Katharina Althaus is to become managing director of aveato

Having grown up in a family-run hotel group, Katharina Althaus took on responsibility at an early age. Her career took her into the luxury hotel sector in London, Shanghai and Tyrol, as well as to the helm of two upmarket four-star hotels in Carinthia as managing director. This was followed by roles at Kofler + Kompanie in Berlin and as managing director of the software company Läkkerai. At aveato, she combines this extensive hospitality experience with her expertise in sales, marketing and digital technology.

“For me, personal relationships are key – both within the team and in our dealings with our customers. We use technology to give our staff more freedom: to listen, to contribute ideas and to cater for individual requests. Inspired by the ideas of market researcher Robert Kecskes, our guiding principles are: ‘Human is key’ and ‘from guest to companion’. We want to build relationships that go beyond the individual event,” says Katharina Althaus.

Experience and new responsibilities

Gunnar Trude, Director of Operations and authorised signatory, combines culinary expertise of the highest calibre with the operational management of several venues. The master chef gained international experience in Michelin-starred gastronomy, including as sous-chef to Heston Blumenthal in London. Before joining aveato, he was Head of Operations at the REDO Group. He is responsible for Food & Beverage, recipe development and overall operational management.

Björn Ludwig, Director of Finance and authorised signatory, brings with him many years’ experience from tax consultancy firms. Having joined six years ago as head of accounting, he gradually took on further responsibilities at aveato. Today, he combines commercial expertise with in-depth knowledge of the business.

As founder and Managing Director, Kaspar Althaus continues to shape the company’s strategic and digital development.

Four regions with their own management

Roman Zharikov (Head of Operations and Regional Manager for the East), Philipp Schleef-Gomez (Regional Manager for the West) and Christoph Lühmann (Regional Manager for the North) are responsible for the operational management of their respective regions. From early 2027, the position of Regional Manager South will also be filled. With their many years of expertise, their personalities and their people skills, they shape the company at a local level. They provide guidance to their teams and drive the development of their regions through short decision-making processes and close proximity to customers.

A longing for the future

“We also want to inspire a ‘longing for the future’. For us, automation, robotics and AI are not intended to replace people or jobs, but to create new jobs and enable more personalised services. More scope for emotional, tailor-made events, more passion and more perfection: that is what we use technology for,” says Kaspar Althaus.

To this end, aveato brings together sales, catering, logistics and administration to create a unified customer experience – a seamless customer journey. The aim: with every commission, our mutual understanding grows – and with it, the scope for ideas that make an event truly special.

About aveato

Having started in 1999 with a sandwich bar in the Hackesche Höfe in Berlin, aveato is now an owner-managed specialist in business and event catering with six locations: Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt am Main, Cologne, Düsseldorf and Munich.

Inspiration from Robert Kecskes

The guiding principles ‘from guest to companion’, ‘Human is key’ and ‘Longing for the future’ originate from a lecture by market researcher Robert Kecskes.