TRECCERT's Structure
Board of Directors
As a certification body for persons, TRECCERT is responsible for setting standards and issuing certifications to individuals who meet those standards. TRECCERT’s board of directors is responsible for setting the policies and guidelines for the certification process, overseeing the administration of exams and the granting of certifications, and ensuring that the certification process is fair and transparent. The board is also responsible for making decisions about the direction and strategy of the organization and for ensuring that it is operating effectively and efficiently.
Our board is composed of individuals with diverse backgrounds and expertise in the field of certification and training. We are committed to ensuring that TRECCERT is run effectively and in the best interests of its shareholders, as well as ensuring that the company complies with all relevant laws and regulations.
Thilo Klein, CEO
Thilo Klein is a successful CEO, entrepreneur and founder with almost 20 years of leadership experience. He has also spent more than two decades working in the financial services industry.
Thilo's educational background is impressive and follows his lifelong learning approach. Starting with the renowned Sparkassenkaufmann he continued his education with a Diplom-Kaufmann (Master degree) at Fernuniversität Hagen, an Executive MBA from Purdue University and an Executive MBL from the University of St. Gallen.
Hartmut T. Renz, Co-CEO
Hartmut brings decades of experience in Compliance and Governance matters, having worked with leading organizations in the finance industry. Previously, he was the registered Head of Compliance & a Managing Director at Citigroup Global Markets Europe AG in Frankfurt. At Citi, he was responsible for compliance advisory and monitoring of all Citi activities within Germany and its legal entities. He ensured the application of global guidelines, standards and processes as well as established appropriate supplementary procedures to comply with applicable laws and regulations.
Prior to that, he was the registered Group Chief Compliance Officer of LBBW Landesbank Baden-Württemberg in Stuttgart. He was responsible for LBBWs global compliance function, where he made a successful restructuring as well as implemented internal governance structures while promoting a holistic risk management approach. Previously, he headed the Compliance unit at Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen Girozentrale (Helaba) in Frankfurt for more than 10 years as the registered Capital Markets Group Compliance Officer. In this function, he was, among others, a member of the Sanctions Committee of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
Currently, he is a Partner for Financial Services - Regulatory and Compliance Advisory at STRATECO GmbH, a German management consultancy firm specializing in business consulting, IT & Marketing.
Lirim Bllaca, COO
Lirim Bllaca is an experienced business executive with expertise in ISO management system standards, education, certification and accreditation. His background includes over a decade in the military, where he held various leadership positions as an officer, led the military academy, and served as an instructor.
In his transition from the military to the corporate sector, Lirim brought valuable leadership and strategic skills to TRECCERT. His role as COO involves streamlining operations and maintaining high standards in management and accreditation processes. Lirim has also worked with various organizations in developing management systems, managing projects, engaging communities and has led several accreditation projects.
Impartiality Committee
The TRECCERT Impartiality Committee is responsible for ensuring that the certification process is unbiased and objective, free from any external influence or pressure and that all individuals who are certified meet the required standards. To do this, the committee reviews and evaluates TRECCERT’s policies, procedures, and practices to ensure that they meet the requirements for impartiality.
In addition, the impartiality committee is responsible for reviewing any potential conflicts of interest that may arise during the certification process. For example, if a member of the TRECCERT’s staff has a close personal or professional relationship with a candidate being evaluated, the committee may need to review the situation to ensure that it does not compromise the objectivity of the certification process.
Overall, the impartiality committee plays a vital role in maintaining the integrity and credibility of TRECCERT’s operations and ensuring that it is able to provide unbiased and objective certifications to personnel who meet the required standards.
Louise Brown
Louise is an established expert in anti-corruption, who currently is a Director for Financial Crime Prevention/Anti-Corruption at ADVISENSE. Prior to joining ADVISENSE, Louise has worked over ten years with the global certification bodies DNV and Intertek Certification, and was most recently the CEO of a company specialized in due diligence and assessment of social responsibility and financial crime in personnel-intensive industries.
Louise is a former Integrity Compliance Monitor through the World Bank, Local Research Correspondent on Corruption for Sweden to the EU Commission. She is member of the board of the Association of Certified Financial Crime Specialists Nordic Chapter, a former member and chair of the board of Transparency International Sweden and has on several occasions assisted Swedish media with corruption and money laundering investigations including the Swedbank scandal. She is a frequently invited speaker and lecturer on financial crime and anti-corruption. Louise also has an international career behind her in business development and investment management in China, Germany, and Australia, among others, as well as solid operational audit experience.
Torsten Niemann
Tosten is a recognized strategy professional, who currently runs as a Vice President of Strategy at Swiss Steel Group, one of the world’s leading providers of individual solutions in the special long steel products sector. He was previously a Chief Sales Officer at GMH Grouppe, a company that develops, manufactures, and supplies high-quality materials, components, and products made of steel, which enable industries and markets to move forward together, sustainably. He is also a former Managing Director of Schmiedewerke Gröditz, a company that supplies open-die forgings and ring-rolled products. His experience also consists of renewables & environment, as he was a Head of Strategy with Power of Attorney at Georgsmarienhütte Holding GMBH.
He completed his studies at the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt and also finished the Master of Business Administration (MBA) at Purdue University Krannert School of Management.
Bernard Nikaj
Bernard is a well-known educator, activist and former Minister of Trade and Industry at the Government of Kosovo. He was also the Ambassador of Kosovo to Belgium and Luxembourg at the same time acting as Head of the Kosovo Mission to the European Union and NATO. Prior to this, he worked for the Deputy Prime Minister for Economy and Minister of Trade focusing on issues of trade relations, industrial development, business environment reforms and foreign direct investment.
Bernard an expert on Public Policy, Economic Development, Public Administration Reform, Public Finance Management, E-Government, Information Systems. He has more than ten years of experience working on development projects focusing on public financial management, social sector reform, economic development, and public administration reforms. He worked on organizational changes, and re-engineering processes, and has extensive experience managing complex change in challenging environments. He was a former Lecturer of Management and Entrepreneurship at the Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the University of Pristina. Currently, he serves as an adjunct professor at RIT Kosovo.
He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Maastricht in Governance and Policy Analysis and an MSc from the London School of Economics (LSE) in Management of Information Systems. He has been awarded the British Foreign Office Chevening Scholarship for his master’s studies, the Netherlands Fellowship Award (NFP) by the Government of Netherlands for his Ph.D. studies and has spent a semester as a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at the University of California at Berkeley. He is also FCO International Leaders Program (ILP) Alumni.