Thomas Rabe Appointed New Chairman & CEO of Bertelsmann AG Effective January 1, 2012 - Hartmut Ostrowski to Move to Supervisory Board

The Supervisory Board of Bertelsmann AG has appointed Thomas Rabe (46), currently Chief Financial Officer of the Group, as its future Chairman & CEO. He will succeed the current Chairman & CEO Hartmut Ostrowski (53) on January 1, 2012. Ostrowski is resigning from the Executive Board for personal reasons and will be moving to the Supervisory Board. The changeover takes place amicably and by mutual consent.

Hartmut Ostrowski joined Bertelsmann AG in 1982 and has worked for the company in various functions ever since, with only a brief interruption. In 2002, when he became CEO of Arvato AG, he also took a seat on the Bertelsmann Executive Board, and was appointed its Chairman on January 1, 2008. His achievements include expanding Arvato AG into an international services company; successfully steering Bertelsmann through the economic crisis; and paying down the debt to the target level.

The shareholders and Supervisory Board of Bertelsmann AG paid tribute to Hartmut Ostrowski’s many years of contributing to the company’s success. Gunter Thielen, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, says: “Bertelsmann owes Hartmut Ostrowski a great debt of gratitude. He led the company in difficult times. I look forward to continuing to work with him on the Supervisory Board. The timing of the changeover ensures that the passing of the baton to Thomas Rabe will be handled smoothly.”

Thomas Rabe has served as Chief Financial Officer and Head of the Corporate Center at Bertelsmann AG since January 1, 2006. Prior to this, he had held the same position at RTL Group in Luxembourg since 2000. In addition to his duties as Chief Financial Officer, Rabe is also responsible for the Corporate Investments growth initiatives, which include the holding in the music rights company BMG, and the Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments (BDMI) and Bertelsmann Asia Investments (BAI) funds. His successor as Chief Financial Officer will be appointed at a later date.

Thielen adds: “The shareholders and Supervisory Board wish Thomas Rabe the best of success in his new role. We are sure that in him, we have an entrepreneur at the top who will lend further momentum to Bertelsmann’s growth strategy and future development.”

About Bertelsmann AG

Bertelsmann is an international media company whose core divisions encompass television (RTL Group), book publishing (Random House), magazine publishing (Gruner + Jahr), and outsourcing services (Arvato) in 50 countries. In 2010, the company’s businesses, with their 100,000 employees, generated revenues of €15.8 billion. Bertelsmann stands for a distinctive combination of creativity and entrepreneurship that empowers the creation of first-rate media, communications, and service offerings to inspire people around the world and to provide innovative solutions for customers.

For further questions, please contact:

Andreas Grafemeyer

Senior Vice President Media Relations

Phone: +49 – 52 41 / 80 24 66

andreas.grafemeyer@bertelsmann.de

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