Eye-Able appoints Oliver Berchtold as CEO to support next stage of international expansion

(Würzburg, Germany) Eye-Able® (Web Inclusion GmbH), Europe’s leading and fastest-growing platform for digital accessibility, announces the appointment of Oliver Berchtold as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) with effect from 1 September 2026. Together with Harald Holberg, who has held the role of Chief Financial Officer (CFO) since July 2026, Eye-Able is restructuring its leadership team for the next phase of growth.

Oliver Berchtold most recently served as Chief Operating Officer and a member of the Executive Board at SoftwareOne, the publicly listed provider of software and cloud solutions. He joined the company in 2004 and has helped build it up over 22 years in various leadership roles. Most recently, as COO, he was responsible for the global service and software & cloud delivery business, which employs over 6,000 staff in more than 70 countries, and led the integration of several acquisitions. The connection between Berchtold and the founders of Eye-Able goes back several years: SoftwareOne and Eye-Able have been working closely together for a long time.

Berchtold takes the lead at Eye-Able at a crucial time for the industry. Since the European Accessibility Act (EAA) came into force, companies have increasingly been faced with the task of systematically reviewing their digital offerings and ensuring they are permanently accessible. On top of that, the demand is growing independently of legislation: according to the European Commission, around 25% of people in the EU are living with a disability, and as the population ages, the number of people with impaired vision, hearing or mobility continues to rise. Regulatory requirements and demographic trends are combined to create a product category that did not exist in this form just a few years ago. Eye-Able is playing a key role in shaping this category in Europe and has tripled its customer base in under two years. The company already supports over 5,000 customers in more than ten countries, including Ergo, HypoVereinsbank, Schüco and Tchibo. Eye-Able is already represented by its own teams in France, Italy, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands, the UK and the Nordic countries, and is continuing to expand its market presence from these locations. With Oliver Berchtold as CEO and Harald Holberg as CFO, Eye-Able is setting the course for further international expansion.

Eye-Able is also driving its growth strategy forward on the technological front: in recent months, the company has further expanded its AI initiatives in the field of Agentic Accessibility Testing and has recently launched a new product line. With the Eye-Able AI Testing Module, significantly more EAA-relevant test steps can now be carried out automatically, which previously could only be tested manually. With Oliver Berchtold, who has already led similar initiatives at SoftwareOne, this area is set to be expanded even further in the future.

“Oliver Berchtold has known Eye-Able, our team and our mission for many years. At the same time, he brings exactly the international scaling experience we need for the next phase of our company’s development,” said Chris Schmidt, co-founder of Eye-Able. “It’s a great feeling to have someone with this level of experience by our side.”

“Eye-Able combines a strong software business with a clear social mission,” said Oliver Berchtold. “Demand for digital accessibility is growing rapidly across Europe; at the same time, our everyday lives are becoming increasingly digital and complex, and not everyone is being included. With its powerful platform and strong customer portfolio, Eye-Able is already a leader in Europe. What works in Europe also works in the US, in Asia and wherever people remain excluded from the digital world. Our aim is to become the global market leader so that we can help even more people.”

As CFO, Harald Holberg is responsible for Eye-Able’s finances and brings over 20 years’ experience as a CFO in B2B software and SaaS SMEs, including more than ten years in PE-backed companies with several successful exits. His focus has been on upscaling and internationalisation. “What convinced me was the combination of a socially highly relevant issue and a functioning, growing business model,” says Holberg. “Digital accessibility is both a necessity and a market opportunity. It is precisely this combination of purpose and economic success that I want to help shape.”

Eye-Able’s investors also view this appointment as a logical next step in the company’s growth strategy. “In recent years, Eye-Able has evolved from an ambitious start-up into an internationally successful software company,” said Dieter Schlosser, co-founder of 5I Ventures, investor and board member at Eye-Able. “By expanding the management team, the company is creating the structural foundations to continue on this growth trajectory and further strengthen its market position in Europe.” Julian Mattes, partner at Yttrium, investor and board member at Eye-Able, added: “The European Accessibility Act is creating a market that is only just emerging, and Eye-Able is excellently positioned to capture it. With Oliver Berchtold on board, we are taking Eye-Able to the next S-curve: more markets, more accessibility, more Eye-Able.”