Markus Dohle to Succeed Peter Olson as CEO of Random House and on Executive Board of Bertelsmann AG
Hartmut Ostrowski, Chairman and CEO of Bertelsmann AG, announced today that Peter Olson, 58, will step down at his own initiative from his positions as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Random House and as a member of the Executive Board of Bertelsmann AG, effective May 31. Olson will pursue an academic career.
Markus Dohle, 39, will become the new Chairman and CEO of Random House. He was appointed by the Supervisory Board of Bertelsmann AG and will succeed Mr. Olson on the Bertelsmann Executive Board as of June 1. Mr. Dohle is presently member of the Arvato AG Executive Board and CEO of Arvato Print. Dohle’s successor at Arvato will be announced shortly. The Direct Group North America reporting line will shift from Peter Olson to Bertelsmann’s Chief Financial Officer Thomas Rabe.
Mr. Olson joined Bertelsmann AG in 1988 and served in a variety of positions in Gütersloh and New York, culminating in his appointment ten years ago as Chairman and CEO of Random House. He led the negotiations for Bertelsmann’s acquisition of the publishing house and its subsequent successful integration with Bantam Doubleday Dell. Under his leadership during the past decade, Random House enhanced its position as the global trade-book publishing market leader, greatly increasing its profitability through the sale of more than four billion books globally, over four thousand bestsellers in nineteen countries and five languages, as well as with eight new Nobel Prize winners.
Mr. Ostrowski expressed his regret over Peter Olson’s departure and wished his longtime colleague the best of success with his new life plan, saying: “Peter Olson made an important contribution to developing Bertelsmann’s book publishing business. We thank him for his tremendously successful work at the helm of Random House.”
Ostrowski also congratulated Markus Dohle on his new position on the Bertelsmann Executive Board and as the CEO of the Random House division, saying: “Markus Dohle is an exceptional entrepreneur who will successfully influence the future of Random House.”
According to Ostrowski, Dohle brings to Random House a fresh strategic viewpoint on Random House’s operations. At Arvato, he has demonstrated his great ability to create new revenue streams in mature markets. Likewise, at Random House, he will lend new and necessary impetus to the book-publishing business by lengthening the value chain.
“Random House plays an important role in Bertelsmann’s growth strategy,” Ostrowski said. “Markus Dohle will continue to advance the development of world’s market-leading trade book publishing group through new ideas and by opening up new lines of business. In doing so, he will rely on Random House’s longstanding traditions, in particular the independence of its individual publishers and imprints. Markus has a leader’s personality. With his proven talent for innovation, he will enhance Random House’s long-term value and keep it strong even in a mature book marketplace.”
Mr. Dohle will be based in Random House’s world headquarters in New York, where he will be relocating this summer.
Mr. Dohle said, “My appointment as Random House's Chairman and CEO is a great honor for me. I am grateful for this vote of confidence and look forward to the entrepreneurial challenge and the chance to work with their extraordinary authors, as well as their world-class publishers and employees. Trade book publishing faces a promising future. My goal for Random House is for us to join together in identifying new growth opportunities and tap additional potential which we will develop from our core businesses as we continue to build upon Random House's unique position as the global trade-book market leader.”
Markus Dohle joined Bertelsmann in 1994, after completing a degree in economics and industrial engineering at the University of Karlsruhe (TH). He began as a management assistant at Bertelsmann Distribution. In 1998 he was promoted to Chief Executive Officer of the Vereinigte Verlagsauslieferung (VVA). He eventually led VVA to market leadership in the field of publishing logistics. In 2002, he moved to the printing sector, taking the helm of the Mohn Media group, which he has led successfully ever since. Dohle has sat on the Arvato AG executive board since 2006, and is responsible for Arvato Print’s worldwide operations and more than 11,500 employees in seven countries.
About Bertelsmann AG
Bertelsmann is an international media company encompassing television (RTL Group), book publishing (Random House), magazine publishing (Gruner + Jahr), music (BMG), media services (Arvato), and media clubs (Direct Group) in more than 50 countries. Bertelsmann’s claim is to inspire people around the world with first-class media and communications offerings – entertainment, information and services – and occupy leading positions in its respective markets. The foundation of Bertelsmann's success is a corporate culture based on partnership, entrepreneurial spirit, creativity, and corporate responsibility. The company strives to bring creative new ideas to market and create value.
Bertelsmann is comprised of the television channels, television production companies, and radio stations of Europe's largest entertainment group, RTL Group (RTL Television, M6, Five, Fremantle Media), and the more than 120 publishing houses of Random House, the world's largest trade book publisher (Alfred A. Knopf, Bantam, Goldmann). Gruner + Jahr is Europe's number one magazine publisher (Stern, Geo, Neon, Capital). The Sony BMG joint venture in the BMG division is synonymous with creativity and strong international music brands (Beyoncé, Dixie Chicks, Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera). The Arvato media and communications services division brings together distribution, service centers and customer-relationship management, state-of-the art printing manufacturing, storage media production, mobile services, and comprehensive IT services. Bertelsmann's direct-to-customer businesses are unified within the Direct Group: book, DVD, and music clubs (Der Club, France Loisirs), as well as book retailers in France and Portugal.
For further questions, please contact:
Andreas Grafemeyer
Senior Vice President Media Relations
Phone: +49 – 5241 / 80 24 66
