Hartmut Ostrowski Named Chairman & CEO Designate

Bertelsmann AG Sets New Top Leadership Appointments Effective January 1, 2008

• Gunter Thielen to move to Supervisory Board as its elected Chairman
• Dieter Vogel to leave Supervisory Board after 20 years and remain shareholder of the Bertelsmann Verwaltungsgesellschaft (BVG)
• Rolf Buch to take a seat on the Executive Board

At today’s session, the Bertelsmann AG Supervisory Board appointed Hartmut Ostrowski (48) Bertelsmann AG’s next Chairman & CEO, effective January 1, 2008. Hartmut Ostrowski has been a member of the Bertelsmann AG Executive Board since 2002. During this time, he consistently kept the Arvato division on a growth track and led it to great business success. His major achievements as an entrepreneur include building Arvato into an international media and communications services provider with 47,000 employees in 37 countries.

As a result of Hartmut Ostrowski´s appointment, Rolf Buch (41), currently Chief Executive Officer Arvato Direct Services, will succeed as Chairman & CEO of the Arvato division and assume his seat on the Bertelsmann AG Executive Board. As a member of the Arvato Executive Board, Rolf Buch was instrumental in the group's success and contributed significantly to expanding the services business.

On January 1, 2008, current Bertelsmann AG Chairman & CEO Gunter Thielen will move to the Supervisory Board and will be elected its chairman, which the Bertelsmann Verwaltungsgesellschaft (BVG) determined at its session yesterday. The group’s long-time Supervisory Board Chairman Dieter Vogel will leave office after 20 years of very successful work on the Supervisory Board, 11 of them as its chairman. He will continue to be a shareholder of the BVG.

Dieter Vogel, Chairman of the Bertelsmann AG Supervisory Board, commented: “The Supervisory Board believes that the changeover will shape the company’s future for the long term. Hartmut Ostrowski’s appointment as Chairman & CEO and Rolf Buch’s to the Bertelsmann AG Executive Board safeguard both continuity and new momentum in the group’s development. The Supervisory Board wishes Hartmut Ostrowski and Rolf Buch the best of success when they take up their new positions at the beginning of 2008.”

About Bertelsmann AG

The media company Bertelsmann commands globally leading positions in the major markets. Its core business is the creation of first-class media content. Bertelsmann includes RTL Group, Europe’s No.1 in television and radio, as well as the world’s biggest book-publishing group, Random House, with more than 100 publishing imprints (Alfred A. Knopf, Bantam, Goldmann). Gruner + Jahr, the European No.1 in magazine publishing (Stern, Geo, Capital), and the Sony BMG joint venture (Anastacia, Alicia Keys, Beyoncé, Dido, Usher) also stand for creativity and powerful brands. The Arvato division bundles the group’s media and communications services, which include the expanding units Arvato Logistics Services and Arvato Direct Services (distribution, service centers, customer relationship management), along with state-of-the-art printers, storage media production and comprehensive IT-services. Bertelsmann’s direct-to-customer businesses are bundled in Direct Group: book and music clubs with more than 35 million members all over the world.

For further questions, please contact:

Andreas Grafemeyer

Senior Vice President Media Relations

Tel.: +49 – 5241 / 80 24 66

andreas.grafemeyer@bertelsmann.de

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