Press Release | Gütersloh, 12/05/2011

Bertelsmann forms Group Management Committee

• Advisors to Executive Board on corporate strategy and corporate development
• Composition with a view to internationality
• Led by CEO

The international media company Bertelsmann is establishing a Group Management Committee (GMC) effective January 1, 2012. The GMC advises and assists the Executive Board on important matters of corporate strategy and corporate development and other Group-wide issues. It is composed of the members of the Bertelsmann Executive Board and top executives from the Bertelsmann Group. Thomas Rabe, who becomes Chairman & CEO on January 1, 2012, will head the GMC. The composition and responsibilities of the Executive Board remain unchanged.

Thomas Rabe, current CFO and designated CEO of Bertelsmann AG, said: “The international and complementary composition of the GMC will enrich strategic debate and intensify the dialogue with key executives. The diverse and extensive managerial experience from various businesses, markets, and Group-wide roles will be interlinked in the GMC to more effectively advance Bertelsmann’s further development.”

Besides the members of the full Executive Board, the new Group Management Committee will include Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland CEO Anke Schäferkordt; the head of Random House Group UK, Gail Rebuck; and Nicolas de Tavernost, Chairman of the Management Board of the French broadcaster Groupe M6. Schäferkordt, Rebuck and de Tavernost represent Bertelsmann's important core markets of Germany, Britain and France. In addition, Fernando Carro, Chief Executive Officer of the club and direct marketing businesses, whose responsibilities also include exploring new business opportunities for Bertelsmann in Latin America, and Annabelle Long, CEO of Bertelsmann Corporate in China and managing director of the Bertelsmann Asia Investments fund, will sit on the GMC, representing important growth regions for Bertelsmann in top management. As managers leading in charge of important Group-wide roles, Karin Schlautmann, Bertelsmann’s Head of Corporate Communications, and Immanuel Hermreck, Corporate HR Chief, are also on the GMC.

Rabe added: “We want to take advantage of the knowledge and expertise of select senior executives and include their counsel in all major strategic and business decisions. I am particularly delighted that the GMC will include several female executives who have been successful within the Group for years, and six different nationalities. In the future Bertelsmann will give more weight to the theme of diversity and all its facets.”

The Group Management Committee is currently being constituted, and will meet for the first time in March 2012.

About Bertelsmann

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.