Ziegler is the Chief Information Officer (CIO) at IGEL, where he leads the company’s global IT strategy and operations. With over 15 years of experience in IT leadership, digital transformation, and enterprise architecture, Lars is committed to driving innovation and delivering secure, scalable IT solutions that align with IGEL’s strategic goals.

Before joining IGEL, Lars served as Deputy CIO at FTI Touristik GmbH, where he successfully implemented AI-driven automation systems and led a large-scale Azure migration to improve business continuity and efficiency. Prior to that, he was Director of IT Demand & Application Management at TeamViewer, where he played a key role in preparing the company for its Initial Public Offering (IPO) by modernizing IT systems and deploying Dynamics 365 globally. Lars began his career as IT Manager at STAUFEN.AG, where he led cloud transitions and ERP system implementations across multiple international branches.

John Walsh is a recognized expert in cybersecurity architectures and frameworks for government, FinServ, Manufacturing, Retail/Transportation & OT/IoTsectors. He is responsible for leading IGEL’s GTM efforts across these verticals.

John has held senior leadership positions at both publicly traded and privately held companies, including SVP of Strategy & Business Development at BlueRock Systems Inc., Chief Strategy and Technology Officer at BlackRidge Technology International, SVP of the Secure Products Group at Analog Devices (NYSE), President of Sypris Electronics (formerly Honeywell, NASDAQ), and President of Ducommun Technologies (NASDAQ).  In these roles, he developed strategies to achieve objectives for government and commercial sectors by co-innovating and operationalizing technology, building teams, and implementing the structures necessary for execution.

He sits on several institutional advisory boards w/r to Cyber Security/Resilience, and holds 15 patents with patents pending in cyber related technologies.

Jason is an expert in digital identity, authentication, and edge security technologies, with over 20 years of experience in creating and delivering market-leading enterprise and SaaS security solutions. He specializes in helping customers and partners address end-user device security challenges, driving the adoption of new technologies and integrations to meet evolving field needs.

With a proven track record of enabling technology ecosystems and reducing security risks at the edge, Jason has held leadership roles in both startups and established firms. He was part of the founding team at Tausight, a healthcare security startup, and previously held leadership positions at Imprivata, where he drove the market success of the OneSign Authentication Management and VDA solutions. Jason also contributed to RSA’s security solutions as a systems engineer and product manager early in his career.

Jason holds a B.S. from the University of Connecticut and several patents in authentication and security software.

Maner has decades of experience in the EUC and cloud computing industry. At Nutanix, as the Chief Commercial Officer, he has been instrumental in the hybrid multi cloud transition of the company as the market leader. He currently leads global go-to-market ecosystems, business, and corporate development efforts. Before joining Nutanix, he served as Chairman and CEO at Nexenta Systems, Inc., a leader in open source-based Software Defined Data Centre, leading the organization from its open-source community-centric startup state to hybrid cloud and high-performance computing enterprise market leadership through its acquisition by DataDirect Networks (DDN) in May 2019.

Prior to Nexenta, he was the President and CEO at Wyse Technology, the inventor of Cloud Client Computing segment one of the leading virtual desktop computing pioneers acquired by Dell in 2012. He also held executive roles at Dell, CA Technologies, IBM, and Sterling Software. Tarkan serves and has served on the boards of several market leading organizations including Invicti, Teradici, CloudCheckr, Wheels, and leading non-profit organizations and associations in Silicon Valley, including Silicon Valley Leadership Group. Tarkan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering management from Istanbul Technical University, an MBA from Midwestern State University and an AMP from Harvard Business School.

In his role as Executive Chairman, Bill Veghte brings to IGEL decades of experience in operating system development and broader commercial and technical leadership in software. Bill managed the engineering and ultimately the business of Windows across a variety of versions and instantiations from from the client to the server to embedded versions as a program manager, as a General Manager and ultimately as an SVP. He led Microsoft’s North American Sales, Services and Marketing. He was EVP of HP’s Enterprise business and was COO for HP. He has advised and served a variety of early and late stage companies from board chair to CEO advisor from Xero to Mural, SurveyMonkey to Turbonomic, View to Venafi. He is founder and managing partner of AthenePartners that partners with CEOs like Klaus and leading investors like TA to transform companies and industries. Bill holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University.

John is a Managing Director at TA Associates with more than 24 years of experience in the private equity industry. During his tenure, he played a key role in the firm’s growth, including over six years focused on expanding TA’s London office. John has sponsored 24 investments, including 12 international deals, and has been involved in over 20 investments totaling more than $2.5 billion in equity capital. His expertise spans sectors such as financial technology, software, internet, and medical devices, with investments across Europe, India, the U.S., and Asia.

In addition to his investment work, John served as co-head of TA’s North America Technology Group and was a member of the firm’s Management, Portfolio, and Core Investment Committees. As an active partner, he contributed to TA’s strategic direction and investment decisions. Known for identifying high-growth opportunities, John has built a reputation for collaborating closely with management teams to drive long-term value.

He holds a BS degree, with Distinction, in Mathematics from Yale University.

Stefan is a Director at TA Associates, where he focuses on investments in technology and financial services companies across the EMEA region. Additionally, he leads TA’s investment efforts in German-speaking countries, spanning multiple sectors. With a strong track record in the private equity space, Stefan has been instrumental in identifying and executing investments that drive growth and create lasting value.

Stefan holds a BA in Business Administration from the University of St. Gallen (HSG).

Mr Gloge is a pillar of the international endpoint community. After starting with Melchers in 1988, he was made General Manager of their NetCom division, which in 2001 became the independent daughter company, IGEL Technology GmbH. He was one of the founders of the “European Endpoint Forum” in 2002 and later chairman of the working group “Endpoint & Server Based Computing” in Germany’s influential IT industry association BITKOM, where he is still a member of the executive board. A native of North Germany, Mr. Gloge originally studied Computing at different institutions.

Nicolas Helms is Executive Partner at Melchers Group, parent company of IGEL Technology GmbH. Originally from Bremen, he has worked in six different countries on four continents, where he has gained extensive experience in international business. In 1994 he was named Director of Melchers Hong Kong. Mr. Helms has been Managing Director at C. Melchers GmbH & Co. KG since 2000. He was one of two directors who founded IGEL Technology GmbH as a Melchers subsidiary in 2001. Nicolas Helms holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) from the University of Zurich, Switzerland, and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Boston University, USA.