European hostel chain a&o Hostels has appointed Markus Harder to the role of chief financial officer (CFO).
Harder previously spent four years as CFO and management board member at DeepL and prior to that he was CFO of Contentful and finance director at SoundCloud. He started his career in real estate investment banking with Morgan Stanley.
In his new role, Harder will be based in Berlin and will work closely with a&o Hostels’ CEO Oliver Winter and shareholders to drive the next phase of the chain’s growth strategy. He will lead a&o’s digital agenda, which is focused on integrating cloud computing, AI, and mobile solutions to further streamline operations and enhance the guest experience.
Winter said: “Markus’s depth of experience spanning strategic and financial planning, financial analysis, as well as debt and equity fundraising, will be invaluable as we continue scaling and optimising the platform. In particular, his background driving growth at technology and AI-led companies will support our near-term focus on adopting automation to further drive innovation and efficiencies and deliver even stronger operational and financial performance.”
Harder added: “A&o is the clear leader in a category that institutional capital is only beginning to fully appreciate. The opportunity to help build the defining platform in European budget hospitality, alongside a team that genuinely innovates, is what convinced me. Technology is reshaping the guest experience across hospitality and a&o is positioned to lead that shift.”
