Matthias Hundt, Berlin’s Chief Digital Officer (CDU) since March, requested to be dismissed from office yesterday following what he described as a “media campaign” against him. Governing Mayor Kai Wegner approved his request and today appointed Florian Hauer (CDU), Berlin’s State Secretary for Federal and European Affairs, to take over his duties.
Kai Wegner was solely responsible for appointing Hundt to office two months ago to replace Martina Klement, praising his digital expertise. It must be said that his portfolio looked impressive upon first glance. The digital manager, entrepreneur and professional networker from Saxony, with experience in IT and in-depth knowledge of the digital economy (or so Wegner believed), has been the managing director of a company called Sachsen Digital Solutions since 2019.
But the truth is, before being appointed office as Berlin’s Chief Digital Officer, Hundt never was a particularly important or relevant person in any organisation. He applied for a top position at the Digital Agency Saxony, DiAS, but didn’t get it due to a lack of documents proving his experience and skills. Fortunately for him, Wegner never asked for these. Instead, he took Hundt’s word for everything, impressed enough by his photos next to prominent union politicians and at AI networking events in Dubai – because what Hundt lacked in verifiable experience, he certainly made up for in selfies.
The integrity of his track record is a big topic of debate. While his CV listed a 7-year lectureship at SRH Berlin University of Applied Sciences, Hundt only did it for less than a year. His CV also did not list his ties to SDC Consulting, a company that went bankrupt after his time there as managing director (the Dresden public prosecutor’s office is still conducting an investigation into the insolvency). Berliner Zeitung was the first outlet to shed light on Hundt’s record, exposing the troubles of companies he was involved with back in March when he took office.
With his resignation from the position of Berlin’s CDO and his facade of success shattered, Hundt’s career in politics has probably gone to the dogs. Florian Hauer will now attempt to do what Hundt did not. As for Kai Wegner, who appointed Hundt in the first place, the fiasco comes only a month after the last one involving Berlin’s Culture Senator Sarah Wedl-Wilson. All the while, the next Berlin election is less than four months away.
