tonies® announces CFO transition and appoints first Chief Revenue Officer to accelerate international growth

tonies® announces CFO transition and appoints first Chief Revenue Officer to accelerate international growth

• tonies CFO Jan Middelhoff, who has played a pivotal role in shaping the company’s success over the last 5 years, steps down from his position for personal reasons
• Hansjörg Müller, an accomplished finance leader with extensive international experience from positions at Netflix, EA and P&G, will join tonies as new CFO, effective September 1, 2025
• Christoph Frehsee, President and Managing Director of tonies USA, has been appointed the company’s first Chief Revenue Officer (CRO), effective July 1, 2025

LUXEMBOURG, July 10, 2025 // tonies SE ("tonies"), the world’s largest interactive audio platform for children, announces that Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jan Middelhoff will step down from his role for personal reasons. As part of a carefully planned succession, Jan Middelhoff will remain in his position until August 31, 2025 and stay with the company in an advisory role until the end of the year to help ensure a smooth and coordinated transition. Hansjörg Müller will assume the role of CFO as of September 1, 2025. In addition, tonies will further strengthen and internationalize its Management Board with Christoph Frehsee, a long-standing leader at tonies who played a key role in developing the North American business into the company’s largest market. The expanded Management Board now also reflects the company's international growth ambitions. Most recently, tonies delivered 22% year-over-year revenue growth in Q1 2025. Around 60% of sales now come from markets outside Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Jan Middelhoff, outgoing CFO, says: “After several rewarding years at tonies, I’ve made the difficult decision to step down from my role as CFO. tonies was far more to me than just a workplace. It’s been a place of purpose, creativity and incredible people. It was a great honor for me to help shape this unique company and to be part of its extraordinary journey — from preparing the IPO to developing a blueprint for our profitable international growth. Having achieved profitability across all markets this year, tonies is now perfectly positioned to become a true global icon. I will truly miss working with this remarkable team and will always feel deeply connected to tonies, its mission and the community behind it.”

Tobias Wann, CEO of tonies, adds: “Jan’s contribution to tonies goes far beyond his role as CFO of the company. His strategic clarity, integrity and calm presence have shaped the way we work and grow together. Jan played a central role in preparing us for the capital markets and building trust with the financial community: under his stewardship we grew tonies exactly as envisioned, continuously meeting our guidance and building the strong financial and operational foundation that will enable our future growth. But beyond all that, he has been a true partner — thoughtful, loyal, and fully committed to our mission. We are incredibly grateful for everything he has done for tonies, and while we fully respect his decision, we will miss him dearly — as a colleague, a leader and a friend.”

Hansjörg Müller and Christoph Frehsee to strengthen Management Board

To ensure a smooth transition, Hansjörg Müller will assume the role of CFO on September 1, 2025. With more than 25 years of international experience across finance and strategy, Hansjörg Müller has held senior roles at global consumer and technology companies such as Netflix, Electronic Arts, and Procter & Gamble. He brings a strong track record in driving profitable growth, leading complex finance and operations functions, and guiding strategic investment decisions within publicly listed, high-growth companies. At tonies, Hansjörg Müller will be responsible for finance, investor relations, and legal & compliance with a clear focus on strengthening the company’s global structure and enabling its next phase of sustained profitable growth and international expansion.

To reflect tonies’ rapidly expanding international presence and global growth ambitions, Christoph Frehsee, the President and Managing Director of tonies USA, has been appointed to the newly created role of Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) effective 1 July 2025. As CRO, he will assume global responsibility for all commercial activities, including sales, go-to-market strategy and profitable revenue growth across all markets and channels. In this role, he will focus on strengthening existing markets, expanding tonies’ global reach, and enhancing profitability of distribution channels. Christoph Frehsee has been instrumental in shaping tonies’ international success by building the North America business from the ground and turning it into the company’s largest market. His deep knowledge of the brand, customers and markets makes him ideally suited to lead tonies’ international commercial expansion. He will continue to lead tonies’ business in North America until a successor is appointed.

Christoph Frehsee, CRO of tonies, highlights: “Leading our North America business has shown me how powerful tonies concept can be when it truly connects with and excites families. Seeing our brand grow from a new entrant to a household name in such a dynamic market has been both humbling and inspiring. In my new role as CRO, I’m excited to build on that momentum and help shape how we bring the tonies brand to life across global markets — working closely with our regional teams to grow our presence, deepen customer relationships, and ensure our go-to-market strategy reflects both the uniqueness of each market and the essence of our brand.”

Tobias Wann, CEO, adds: “With Hansjörg and Christoph, we’re strengthening our Management Board with two individuals who combine deep sector expertise and longstanding international experience. Their appointment reflects the international growth ambitions of tonies. Hansjörg brings an outstanding track record in financial leadership across complex, high-growth environments. Christoph has proven time and again that he can translate our vision into commercial success — most notably in North America, where he helped establish tonies as a beloved brand and market leader. Both will be instrumental as we take the next steps in scaling tonies into a truly global business. They will play a key role in helping us bring the magic of tonies to even more families around the world.”

As of September 1, 2025, tonies’ Management Board will be expanded to four members across Germany and the US: CEO Tobias Wann will work together with CFO Hansjörg Müller, CXO Ginny McCormick and CRO Christoph Frehsee.

tonies will publish the H1 2025 results on August 21, 2025.

About tonies

tonies® is the world’s largest interactive audio platform for children with around 9.3 million Tonieboxes and more than 119 million Tonies sold. The intuitive and award-winning audio system has changed the way young children play and learn independently with its child-safe, wireless, and screen-free approach. Tonieboxes have been activated in over 100 countries, the content portfolio includes more than 1,300 Tonies in several languages.

Media contact

Mattes Kohlmeier
FGS Global
Phone: +49 162 104 1033
E-mail: mattes.kohlmeier@fgsglobal.com // press@tonies.com

IR contact

Peter Dietz
Manager Investor Relations
Phone: +49 173 9018573
E-mail: peter.dietz@ext.tonies.com

Photos

Image 2: tonies’ outgoing CFO Jan Middelhoff

Image 3: tonies’ incoming CFO Hansjörg Müller

Image 4: tonies’ new CRO Christoph Frehsee