New CEO – A Fresh Course for Leftshift One
At Leftshift One, everything points toward growth — and change. In early September, Stefan Horn assumed the role of CEO, succeeding co-founder Patrick Ratheiser at the helm of the AI pioneer.
Stefan has been part of Leftshift One since 2020 and has played a key role in shaping the company’s development in several leadership positions, most recently as Vice President of Sales. Before joining Leftshift One, he gained extensive international experience in the software industry, where he was responsible for developing new markets.Â
- 22. September. 2025
Sales Acceleration at Leftshift One
The Styrian AI pioneer is not only strengthening its home market with new projects but is now setting its sights on Germany, Switzerland, and the Nordic countries.
When Stefan Horn talks about the future of Leftshift One, he describes it as a “speedboat of Artificial Intelligence” — fast, agile, and above all, close to the customer.
“We aim to focus on applications that are precisely tailored to the realities of medium-sized businesses,”
explains “captain” Horn, who took over the company’s leadership from co-founder Patrick Ratheiser in early September.Â
As a seasoned sales professional with years of experience in U.S. software companies — where he was responsible for building new markets — Horn is now bringing that same expertise to his new position.
“We want to ignite the sales turbo. That means putting the customer and their satisfaction even more at the center of what we do,”
says Leftshift One’s new CEO.
The domestic market remains crucial, Horn emphasizes:
“Our project pipeline is well filled until the end of the year, yet we still want to expand our market presence in Austria.”Â
The planned expansion will take Leftshift One further into Germany and the Nordic countries, where Horn sees strong growth potential.
Capital for Expansion
Under Horn’s leadership, Leftshift One will focus on growth in regulated industries such as chemicals, pharmaceuticals, mechanical and plant engineering, and energy supply. “Our MyGPT solution is ideal wherever companies manage large volumes of documents and employees spend too much time searching for information manually. We can drastically accelerate knowledge access and significantly ease employees’ daily workloads.”
Change at the Top
Stefan Horn takes the helm from co-founder Patrick Ratheiser, who will continue to support the company in the future. His record speaks for itself: more than 170 successfully completed AI projects and a proprietary AI platform, now in use at Fresenius Kabi, McDonald’s Austria, VTU, and the University of Graz. “We managed to steer the company safely through challenging times, leverage the momentum around large language models for growth, and establish Leftshift One as a successful AI company that can compete internationally,” says Ratheiser.
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