IT-Executive Club e.V.

What IT-Executive Club e.V. does

IT-Executive Club e.V. (ITEC) is a Hamburg-based nonprofit association (eingetragener Verein) founded in 2014 that operates as an exclusive, invitation-only networking platform for IT and digital decision-makers — primarily CIOs, CDOs, and IT leadership — in Northern Germany, with the IT-Executive Forum extending reach nationwide. The club's core offering is a curated portfolio of peer-to-peer events including club evenings, an annual 1-day congress (IT-Executive Forum), leadership talks, summer and New Year's receptions, welcome lunches for new members, and the CIO Charity Run & Bike. Membership is hand-selected through board review and personal referrals, with a strict policy excluding sales representatives and vendor companies — less than 10% of members are solution providers.

The business model is non-commercial: ITEC is funded through membership fees and sponsorships, operating without product distribution, no published pricing, and no equity or venture backing. The organization has grown to over 200 members and hosts approximately 28 events per year. Its sub-brands include ITEC Cares (an educational initiative launched in 2018 awarding up to 10,000 EUR annually via the ITEC Cares Award), and the IT-Executive Forum. ITEC originated within Hamburg@work and spun off as an independent association in 2021 to enable faster decision-making. Leadership is provided by a volunteer board (Vorstand) chaired by Karsten Kirsch (Partner at elpix AG), with board members drawn from DAK-Gesundheit, OTTO Group, the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, and Merck KGaA, supported by a small professional management team headed by Managing Director Laura Bernschein. The organization has no proprietary technology platform, no AI/ML capabilities, no app, and no API — its delivery model is fundamentally in-person and relationship-based.

Name

IT-Executive Club e.V.

Legal name

IT-Executive Club e.V.

Website

https://itec.hamburg

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

IT-Executive Club e.V. (ITEC) is a Hamburg-based, invitation-only nonprofit association founded in 2014 that provides a confidential peer-to-peer networking platform for over 200 CIOs, CDOs, and IT leaders across Northern Germany, hosting approximately 28 events annually and operating the ITEC Cares educational initiative.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Networking & Community

NAICS

Professional Organizations (81392), Convention and Trade Show Organizers (561920)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Association & Society Conference Management (Nonprofit, Professional Bodies) (THAHACAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Sponsorship, Exhibitor & Partnership Management Services (THAHACAK)

Keywords

• IT executive networking
• CIO community building
• Digital leadership
• Professional membership association
• Executive education initiatives

Headquarters

HQ city

Hamburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Club Membership: The IT-Executive Club operates as a non-profit association (e.V.) funded through membership fees. Revenue supports club operations, event organization, the ITEC Cares educational initiative, and the annual ITEC Cares Award program.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

IT-Executive Club e.V. (ITEC) operates an exclusive, invitation-only networking association for IT decision-makers (CIOs, CDOs) and digital leaders from enterprises, the public sector, and academia in Northern Germany. Members gain access to a calendar of peer-exchange events (Clubabende, IT-Executive Forum congress, Leadership Talks, Sommerfest, Neujahrsempfang, Welcome Lunch) and the ITEC Cares & Award educational initiative that promotes digital competencies, supported by recurring membership dues and partner sponsorships.

Product overview

IT-Executive Club e.V. (ITEC) is an exclusive networking platform for IT executives and digital decision-makers in northern Germany, offering a portfolio of professional and social events. The core offerings include the annual IT-Executive Forum (1-day congress), the ITEC Cares & Award educational initiative, and various networking events such as Clubabende, Leadership Talks, Welcome Lunch, Sommerfest, Neujahrsempfang, and CIO Charity Run & Bike. The organization connects over 200 CIOs and CDOs from the Hamburg metropolitan region and across Germany for confidential knowledge exchange and peer networking.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ITEC Cares & Award: Educational initiative promoting digital participation and competencies, featuring the annual ITEC Cares Award (up to 10,000 EUR) for outstanding digital education projects.
• IT-Executive Forum
• ITEC Leadership Talk

Products and services

• IT-Executive Forum

Quantifiable outcome

• Average of 28 events per year
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Hamburger IT-StrategietagecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing cooperation partner for the ITEC Cares Award ceremony and member recruitment. The Hamburger IT-Strategietage is Germany's leading IT strategy conference, providing a platform for ITEC visibility and CIO networking.
• Hamburg@workcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerITEC originated from Hamburg@work and maintains a close, friendly relationship. Cooperation continues through synergies at the Hamburger IT-Strategietage and other initiatives. Uwe Jens Neumann, Co-Founder of Hamburg@work, serves on the ITEC Advisory Board.
• Faktor 3minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFaktor 3 is a PR agency cooperation partner for the ITEC Cares Award, supporting press and communications activities.
• T-SystemsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerT-Systems is listed as a sponsor/supporter of the IT-Executive Forum events.
• mgm consulting partnersminorGTM or Marketing Partnermgm consulting partners GmbH supports the ITEC Cares Award. Frank Kneschke, Founder and Managing Director, serves on the award jury.
• ErgonminorGTM or Marketing PartnerErgon is listed as a sponsor/supporter of the IT-Executive Forum events.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• CIONET: International CIO peer network running invitation-based communities for senior IT leaders across multiple European countries. Closest direct functional peer to ITEC: curated CIO community, member-driven events, vendor-controlled access — though operating at multi-country scale rather than a single German region.
• Evanta (a Gartner Company): Gartner's CIO and CISO executive community division, running invitation-only regional leadership communities and flagship summits. Direct functional peer to ITEC: curated CIO membership, governance-led chapters, peer-only exchanges backed by a major industry brand.
• Society for Information Management (SIM): Long-standing US-based professional association for IT leaders, providing CIO networking, research, and local chapter programming. Comparable in mission (member-based CIO professional community) and structure (local chapters, leadership-led events), though operating at US rather than German regional scale.
• HMG Strategy: Executive peer-network platform focused on CIOs, CTOs and CISOs, running invitation-based regional events, summits and global leadership programs. Direct peer to ITEC: peer-led CIO community, vendor-free dialogue, regional chapter model closely mirroring ITEC's Hamburg/Northern Germany approach.

Broad incumbents

• Bitkom: Germany's largest digital industry association, representing IT vendors, providers and users across the country. Comparable as a higher-level industry body serving the same German IT decision-maker universe as ITEC, but operating nationally and with a commercial-membership rather than invitation-only, no-vendor model.

Others

• Hamburg@work: Digital cluster and innovation association for the Hamburg metropolitan region, from which ITEC spun off in 2021 after seven years as its IT division. Comparable as a Hamburg-based digital economy membership organization and ITEC's parent association, but broader in scope (digitalization across industries) and not an exclusive CIO club.
• Foundry / CIO.com (IDG): Global CIO media and events brand running CIO conferences, awards programs and peer communities. Comparable as a vendor-adjacent organizer of CIO-facing events and recognition programs (similar to ITEC Cares Award), but operates commercially rather than as a non-profit club.
• Hamburger IT-Strategietage: Germany's leading annual IT strategy conference held in Hamburg, with which ITEC has a long-standing cooperation including use of the venue for the ITEC Cares Award. Comparable as an ecosystem counterpart (CIO strategy event organizer), but a single annual conference rather than a year-round curated community.
• EuroCIO: European federation of national CIO associations, providing a pan-European platform for CIO advocacy, research and peer exchange. Comparable as a CIO-level membership and dialogue organization, but operating as an umbrella federation rather than a single regional club like ITEC.

Regional players

• Münchner Kreis: Independent platform for digitalization and the knowledge economy based in Munich, organizing high-level executive dialogues and conferences in Southern Germany. Regional peer to ITEC with an analogous CIO/executive dialogue model, but serving the Bavaria/Munich corridor rather than Northern Germany.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/it-executive-club
• Instagraminstagram.com/itexecutiveclub

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about IT-Executive Club e.V.