A Coffee with Aristech-CEO Carolin Edler-Mende

1. What is the most important task for to you as Aristech-CEO?

The role of the CEO is of course extremely multifaceted. There are many tasks that I consider important. Above all, I want to continue to expand the company and lead the team as a role model. My main focus here is to exemplify the corporate and leadership culture based on our values: modern, innovative, open and equal.

It is just as important for me to help develop and push employees in order to create the conditions for them to take on management responsibility themselves.

I am present in the day-to-day running of the company and try to ensure that what we are currently doing fits in with the company vision in the medium and long-term and that we are moving in the right direction strategically.

2. Aristech is certainly not standing still. With the move to the new office building and the rapidly evolving possibilities with AI, are changes also imminent in your company? How does the company adapt to change and remain flexible, but at the same time reliable and true to itself?

Over the last 12 years, we have managed to establish very professional structures while maintaining dynamic team structures. As a result, we are in a very good position to react to technological changes in development and to act quickly.

At the same time, the architecture of our technology has always been set up in such a way that quick technical adaptations are possible without having to make major changes to the basic software. This stability and flexibility naturally helps us a great deal. That's why, where it makes sense, we can also use GenAI or implement hybrid solutions relatively easily, for instance, according to what best suits the customer.

3. Aristech has been 100% self-funded since its founding in 2012 (bootstrapping). What advantages does this have from your point of view?

We founded the company with a technological vision. At no point was it about making 'any company' big, it has always been about the technology.

Starting out as a self-financed company was not easy, of course. But we have managed to build a stable company through sustainable growth that can make independent technological decisions. The long-term vision can be pursued without dependence on investors. Fortunately, we have been out of the difficult initial phase for some time now. Especially in these difficult economic times, it is an advantage to be stable and independent and not to be relying on the next financial injection. And this stability and reliability is naturally also a great confidence factor for our customers.

4. As CEO, you are also responsible for making decisions about the company's developments and future prospects. How do you manage to reconcile technological development and ethical issues in your decisions, especially with regard to increasing efficiency through AI, and why is this important to you?

To be honest, it's also quite scary to see what is already possible with AI and LLMs. It scares me time and again in my everyday life and I ask myself to what extent AI will remain controllable in the long term. That's why it's also important for me as an entrepreneur to continuously reflect and question what AI technology we use and where we don't use it.

We don't say “just use AI and it will get the job for you”, but we look at each application together with the customer to see what makes sense. So we always ask ourselves the following questions: Which models do we use? What are the benefits of AI here? And what risks does it entail and do we, or the customer, want to take them? This sometimes leads to us deciding against a solution with more options simply because the risks are too great.

5. How do you support the developers in optimizing and continuously improving solutions and also trying out new things?

In general, I don't really have to motivate anyone here to get involved with new developments. Everyone is super motivated, constantly looking to see what's happening and in a lively exchange about new possibilities. I see it more as my job to create a framework in which the development team can really concentrate on their work and have the space to experiment. There are always opportunities to present new ideas in a large group and get feedback. I think it also helps that I myself am very interested in new developments and have a very deep understanding of the content.

We look at new possibilities and evaluate together as a team where things can be incorporated into a productive line. We also sometimes approach customers and tell them that we have a new development or a new approach that would be a good fit for their use case. We are lucky that many of our customers have known us for a long time and are willing to try something new. That helps a lot, of course, because it gives us the opportunity to try out and evaluate something like this as part of an application.

6. What makes ABC unique for you?

Aristech is characterized by an unusual combination of many factors. We are a 100% self-financed European IT company that develops modern, high-quality technology and is still owner-managed. In my opinion, this combination of stability, innovation and drive is very rare in this location.

And above all, of course, our Aristech team is what makes us special! The team culture here is characterized by professionalism, technological passion and an incredibly open, friendly way of working together. I really appreciate that.

7. What is your ideal balance to your job and how do you find it?

I indeed get asked that a lot, especially in the context that I also have three relatively young children. That means I have a large family and the responsibility of being an entrepreneur.

On the one hand, I am very strict and clear in my separation of business and private life. This means that when I finish work, I'm really there for my family and present there. On the other hand, I fortunately have a great team now and there are very few issues for which I am the only one responsible. That's the only reason I'm able to separate things so clearly. Separation is a really important issue for me. Of course, being a mother of three children is sometimes just as challenging. Thank goodness we are also a great team at home as parents. This allows me to balance my role as an entrepreneur and mother with my sporting activities. I'm currently co-coaching a women's handball team. And if time permits, I would also like to get back into the theater.

Admittedly, I'm often told that I seem to have more energy than most people. That's why I don't know whether my model is feasible for everyone, but it's certainly good for me.