Change in the executive team: COO Philipp Möser leaves DigitalService

Berlin, June 30, 2023
Chief Operating Officer (COO) Philipp Möser will leave the Executive Board of DigitalService on June 30, 2023. With the founding of DigitalService as the central digitalization unit of the German federal government in October 2020, he had taken over responsibility for building up the product division along the lines of successful digital start-ups. Today, DigitalService employs more than 130 people, most of whom work on developing digital public services for citizens.

In October 2020, the founding of DigitalService marked the start of the establishment of a dedicated digitalization unit at the federal level. Within the executive management team, Philipp Möser assumed responsibility as Chief Operating Officer (COO) for building up the company at a rapid pace, following the example of successful digital start-ups. The experienced product developer was previously active as a founder and entrepreneur in the German tech scene for around 15 years and helped build successful start-ups such as Wooga and Rocket Internet.

Under his leadership, the tech organization and product division of DigitalService were created, and continue to grow. This is where interdisciplinary teams from UX/UI design, software development and product management develop iterative and user-centered digital services for various federal ministries. One well-known example is the “Grundsteuererklärung für Privateigentum” – a property tax declaration service for private property – developed for the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF), which has been used to file around one million tax returns.

Christina Lang, CEO of DigitalService, thanks Philipp Möser on behalf of the entire company for what he has achieved: “Philipp Möser has succeeded in building the structures for successful product development and establishing a high-profile team in a remarkably short time. He has thus laid the foundation for DigitalService in its current form.”

Project work with federal ministries has shown that successful digitalization of public administration is often hampered by structural hurdles and framework conditions that impede iterative, user-centered and insight-driven software development. In the future, DigitalService will also devote more attention to understanding and removing these hurdles. The goal is to learn from successful product development together with the federal administration and to change framework conditions accordingly.

Following the successful build-up of the product division, the management is now increasingly shifting its focus to transformation tasks. In consultation with the Supervisory Board, Philipp Möser is therefore stepping down as COO and leaving DigitalService at the end of June 2023. The decision is being made by the best of mutual consent after two and a half intensive and successful years together. The leadership team will be strategically realigned at the same time. Stephanie Kaiser, who has already been Chief Product Officer at DigitalService since April of last year, will assume responsibility for the product area. The process of filling a newly created role of Chief Financial Officer as Commercial Director is underway.

Philipp Möser, COO of DigitalService, explains: “I am grateful that I was allowed to help build this unique ‘start-up within the state’ and give the product division its current face. My part of the start-up mission is thereby fulfilled. The transformation tasks which lie ahead, however, demand a new focus, which will also require other competencies in the management team. I don't see myself in this role.”

Dr. Julia Borggräfe, Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board of DigitalService, thanks Philipp Möser for his work on behalf of the entire Supervisory Board: “Philipp Möser has proven that it is possible to build up a government digitalization unit just as successfully as a classic tech start-up. He has made DigitalService an attractive employer that impressively attracts highly sought-after and rare specialists and team talent to work on the digital state.”

Dr. Markus Richter, CIO of the Federal Government, expresses his thanks on behalf of the Federal Government: “Philipp Möser has done pioneering work in setting up the DigitalService product division. For many ministries, user-centered, agile development of digital public services is something completely new. With the major success of the online property tax declaration service ‘Grundsteuererklärung für Privateigentum’ at the latest, proof was provided that this approach leads to measurably better results and that it is possible to create digital public services that make people's lives easier.”