ProVideo Coalition interviewed the new MAGIX CEO, Robert Rutkowski, as well as Chief Product Officer Gary Rebholz, to know what’s next for the software company and its flagship product, VEGAS Pro.

After the announcement that VEGAS Creative Software and its parent company, MAGIX Software GmbH, were acquired by RM Equity Partners, a leading European investor in digital businesses, ProVideo Coalition had the opportunity to interview the new MAGIX CEO, Robert Rutkowski, as well as Chief Product Officer Gary Rebholz, whose connection with VEGAS Pro goes back to 1998.

MAGIX filed for insolvency in December 2023 and applied for self-administration. Comprehensive restructuring measures were developed and implemented as part of the self-administration process. The insolvency plan submitted by MAGIX included the takeover of the shares by Erento GmbH, a company of RM Equity Partners, an investment holding company that specializes in acquisitions of digital marketplaces and software companies.

The interviews now published give us a more complete idea of the acquisition, which marks a significant milestone for MAGIX, as it successfully concluded its voluntary restructuring process, in January 2025, and moves forward with strong financial backing and a renewed strategic vision. As we noted in previous news, alongside the acquisition, Robert Rutkowski has been appointed as the CEO of MAGIX, ushering in a new era of innovation and growth for the company.

So, without further ado, here are the interviews, which reveal what’s next for MAGIX.

Interview with Robert Rutkowski, CEO MAGIX

PVC – The MAGIX brand is a new area for RM Equity Partners in terms of industries it acquires. How did this deal, which appears to be a special situation outside the normal sphere of acquisitions, happen?

Robert Rutkowski – RM Equity Partners is always looking for digital businesses with real potential. MAGIX might be a different product from our previous focus areas, but once we looked under the hood, it quickly became clear that this was a unique opportunity. There’s a strong product lineup, a loyal user base, and a very skilled technical team behind it all. Those are all the right ingredients for a good business.

What really stood out to us was the space MAGIX is in. Even though it’s highly competitive, the Creator Economy is growing constantly, with more people jumping in every day. Whether it’s video, music, or social content. We saw this as a chance to step into a fast-moving and creative industry where we can add value and build something meaningful.

PVC  – RM Equity Partners is specialized in “acquiring, managing, and operating profitable niche businesses in Online Marketplaces, Consumer Apps and SaaS”. Where does the MAGIX business fit in with this description?

Robert Rutkowski – MAGIX fits surprisingly well, even if it’s from a different vertical. It has a massive and loyal customer base, and well-established products in a dynamic market.

Our goal is to build a healthy foundation that gives the MAGIX team the freedom to express themselves, bring in ideas and help improve the company and its products from within.

We also saw potential to build on what’s already there, developing cloud integrations, expanding creative tools, and enhancing the user experience in ways that really align with how creators work today. So while it’s a different kind of business, the fundamentals match up with what we look for: strong digital products, passionate users, and room to grow.

PVC – MAGIX was founded in 1994 and headquartered in Berlin, Germany, and RM Equity Partners, founded in 2017, is from Liechtenstein. Did the fact that these two companies are from Europe have any influence on the acquisition?

Robert Rutkowski – Absolutely, it helped a lot and made the whole legal process much smoother. Personally, I’m a born Berliner and had already been working here with Erento, so the transition felt very seamless. We also have members of our leadership team based in Dresden or nearby, which is a key location for MAGIX’s development team. That close connection has really helped us hit the ground running and take a very hands-on approach from day one.

That said, I’ve always felt a strong connection with the U.S. as well. My sister moved there over 15 years ago, and I genuinely enjoy working with Americans. Gary, in particular, has been incredibly insightful and we were on the same page right from the start. So while it’s great to have a European foundation, we’re very comfortable operating in an international context.

PVC – The acquisition marks “a significant milestone for MAGIX”, after it filed for insolvency in December 2023 and applied for self-administration, in a voluntary restructuring process that was concluded in 2025. The insolvency has now officially ended, and the company has been successfully restructured moving forward “with strong financial backing and a renewed strategic vision”. What’s next for MAGIX?

Robert Rutkowski – I completely agree with that, it is a major milestone, and we’ve felt incredibly welcomed by the team, even though they’ve just come through a very challenging year. Now it’s time to shift the focus toward building a stronger, more agile, and more collaborative foundation for the future.

We’re taking a close look at the product portfolio, making sure we optimize where it makes sense and double down on areas with clear growth potential like VEGAS. Another big priority is improving internal tools and workflows. We want to modernize how we work so our developers can move faster, stay ahead of trends, and deliver features that really make a difference to our users.

PVC – You transition from Erento GmbH, the largest rental portal in Europe, to MAGIX, a completely different area of the market and a new one for RM Equity Partners. Can the same tools and strategies be used to move the MAGIX brand forward? How are you approaching this new challenge and what are your plans for the company?

Robert Rutkowski – There are definitely some universal fundamentals. No matter the industry, it’s about building great products, deeply understanding your users, and creating an experience that keeps people coming back.

Right now, we’re focused on finding the right balance between leveraging the deep industry knowledge and creativity of the existing team, and bringing in fresh energy, modern tools, and new technologies to help us move faster and more efficiently. It’s a really exciting challenge for this year, and I’m already seeing clear signs of progress.

Our new management team is well-equipped for this phase. We bring a mix of leadership experience, a strong sense of company culture, technical expertise, user-focused marketing, and design that speaks to today’s creators. I believe that combination gives us the momentum we need to take MAGIX to the next level.

PVC – The restructuring process led to the reduction of some employees at MAGIX. Will that not affect the development of software and the new goals for the key brands, in video and audio? Will the full range of MAGIX products be maintained or will the company reduce its offer?

Robert Rutkowski – It’s never easy to lose people, especially those who’ve been part of the journey. But many of those difficult decisions were made before we even came on board. Our focus now is on enabling the talented team we do have with better tools, modern processes, and fewer roadblocks so they can do their best work.

We’re prioritizing our core products and putting real energy into them. That means making smart, focused decisions, ensuring that every product we support gets the attention and investment it deserves. It’s about quality, not just quantity.

PVC – You’ve said that the goal, now is “to build the most creativity-enhancing editing tools ever.” How far will RM Equity Partners go for MAGIX to achieve that goal? What assurance can be given to end-users that the brand will not only continue but become even more competitive?

Robert Rutkowski – For us, success means building tools that creators truly love. Tools that empower people to create fast, precise, and with more joy along the way. That’s not just a business objective, it’s something we believe in personally. We didn’t come on board to just maintain the status quo. We’re here to empower the team to build something exciting and future-facing. Like any business, we need to succeed to survive, but we’re confident in our ability to do that because we believe in the potential that’s here.  Essentially our users are at the center of everything we develop. If we keep delivering better experiences for them, the rest will follow.

PVC – One last question: do you use any of the products from the MAGIX catalogue?

Robert Rutkowski – I do! I’ve used Music Maker already before. I also have several years of experience working with an independent music label on the side. Everything from recording, writing songs, booking shows and marketing. The world of music, arts, film, creativity is definitely a passion of mine.

Since the acquisition, I’ve started using Music Maker again, and I’ve checked out many of the other tools in our portfolio to get a solid understanding of what they do and how they work. For me, it’s important to experience the products firsthand. Not necessarily to become a power-user right away, but to get a feel for what the user journey is like, where the strengths are, and where there’s room to grow. That perspective helps me connect more closely with what our users need and expect from us.

Interview with Gary Rebholz, CPO MAGIX

PVC – You’ve been with MAGIX for nearly nine years and since 2022 you’re the CPO Video at the company, but in fact your connection to VEGAS Pro goes back to 1998, and Sonic Foundry, the initial developers of VEGAS Pro, Sound Forge and Acid, sold to Sony in 2003, leading to the creation of Sony Creative Software. How does it feel to see VEGAS Pro under a new ownership?

Gary Rebholz  – I’m very thankful for the new ownership, and I’m excited for the future. It’s been a tough couple of years as we underwent the voluntary restructuring, and the outcome was not always clear. But with the restructuring now complete, we have a new management structure in place and can look toward the future. I’ve been through this before.

As you pointed out, the software has gone through several ownership changes. But we’ve got an enthusiastic management team in place and, critically, the new team asks more questions than it makes proclamations. Robert and his team did not come in telling us “this is how it’s going to be”. They came in asking, “How has it been? What’s working? What needs to be fixed?” And importantly, they’ve asked a lot of “why” questions. Why do we do things this way? Why don’t we have this system in place? And so on. And then they listen to the answers. We’re developing a more effective culture here than we’ve had the past few years. A culture that encourages every colleague at every level to engage in the process. To ask their own questions, share their own opinions and levy their own challenges to how things are done. Common sense is replacing age-old procedures that don’t work in the modern business environment. All of this bodes exceptionally well for MAGIX, VEGAS Pro, and all of the other software titles in both the video and audio spaces. The development teams are doing amazing work. And now they are backed by a management team that wants to leverage that work to the benefit of the customer. And that will lead to success. I’m very hopeful for the future.

PVC – Your first contact with Sonic Foundry was to revamp Sonic Foundry’s outdated and disorganized website, as you had experience with HTML, being the author of books like “How to Use Html” and “Xhtml: Visually in Full Color”, from 2001, and after that “Sams Teach Yourself ACID 3.0 in 24 Hours”, also from 2001. How does a graphic designer that also does software training end as responsible for the development and management of new and existing software products, at Sony and as CPO at MAGIX since 2022?

Gary Rebholz  – It’s been an interesting and unpredictable journey, that’s for sure! Looking forward from those early days, I couldn’t have predicted it. But looking back at it now, it actually makes pretty logical sense. Part of why I developed an interest in HTML was because I saw in those early days of the internet what an amazing teaching tool it could be. I had already begun writing training-type documentation in the early days of desktop publishing because my creative colleagues at the time were sort of afraid of transitioning their work to a computer and they had no clue where to start. Well, neither did I, honestly, but I had skills as a writer and, as it turned out, as a teacher. So, I set out to learn to use the layout program we were supposed to start using (Quark XPress) and write down the procedures I was learning. It turned out I was pretty good at it.

I used my skills with HTML to get my foot in the door at Sonic Foundry, and then used my writing and teaching skills to help others at the company learn HTML. That caught the attention of the training director who asked me to start working with him to develop training materials for SOUND FORGE, ACID, and eventually VEGAS Pro. That was a dream. I wrote comprehensive training on all of those software titles and in the process became an expert user. I knew the software inside and out. And I also became very familiar with our users and what they needed, as well as the video and audio markets. Eventually, times were getting a bit rough for Sony and there where going to be layoffs. Thankfully, rather than cut me when they determined that they could no longer keep a training team, they offered me the position of Product Owner (PO) to guide the development of a video product.

I honestly didn’t think I was interested, and came a breath away from turning it down and moving on, but I decided that learning new skills can’t be bad, so I took the gig. After two years in that role, MAGIX acquired the software and brought me on to lead the VEGAS team as PO. After several years of doing that for MAGIX, the position of Chief Product Officer for the pro video team opened up, and it made sense to the management team at the time to move me into that role. Eventually, I took on the DIY team as well as the pro team, and here I am overseeing all video products. So, maybe no one would have planned that path out, but it does make sense when I look back! In short, keeping an open mind and looking for ways to help sums it up pretty well, I guess.

PVC – VEGAs Pro has been changing to be easier to use, with the adoption of new interfaces and tools, and the use of AI, always implemented to “free the user to more fully express their creativity” as part of the “Assistance with Intention” defined by the team behind the development of the software. What are the challenges of implementing AI this way and will we continue to see VEGAS Pro follow the same path or are there changes under the new owner?

Gary Rebholz  – Because the AI topic is so hot right now, it’s difficult to resist the temptation to implement AI for the sake of AI. We see a lot of software introducing all these “amazing” AI features. But who really wants a tool that puts bunny ears and funny spectacles on their baby brother? Sure, those users are out there, but they are not the users we serve. So, we do choose the AI features we implement with careful intention. With careful thought towards answering the question, “How can we best help those customers who want professional results get their jobs done faster and more creatively?”

But it’s tough because you see comments on forums like, “My $10 mobile editing app lets me put bunny ears and funny spectacles on my baby brother. If your software is so pro and costs more, then why can’t it do that?” You can only shake your head and accept that those kinds of users might not ever understand what we’re doing here. While those bunny ears might look “great” on your Instagram feed, you quickly find out what a gimmick you’ve fallen for when you have to deliver your project in HD or 4K on a large-screen monitor. One thing’s for certain: many of those “great” AI features fall apart pretty quickly when you’re asking a client to pay for the results! So, we will continue to develop AI features carefully and intentionally.

If we find a way that AI can truly help our users get the work done faster and/or more creatively while at the same time maintaining the high standards for professional delivery, then we’ll consider developing those features. But we will not implement AI for AI’s sake. Doing that doesn’t help anyone. And we will not implement AI that’s aimed at replacing truly talented creatives. We believe no machine can replace the creative skills of talented and passionate creators. The AI we develop will aim to assist those creators and free them to think even more creatively.

PVC – “The goal is to build the most creativity-enhancing editing tools ever” says Robert Rutkowski, the new CEO at MAGIX. What does the development team need from the new management to achieve that goal? What are your hopes for the future of products that you’ve invested so much of your life developing?

Gary Rebholz  – Of course, there are the logistical answers like resources, developers, access to gear, and so forth. But what’s really needed, I believe we have already begun to develop. And that’s a management team that’s passionate about the products. Not just the revenue possibilities, but the products themselves and how they improve the lives of the creators who use them. As a management team, we have to believe in these products. We have to be true believers. And that goes for everyone across the company. We have to keep the passion burning for these software titles. Face it, we’re the underdogs. The cards are stacked against us. There are plenty of people out there who don’t think we can make it. But VEGAS Pro and the other software have been in this same position for a very long time. No one in the industry thought that we’d make it past the year 2000, and here we still are. Thriving. Through up times and down. Through insane price pressures and powerful, super-funded competitors.

You don’t survive in the audio and video software market for as long as this software has unless you have great products. The developers know the software is great, and they know they will make it even greater. What do they need from us on the management team? That same belief in the future. That same passion. That same endless determination to thrive. And that’s exactly what we’re building.

PVC – What’s next for VEGAS Pro and the other key software from MAGIX?

Gary Rebholz  – Full steam ahead. For VEGAS Pro, we’re really focusing on the creator market. Not only our traditional users who we appreciate as our core supporters and believers, but also the new crop of creators who deliver on social platforms like YouTube. It makes a lot of sense that VEGAS Pro can help these creators because in some ways they have the same requirements as the original group of users that made VEGAS Pro a powerful player in this industry. Back then, the wedding and event creators loved VEGAS Pro because it enabled their creativity while at the same time giving them the power to deliver fast and often. These editors were delivering a video every week during the high wedding season, and maybe more. They didn’t have time to struggle with software that got in the way of their creativity, and they loved VEGAS Pro because it simply made sense to their creative minds and in their creative flow.

Now here we are today with thousands of content creators with the same requirements: delivering creative videos fast and often. So, we will continue to make video engine improvements that facilitate their workflow even more efficiently. And as always, we’ll focus on a mix of new feature innovation and refinement of what’s already there in response to user suggestions and requests. All with the goal to make this tool serve creative people even better than it does now.

PVC – One last question: how important is playing music to keep a balance between work and play?

Gary Rebholz  – For me, it’s very important. It was my love of creating music that got me into this business in the first place. Sonic Foundry was exclusively an audio software company at the time I discovered it, and I searched for any way that I could get involved because I dreamed of recording and editing music on my computer, but couldn’t afford to do so at the time. I was never going to be a pro musician, and I knew and accepted that. But I longed for a way to use my interest in music and audio in shaping a career. With this software, I found that way. I was able to leverage the skills I’d developed as a musician and a recording engineer into something in the business world.

When VEGAS Pro started moving into the video-editing space, it was a natural progression for me to move in that direction as well. But as much as I enjoy the video industry, it was my love for audio that got me here, and audio still plays a huge role in keeping me engaged. Part of why I love VEGAS Pro is the power it has as an audio tool. I still use VEGAS Pro (along with some of our other software) to record, edit, and mix my multitrack audio projects. So, VEGAS Pro keeps my job and career connected to my main hobby. That’s why I’ve been with it for so long. Melding your hobby with your career is a young person’s dream. I’ve been very lucky in that sense.

In a way, I feel like I managed to realize the dream of a lot of musicians in that I found a way to “make a living playing music”. I’m grateful that I was able to define that in a way that took me out of the mindset that says you have to be a rockstar to accomplish it. Instead, I’m thankful to have found a creative way to scratch that itch and earn a living at the same time. If there are young musicians listening/reading this, I’m proof that it can be done. You just might have to think a bit differently about what making a living with your music means.