Bertelsmann at a Glance

Organisational structure

Bertelsmann AG is an unlisted stock corporation under German law with two-tier system of management and governance. Bertelsmann AG functions as an operational management holding company within the Group organization and is responsible for the Group's strategic management and business policies. The Executive Board is responsible for the management of the Group. The Bertelsmann AG Articles of Association and resolutions adopted by the Executive Board, Supervisory Board and the Annual General Meeting form the basis for corporate governance. Internal financial management and reporting follow the Group's organizational structure, made up of the divisions of RTL Group, Random House, Gruner + Jahr and Arvato as well as Corporate.  

Strategy

Bertelsmann’s core businesses lie in media and media-related services. Its geographic core markets are in Western Europe and in the United States. Over the medium to long term, Bertelsmann is working to strengthen its presence in major growth markets such as China and India. 

Bertelsmann aims to achieve leading positions in attractive markets and has already done so in most business segments. Future investments are to focus on business fields with stronger organic growth. Bertelsmann always aims to achieve full ownership of its businesses. Working with partners may be practical or necessary in justified exceptions, however. At present, two divisions (RTL Group, Gruner + Jahr) are not 100 percent controlled.

*The GMC advises and assists the Executive Board on important matters of corporate strategy and corporate development and other Group-wide issues.

**Corporate comprises the Corporate Center and Corporate Investments, which includes the music rights business BMG, the BAI and BDMI funds, and the club and direct-marketing businesses in Germany and Spain.

The Executive Board follows the model of a unified corporation in managing and developing Bertelsmann. The individual companies and the Group portfolio are subject to ongoing strategic reviews. The Executive Board is focused on strengthening core operations and utilizing organic growth opportunities close to its businesses. Noncore businesses will be divested as the market permits. Bertelsmann seeks to gradually enter new growth areas while adhering to financial targets. One example is the partnership with the investor KKR to establish the music rights company BMG. Bertelsmann will continue to study and take advantage of attractive opportunities to enter new markets so that it can grow in new business fields.

The work of the Executive Board in fiscal 2010 focused on strengthening and expanding the core businesses and further developing the Group portfolio. The diverse cost-cutting programs from the previous year were continued and the core businesses were expanded through targeted acquisitions and the development of new, primarily digital products and services. Digitalization opens up wide-ranging opportunities to a broadly based media corporation such as Bertelsmann. Seizing these opportunities is an integral part of the Bertelsmann strategy. Traditional products can be marketed through new channels, for example, or additional digital services can be offered to new existing customers. Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments, the venture capital fund for new technologies and innovations, is a source of important initiatives here.

The Executive Board remains committed to the goal of increasing the Group`s organic growth with an appropriate return on investment by strengthening core businesses, further developing the portfolio and expanding into new growth segments.