Press Release | Gütersloh, 11/28/2014

Bertelsmann Supervisory Board appoints Immanuel Hermreck as Chief Human Resources Officer

• New Executive Board position adds significance to HR work
• Focus on management development
• Central contact for employee representatives

At its meeting today, the Supervisory Board of Bertelsmann appointed Corporate HR Director Immanuel Hermreck (45) as a member of the Executive Board with effect from 1 January 2015. In his role on the Board, Hermreck will be responsible for the newly created Board-level HR function. By making this appointment, the Supervisory Board underscores the importance of management development in Bertelsmann’s strategic development. Hermreck has been Executive Vice President Human Resources at Bertelsmann since 2006, and in this function sits on the Group Management Committee, which was established in 2011. He provided the impetus for many strategic HR initiatives, including the multi-award-winning employer branding initiative “Create Your Own Career” with its focus on addressing young talent on social networks, and the further development of a wide range of leadership instruments at Bertelsmann. In his capacity as Chief Human Resources Officer, Hermreck will serve as the central point of contact for the Group’s employee representatives.

Christoph Mohn, Chairman of the Bertelsmann Supervisory Board, says: “I am delighted with Immanuel Hermreck’s appointment to the Bertelsmann Executive Board. Immanuel has worked in executive positions for the company for years and is an excellent ambassador of our corporate culture of partnership. As a member of the Executive Board, he will place an even greater priority on talent management and management development. He has already provided valuable input for the transformation of Bertelsmann into a faster growing, more digital and more international company as a member of the Group Management Committee. As a member of Bertelsmann’s Executive Board, he will serve as a trustworthy and competent contact and partner for the Group’s employee representatives in connection with all processes of change.”

Since 2006, Immanuel Hermreck has been responsible for the Group’s global HR work, with a focus on management development, training, remuneration, strategy, services, compliance, and corporate culture. Previously, he was head of the Bertelsmann University, one of Germany's first and most internationally renowned corporate universities. Under his leadership, numerous innovative programs for senior executives were developed and the Bertelsmann University was expanded into the Group’s global learning and knowledge network.

Hermreck started working at the Bertelsmann Stiftung in 1998, where his responsibilities included heading the Media Economics Department. He holds a doctorate in communication and business sciences, is a graduate of Stanford University, and a former scholar of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. He sits on numerous governing and advisory boards and holds several teaching positions at international universities. In 2009, he was named a Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum.

About Bertelsmann
Bertelsmann is an international media company whose core divisions encompass television (RTL Group), book publishing (Penguin Random House), magazine publishing (Gruner + Jahr), services (Arvato), and printing (Be Printers) in some 50 countries. In 2013, the company’s businesses, with their more than 111,000 employees, generated revenues of €16.4 billion. Bertelsmann stands for a 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.