It’s not been the smoothest of rides for Fanatec in recent months, but that could all be about to change. A new CEO has been appointed to address the myriad of issues plaguing the company, with recovery potentially just around the corner.
Fanatec name new CEO
After the surprise departure of founder Thomas Jackermeier, Fanatec has appointed a new CEO to help resolve the ongoing supply and delivery issues that have heavily affected the once leader of sim racing hardware.
In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter), Endor AG, the parent company of Fanatec, confirmed the appointment of Andres Ruff as the new CEO of Fanatec.
According to the statement, Ruff has experience in "the area of transformation and restructuring of medium-sized companies", vital to the recovery facing Fanatec moving forward.
Ruff’s main priority in his new role is to resolve Fanatec's delivery issues. Hundreds of players have been left waiting for orders to be fulfilled. This was one of the main factors that led to the departure of Jackermeier.
In his welcome message, Ruff pledged to sort out these issues. “Right now, my priority is to tackle delivery issues arising from overwhelming demand. Rest assured, we are diligently working to return to optimal operations.”
Despite the promises made by both Fanatec and Ruff, fans are finding it difficult to trust the company after so many false starts in the past. In particular, the promise of prioritizing new orders over customer service to existing players has riled up the community.
Despite concerns from players, however, Ruff goes on to say in his message that “we’ll refocus our energy on crafting remarkable sim racing hardware” once the delivery issues are resolved. This implies that development of new products has been halted until existing orders are fulfilled.
Although this doesn’t necessarily resolve the after-market issues, the future is starting to look promising for Fanatec. After a troublesome period, the company is starting to turn things around to win back trust.
What do you think? Are you willing to trust Fanatec after this announcement? Let us know in the comments below!
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