# Philipp Heltewig

> Philipp Heltewig is a German-Australian entrepreneur, Cognigy co-founder, Chief AI Officer at NiCE and General Manager of NiCE Cognigy. After establishing Sitecore’s Australia and New Zealand operations and leading global sales, he co-founded Cognigy in Düsseldorf in 2016. NiCE completed its acquisition in September 2025 following an announced transaction value of approximately $955 million. His public work focuses on conversational and agentic AI for enterprise customer service.

- **Role:** Chief AI Officer at NiCE and General Manager of NiCE Cognigy
- **Organizations:** NiCE, NiCE Cognigy, Cognigy, Sitecore, SAP
- **Nationality:** German-Australian
- **Education:** Master of Science in Business Information Systems, University of Münster, Queensland University of Technology, High Potential Leadership Program (executive education), Harvard Business School
- **Known for:** Built Sitecore’s Australia and New Zealand operation and led global sales., Co-founded Cognigy in 2016 and led it as CEO through its acquisition by NiCE., Cognigy raised a $100 million Series C in June 2024 and reported more than 1,000 brands using its platform.

## Career timeline

- **Before 2008** — Studied in Germany and Australia and worked at SAP Australia.
- **2008** — Established Sitecore’s Australia and New Zealand operation; its opening was documented in February 2008.
- **2010** — As Sitecore Australia Managing Director, reported more than 150 ANZ customers and more than 45 digital agency partners.
- **Before 2016** — Led global sales at Sitecore and served as CIO.
- **2016** — Co-founded Cognigy with Sascha Poggemann and Benjamin Mayr in Düsseldorf; became CEO.
- **2021** — Led Cognigy during its $44 million Series B, announced June 2.
- **2022** — Cognigy extended the Series B to $59 million with a $15 million DTCP investment.
- **2024** — Cognigy announced a $100 million Series C on June 11, led by Eurazeo Growth.
- **2025** — NiCE announced an approximately $955 million acquisition agreement on July 28 and completed the deal on September 8; Heltewig became Chief AI Officer and General Manager of NiCE Cognigy.
- **2026** — Continued leading AI strategy and NiCE Cognigy, writing and speaking on enterprise AI trust, permissions and customer experience.

## Achievements

- Built Sitecore’s Australia and New Zealand operation and led global sales.
- Co-founded Cognigy in 2016 and led it as CEO through its acquisition by NiCE.
- Cognigy raised a $100 million Series C in June 2024 and reported more than 1,000 brands using its platform.
- Named Düsseldorfer des Jahres for 2025 in the business category.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — Public commentary on personal AI agents argued that reduced effort for consumers could increase customer-service demand; a NiCE-related protocol announcement quoted him on personal agents interacting with enterprise agents.
- **2026-09** — CMSWire reported his argument that AI risk depends on the tools, permissions and controls surrounding the model.
- **2026-09** — Listed as a main-stage speaker for Future Tech Fest in Düsseldorf on September 10; this records the published programme, not independently verified attendance.
- **2026-06** — Published a NiCE article on trust, governance and hybrid agents in enterprise customer experience.
- **2026-05** — Discussed the NiCE integration and his Australian career in an iTWire interview in Sydney.
- **2026-03** — Appeared on the EU-Startups podcast discussing Cognigy’s founding, acquisition and agentic AI.

## Links

- Website: https://www.cognigy.com/senior-leadership-team
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heltewig/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/philipp-heltewig
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-12