Germany’s chemical industry is one of the world’s largest, and its plants, formulas, and supply chains make it a prime target for cyber criminals and industrial espionage. The five CISOs below protect polymer makers, specialty chemical producers, adhesive manufacturers, and a diversified materials group, and their paths into security are strikingly different. One built Deutsche Telekom’s honeypot-based early warning system and led its bug bounty team. Another started in controlling at BSH and quality analysis at Porsche. A third spent nearly two decades managing SAP security and software licensing at Linde, and a fourth began as an ethical hacker before building a global cyber defense team.
Markus Schmall – CISO, Covestro
Dr. Markus Schmall started as a security expert at T-Mobile and spent six years leading communication and product security at T-Online. Over nearly a decade as VP of application security and security testing at Deutsche Telekom, he led five teams across IT security and penetration testing, ran the company’s honeypot-based early warning project, including developing its own honeypots and the public Sicherheitstacho dashboard, and led its bug bounty team. He also embedded security by design in development projects, ran red teaming, and designed DSL router features to prevent spam. After serving as CISO of Deutsche Börse, Schmall became CISO of Covestro in October 2020.
Timo Kukuk – CISO, LANXESS
Timo Kukuk briefly served as CIO of Danmy International in Shanghai before spending six and a half years in KPMG Germany’s security consulting practice, where as manager he led ISO 27001 certification services at KPMG Cert. He moved to ista International as corporate information security manager and then head of corporate digital risk management. Kukuk became CISO of LANXESS in August 2021.
Jesse Sonne – CISO, Symrise
Jesse Sonne began in controlling at BSH Home Appliances Group in Berlin and in corporate quality and internal process analysis at Porsche. He spent three and a half years in IT risk management and compliance at KPMG in Bielefeld before joining Symrise, the maker of fragrance, flavor, and cosmetic ingredients, in 2018 as IT compliance and security manager. Sonne became global information security officer in 2021 and CISO in 2022.
Stephan Sachs – CISO, DELO Industrial Adhesives
Stephan Sachs wrote his diploma thesis at BMW on restructuring IT for its central parts delivery, then worked as a junior SAP consultant at TRIA IT-Consulting. He spent 18 years at Linde, moving from SAP application architect and local security officer to head of SAP security and licensing, then head of application and technical security, where he led global teams of more than 25 people across identity management and SAP access control. He later headed strategic license management, negotiating with major software vendors. At Siltronic he moved from senior licensing manager to CISO in 2022. Sachs became CISO of specialty adhesives maker DELO in July 2024.
Julian Nikolai – VP Information & Cybersecurity & Group CISO, Freudenberg Group
Julian Nikolai co-founded a web services firm while studying at TU Darmstadt, then worked as an IT security consultant at usd AG, focusing on ethical hacking and secure software development, and as an associate in BCG’s cybersecurity practice. He joined Freudenberg Group in 2018 as a cyber security architect, then built and led a global cyber defense team at Freudenberg Sealing Technologies. As its VP of information security and CISO, he restructured the information security management system and achieved its first TISAX certification within his first year. Nikolai became VP of information and cybersecurity and Group CISO of Freudenberg Group in December 2024, with a goal of making life as hard as possible for cyber criminals.
Protecting Germany’s Chemistry
These five CISOs bring very different strengths to the industry. Schmall carries deep offensive and application security experience from telecommunications, while Kukuk and Sonne built their careers through consulting, risk, and compliance. Sachs brings decades of SAP and identity expertise, and Nikolai rose quickly from ethical hacking to group-wide leadership. Together they protect the formulas, plants, and supply chains at the heart of one of Germany’s most important industries.
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John Kevin Hao is a news and feature writer covering cybersecurity, technology, and business targeted for professional audiences.