Bertelsmann
The family-owned company was founded in 1835 by Carl Bertelsmann as a small publishing house and print shop in Gütersloh. Bertelsmann became a global corporation under Reinhard Mohn, the fifth generation to manage the company. He established the book club, the foundation and expanded the group to over 100,000 employees. At the end of the 1960s, Bertelsmann acquired a majority stake in Gruner + Jahr and thus became an important player in the media industry. This was followed by the development of the TV business with the founding of RTL, Vox and a stake in n-tv. Bertelsmann also entered the online business early on with shares in AOL and the establishment of BarnesandNobles.com. Other important Group segments are the book business (Random House, Springer Wissenschaftsverlag) and the music industry (BMG). After Reinhard Mohn's death, his wife Elisabeth "Liz" Mohn took over the business, now together with her son Christoph Mohn. Mohn's grandson Carsten Coesfeld is now rumoured to be the next Bertelsmann boss. The Group is active in over 50 countries and employs more than 80,000 people (2023).
Business Form
private
Legal Form
SE & Co. KGaA (partnership limited by shares whose general partner is a European company).
Business Sectors
Marketing services; logistics; financial services; cloud solutions for business customers; printing services; learning services; start-up investments
Individual Owner
Other Print Outlets
ART (0;06%); Brigitte (0.89%); Capital (0.15%); Gala (2.19%); GEO (0.5%); Schöner Wohnen (0.32%); Stern (4.2%); Häuser; Couch (0.04%)
Other TV Outlets
Nitro (1.87%); RTL Super (1.33%)
Other Radio Outlets
Hitradio RTL Sachsen (0.6%); 104.6 RTL; 105‘5 Spreeradio (0.2%); JAM FM (0.2%); Radio Brocken (0.5%); 89.0 RTL; Antenne Niedersachsen (0.9%)
Other Online Outlets
Stern.de (1.37%); capital.de; rtl.de (0.91%); eltern.de (0.09%); sport.de (0.18%); geo.de (0.34%); gala.de (0.28%); brigitte.de (0.4%); schoener-wohnen.de (0.11%)
Media Business
Advertising sales
Ad Alliance GmbH (76%)
Music label
BMG (100%)
TV channel
RTL Group (76%)
Publishing
Gruner + Jahr Deutschland GmbH (76%)
Business
Logistics and Supply Chain Solutions
Arvato SE (100%)
Financial Services
Riverty Group GmbH (100%)
IT Solutions and Consulting
Arvato Systems GmbH (100%)
IT Solutions
Arvato Limited (100%)
Printing
Mohn Media Mohndruck GmbH (100%)
Printing company
GGP Media GmbH (100%)
Vogel Druck und Medienservice GmbH (100%)
Communication services
Territory GmbH (100%)
Campaign direct services Gütersloh GmbH (100%)
Production and service solutions
Sonopress GmbH (100%)
Packaging service provider
Topac GmbH (100%)
Marketing
Deutschlandcard GmbH (100%)
Education and training in the medical sector
Afya (49.2%)
Relias Learning GmbH (100%)
Education
Alliant International University
Investment Fund
Bertelsmann Asia Investments
Bertelsmann India Investments
Venture Capital Fund
Bertelsmann Digital Media Investment
Video production
Freemantle (UK, 76%)
Book Publisher
Penguin Random House (USA, 100%)
General Information
Founding Year
1835
Affiliated Interests Founder
was a printer and lithographer from Gütersloh who laid the foundations for today's global corporation by founding C. Bertelsmann Verlag. In the beginning, the publishing house published missionary, religious writings and songbooks. He was regarded as a devout Protestant and was active on the church council in his home town of Gütersloh and campaigned for the establishment of a Protestant grammar school. Carl Bertelsmann died in 1850, leaving behind five children. His son Heinrich took over the publishing house
Employees
80,418 (2023)
Contact
Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA
Carl-Bertelsmann-Straße 270
33335 Gütersloh
Telefon +49 (0) 52 41-80-0
E-Mail: info@bertelsmann.de
Website: www.bertelsmann.de
Tax/ ID Number
DE 126 770 390
Financial Information
Revenue (Financial Data/ Optional)
€ 20.2 Billion / USD 21.9 Billion (2023)
Operating Profit (in Mill. $)
€ 1.3 Billion / USD 1.4 Billion (2023)
Advertising (in % of total funding)
17.5%: € 3.5 Billion / USD 3.8 Billion (2023)
Management
Executive Board
Chairman of the Bertelsmann Executive Board and CEO of RTL Group. Rabe joined the Group in 2000 as CFO of RTL Group. In 2006, he was brought to Gütersloh as Chief Financial Officer and Head of Bertelsmann Music Group. Six years later, he became Chairman of the Executive Board and has been CEO of RTL Group since 2019. Rabe grew up in Brussels and began his career at the European Commission after studying economics. In addition to his work for Bertelsmann, he is also Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Adidas.
Member of the Executive Board of Bertelsmann Bertelsmann Investments and Financial Solutions. Coesfeld has been with the Group since 2011 and began his Bertelsmann career as assistant to the CEO. He is a member of the owner family Mohn. This was followed by various positions at subsidiaries until he finally moved up to the Executive Board at the beginning of 2024.
Bertelsmann's Chief Financial Officer has been with the Group since 2004. After five years at the subsidiary Arvato as CFO and CEO, he was promoted to the Executive Board of the entire Group in 2021.
Chief Human Resources Officer since 2015 and previously Head of Group Human Resources for nine years. Hermreck began his career as a consultant in the media sector after studying communications and economics.
Supervisory Board
Chairman of the Supervisory Board and son of Reinhard and Liz Mohn, i.e. a shareholder as part of the founding family in the sixth generation. Mohn is also family spokesperson and Chairman of the Steering Committee (BVG), Chairman of the Board of the Reinhard Mohn Foundation and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Bertelsmann Foundation.
Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board , former Executive Vice President of Nestlé S.A. for Innovation, Technology, Research and Development.
Chief Financial Officer and Member of the Executive Board of SAP SE.
Chairwoman of the International Executive Representative Committee of Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA.
Chairman of the Group Works Council of Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA.
Former Chief Executive Officer of Industria de Diseño Textil S.A. (Inditex S.A.).
Executive Vice President, Global Supply Chain, BMG.
Member of the Management Board for Technology, Data and Innovation at Deutsche Bank AG.
General Partner NfX, Angel Investor.
Chairman of the Group Works Council RTL Germany.
Member of the Executive Board of the Bertelsmann Foundation, partner and daughter of Reinhard and Liz Mohn, and sister of Christoph Mohn.
Founder and Chairwoman of the Executive Board of the Liz Mohn Foundation and partner of Bertelsmann Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH. Liz Mohn was married to Reinhard Mohn, the founder of the Bertelsmann Foundation, until his death in 2009. As a benefactor, Liz Mohn plays a significant role in the group and in determining the family's assets.
Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG, Chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche Automobil Holding SE.
Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Carlsberg A/S, Senior Advisor of A.P. Møller Holding.
Deputy Chairwoman of the Group Works Council of Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA.
Independent management consultant, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Flix SE, former member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, Finance & Controlling / Daimler Financial Services.
Further Information
Meta Data
The group holds investments in over 350 companies via the funds of the Bertelsmann Investments division, which are not listed here for practical reasons.
The capital shares of the Bertelsmann Foundation are attributed to the Mohn family, as the founder has extensive powers and control within the foundation.
