Gerhard Zeiler, Chief Executive Officer of RTL Group, leaves the company on his own request with effect from the Annual General Meeting on 18 April 2012, to take on a new challenge. Guillaume de Posch and Anke Schäferkordt will succeed him as co-CEOs.

Guillaume de Posch, currently Chief Operating Officer of RTL Group, will take over responsibility for the Group’s broadcasting operations outside Germany, and the company’s production business.

Anke Schäferkordt will continue to manage the German TV business in addition to her role as CEO of RTL Group.

Elmar Heggen – RTL Group CFO and Head of the Corporate Centre in Luxembourg – Guillaume de Posch and Anke Schäferkordt are expected to join the RTL Group Board of Directors as Executive Directors.

Andreas Rudas – Executive Vice President Regional Operations & Business Development CEE and Asia – will sit on the RTL Group Executive Committee alongside de Posch, Schäferkordt and Heggen.

Siegfried Luther, Chairman of the RTL Group Board of Directors, says: “On behalf of all shareholders and the entire RTL Group Board, I thank Gerhard Zeiler for his outstanding achievements in his 13 years at RTL and nearly nine years as CEO of RTL Group. Under his excellent management, RTL Group has become the undisputed number one free-to-air TV company in Europe, and a globally renowned brand for popular, high-quality television. Guillaume de Posch and Anke Schäferkordt, two exceedingly experienced, internationally recognised managers, will take over the management of RTL Group. I am delighted that the two have agreed to take on this task together with the Group’s CFO, Elmar Heggen.”

Speaking for RTL Group’s majority shareholder, Thomas Rabe, CEO of Bertelsmann AG, says: “I regret Gerhard’s decision to leave the company, but would like to personally congratulate him on the impressive success story of the past decade. Under his leadership, the Group’s revenues, EBITA and return on sales showed an exemplary development, and the company is strategically and powerfully positioned for continued growth. Guillaume de Posch and Anke Schäferkordt as CEOs, and CFO Elmar Heggen will jointly succeed Gerhard Zeiler. The expertise of these first-class managers will provide valuable impetus for the company’s further development as it continues to increase its value long-term.”

Gerhard Zeiler, CEO of RTL Group, says: “I’m deeply grateful for my wonderful years at RTL Group, with a great team of passionate managers and an ever-supportive Board of Directors and shareholders. The decision to leave was not an easy one, but on the other hand I look forward to a new, international task. I wish RTL Group a successful next step in its unbelievable development.” Gerhard Zeiler, born in 1955 in Vienna (Austria), joined RTL Group in November 1998 when he was appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of RTL Television in Cologne.

In this capacity, Zeiler was responsible for the German RTL family of channels (RTL Television, Vox, RTL II, Super RTL, N-TV). In March 2003 Gerhard Zeiler was additionally appointed CEO of RTL Group. He handed over the management of RTL Television to Anke Schäferkordt in September 2005 to fully concentrate on RTL Group’s international entertainment network.

In his function as CEO of RTL Group, Gerhard Zeiler is a member of the Supervisory Boards of Groupe M6 in France and RTL Television in Germany. He has been a member of the Bertelsmann AG Executive Board since October 2005.

Gerhard Zeiler began his career as a freelance journalist and then became press spokesman for the Austrian Minister for Education and the Arts, Dr Fred Sinowatz, whom he eventually followed to the Federal Chancellor Office in 1983. Later he continued working in the same capacity for Federal Chancellor Dr Franz Vranitzky. In 1986 he became Secretary-General of the Austrian public broadcaster ORF in Vienna. After a twoyear period as CEO of Tele 5 and a further two-year period as CEO of RTL II, he was elected Chief Executive Officer of ORF in 1994 and stayed in this position until November 1998.

Guillaume de Posch, born 1958 in Belgium, is one of Europe’s most experienced TV executives. After first jobs at the international energy and services company Tractebel (1985-1990) and the global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company (1990- 1993), he started his career in the media industry at the Luxembourg-based Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Télédiffusion (CLT), which ultimately became RTL Group in the year 2000. At CLT, Guillaume de Posch started as assistant to the Managing Director (1993- 1994) and then became Head of CLT’s TV operations in French-speaking countries (1995- 1997). From 1997 to 2003, he was Deputy General Manager and Programming Director of the French pay-TV company TPS, before he joined the Munich-based, publicly listed ProSiebenSat1 Media AG in August 2003, first as Chief Operating Officer and then as Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO (2004-2008). From 2009 to 2011, Guillaume de Posch advised several European and US broadcasters.

In December 2011, Guillaume de Posch was appointed Chief Operating Officer of RTL Group with effect from 1 January 2012. In this capacity, he is in charge of the Corporate Strategy and Business Development team at RTL Group’s headquarters and oversees the company’s broadcasting operations in the Netherlands, Belgium and radio operations in France. Guillaume de Posch is also a member of the RTL Group Executive Committee.

Anke Schäferkordt, born in 1962, has been CEO of RTL Television since September 2005. In November 2007, the German RTL family of channels adopted the brand name Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland. In her capacity as CEO of RTL Television, Anke Schäferkordt is also CEO of Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland.

After studying business administration Anke Schäferkordt began her career at Bertelsmann AG in 1988. In 1991 she went to Cologne to become an executive assistant for sales controlling and strategic planning at RTL plus (today RTL Television). The following year, she took over the Controlling Department. From 1993 to 1995 Anke Schäferkordt was a Director in charge of the Corporate Planning and Controlling Division at RTL Television. In 1995 she moved to the TV broadcaster Vox where she was CFO and in 1997 she was also named Programme Director. From 1999 to 2005 Anke Schäferkordt was the CEO of Vox. In February 2005 she was appointed Chief Operating Officer and Deputy CEO of RTL Television. In this capacity she was responsible for Finance, Technical Services, Information and Media Policy as well as the General Secretariat, the advertising sales unit IP Deutschland, the Vox channel and RTL Group’s holdings in the German channels N-TV and Super RTL.

Elmar Heggen, born in 1968, holds a diploma in business administration from the European Business School and graduated as Master of Business Administration (MBA) in finance. In 1992, he started his career at the Felix Schoeller Group, becoming Vice President & General Manager of Felix Schoeller Digital Imaging in the UK in 1999. Elmar Heggen first joined the RTL Group Corporate Centre in 2000 as Vice President Merger & Acquisitions.

In January 2003, he was promoted to Senior Vice President Controlling & Investments. From July 2003 until December 2005 he was Executive Vice President Strategy & Controlling. Since January 2006, Elmar Heggen has served on the RTL Group Executive Management team, and since 1 October 2006 he has been CFO and Head of the Corporate Centre of RTL Group. In this capacity, he controls Finance and Legal. He also oversees the  operations in Luxembourg, Spain and UFA Sports.

Andreas Rudas, born in 1953, worked with the Austrian public broadcaster ORF from 1986 to 1997, being its Secretary-General from 1994 to 1997. In this role he was responsible for business planning, media politics, marketing and satellite broadcasting. Starting in 2000, he held various positions at Magna International Europe, being Member of the Management Board from 2001 to 2005. Starting December 2005, Andreas Rudas was Executive Director of WAZ Ost Holding (subsidiary of WAZ Media Group), responsible for Austria, South Eastern Europe and Vietnam. Andreas Rudas was appointed member of the RTL Group Executive Committee with effect from 1 January 2009. In this capacity, he oversees the operations in Croatia, Hungary, Russia, Germany (radio).