Gerhard Zeiler Leaving RTL

LUXEMBOURG: Gerhard Zeiler, currently the CEO of RTL Group and a member of Bertelsmann’s executive board, is exiting the company as of April 18, with Anke Schäferkordt and Guillaume de Posch taking over responsibilities.

Schäferkordt is presently the CEO of Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland. She is to replace Zeiler on the Bertelsmann executive board. De Posch, who is responsible for the international TV business on the RTL Group board, will become a manager of Bertelsmann’s Group Management Committee. Schäferkordt and de Posch will jointly lead RTL Group, alongside CFP Elmar Heggen. 

Zeiler is leaving by "mutual and amicable consent," stated an announcement from Bertelsmann, devoting himself instead to "new professional challenges."

Gunter Thielen, the chairman of the Bertelsmann supervisory board, said: “I was very sorry to learn of Gerhard Zeiler’s decision. He has rendered outstanding services to Bertelsmann and RTL Group in recent years. On behalf of the Supervisory Board, I would like to thank him for this and wish him all the best for the future. I am very pleased about the planned appointment of Anke Schäferkordt to Bertelsmann’s Executive Board. Mrs. Schäferkordt has very successfully managed Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland, one of our most important businesses, for years. Together with Guillaume de Posch, she will continue the successful development of Bertelsmann’s TV business and guide it into the digital future.”

Thomas Rabe, the chairman and CEO of Bertelsmann, added: “Anke Schäferkordt will enhance our work on the Board. With her appointment, the Bertelsmann Board gains not only an outstanding manager and deeply experienced TV executive, but also its first woman member. I firmly believe that mixed teams represent a competitive advantage. At the same time I am pleased that an internationally practiced TV manager is joining the Group Management Committee in the person of Guillaume de Posch; he will be able to provide valuable impetus.”
 
Rabe continued: “Gerhard Zeiler expressed the wish to tackle a new task, and I can understand that. His departure is absolutely amicable; we jointly resolved the question of who would succeed in the best interests of RTL Group. On behalf of the executive board, I would like to thank Gerhard Zeiler for his longstanding and significant contribution to RTL Group’s successful development into Bertelsmann’s biggest revenue and profit driver. Working on the Board with him was a valuable experience. Gerhard Zeiler set standards in the TV business.”