The executive committee of ÜSTRA Hannoversche Verkehrsbetriebe AG
The ÜSTRA Executive Board consists of three members: a Chairwoman, who is responsible for technology, IT, infrastructure and marketing; a member of the Executive Board responsible for operations and human resources, who also serves as Labour Director; and a member of the Executive Board responsible for legal affairs and finance.
Elke Maria van Zadel – Chairwoman, Technology, IT, Infrastructure, Marketing
Elke Maria van Zadel, born in 1975, married with two children, studied construction informatics and civil engineering. After working for an engineering firm in Hanover, as a transport planner for the City of Hanover and as head of the transport department for the Hanover region, she became managing director of regiobus in 2018 and a member of the ÜSTRA executive board on 1 July 2019. In the newly formed management team of the transport companies, she takes over as Chair of the Board of ÜSTRA. She is responsible for technology, IT and infrastructure, transport planning, marketing/sales, internal auditing, compliance and communication in both companies. At regiobus, she is also responsible for the workshops.
Denise Hain - Director of Labour Relations, Operations & Human Resources
Denise Hain, born in Hanover in 1978, married, trained as an office clerk at ÜSTRA, worked in the legal department and was involved in various roles on the works council. In 2014, she became chair of the employee representative committee. She studied ‘ergonomics’ alongside her work, specialising in change management and personnel and organisational development. She also studied labour and corporate law, business and corporate ethics, business administration, communication and leadership. Denise Hain has been a member of the ÜSTRA Executive Board for Operations and Human Resources since December 2017 and has been responsible for human resources, transport services, occupational safety and co-determination at regiobus since June 2021.
Olof Seidel – Finance and Legal Affairs
Olof Seidel, born in Tuttlingen in 1968, is married with one daughter. He studied economics at Leibniz University in Hanover. He has over 25 years’ experience in the financial services sector. Seidel was most recently Chief Financial Officer at Norddeutsche Landesbank (Nord/LB). From 2006 to 2016, Seidel worked for DNB ASA, Norway’s largest financial services group. In 2010, he was appointed to the board of its subsidiary, DNB Bank Polska SA. Since 1 May 2026, he has held the position of Executive Board member responsible for Finance and Legal Affairs at ÜSTRA. He also serves as Managing Director of regiobus.
