Thomas Hesse Appointed as New Member of Bertelsmann Executive Board

• Central department for corporate development and new businesses

The Supervisory Board of Bertelsmann AG has appointed Thomas Hesse to the international media company’s Executive Board. Hesse will assume his new position on February 1, 2012. His tasks will be to advance the group’s business development, build new businesses for Bertelsmann, and facilitate the digital transformation of the core businesses. In this role he will be responsible for the growth platforms Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments (BDMI) and Bertelsmann Asia Investments (BAI), for the Education business and for the holding in the BMG music rights company. To date, these activities were represented on the Executive Board by Chief Financial Officer Thomas Rabe, who will become Chairman of the Executive Board with effect from January 1, 2012. Thomas Hesse is currently president of Sony Music’s global digital business in New York. Until 2008, Hesse held various executive positions at Bertelsmann.

Gunter Thielen, Chairman of the Bertelsmann AG Supervisory Board, said: “In Thomas Hesse, we are gaining a top-notch, internationally renowned executive for Bertelsmann’s Executive Board. With his expertise, he will provide valuable impetus for Bertelsmann’s further development and help to increase the company’s value long-term.”

Thomas Rabe, designated Chairman & CEO of Bertelsmann AG, added: “I am pleased about the Supervisory Board’s decision. Thomas Hesse knows Bertelsmann very well from his earlier work and is well acquainted with the international media world. He brings to his new position a high level of expertise and a profound understanding of the digital challenges a global media company faces. We will work together closely on the Executive Board.”

Thomas Hesse (45) has served as head of the worldwide digital business and chief strategist at Sony BMG, now Sony Music Entertainment, since 2005; in this New York-based position he is also responsible for U.S. sales. Hesse, who holds a doctorate in economics, came to Sony from Bertelsmann as a result of the 2004 merger between BMG and Sony Music. Under his leadership, Sony Music massively expanded its worldwide digital businesses. After studying in Oxford, London and St. Gallen, Hesse began his career in 1991 as a consultant with McKinsey, leaving in 1996 to join what is now the RTL Group, and subsequently taking on various executive positions within Bertelsmann until 2008.

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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Hesse_engl.pdf	88 kB