News | Penguin Random House | Munich, 11/08/2018

CEO Management Change at Verlagsgruppe Random House

Thomas Rathnow, Publisher and Member of the Management Board, is appointed Chairman of the Management Board / CEO to succeed Dr. Frank Sambeth, CEO of Verlagsgruppe Random House, who is leaving the company.

Markus Dohle, Chairman of Penguin Random House and member of the Bertelsmann Executive Board, appoints Thomas Rathnow as CEO of Verlagsgruppe Random House in Munich with immediate effect.

Frank Sambeth, CEO of the publishing group since 2012, is leaving the company by mutual agreement.

Markus Dohle said: "Frank Sambeth has rendered outstanding services to Bertelsmann's book business over the past two decades. As CEO of Verlagsgruppe Random House, he and his team have successfully advanced the development of the 45 publishing houses and expanded the portfolio, most recently with the acquisition of Der Audio Verlag (DAV). His expertise in digital topics in particular enabled him to prepare the publishing group for digital transformation at an early stage. In addition to the publishing group, he was also a member of the publishing committee of the German Publishers and Booksellers Association (Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels) and was involved in key industry issues such as reading promotion and copyright protection. With the development and introduction of the Digital Preview, he has also made a significant contribution to an important innovation in the book industry. I would like to take this opportunity to expressly thank Frank Sambeth for his dedication and performance for Verlagsgruppe Random House and Bertelsmann over the past 21 years and personally wish him all the very best for his future."

Markus Dohle also observed: "With Thomas Rathnow, a publisher is moving to the top leadership position of the Random House publishing group. I firmly believe that the changes in the book industry can best be mastered when publishers focus clearly on their core competencies to connect the best authors and stories with more and more readers. Our content remains the engine of our business - both culturally and commercially. This is what Thomas Rathnow whom I particularly appreciate for his passion for the subject and his intellectual acuity, represents so outstandingly. He embodies the combination of creativity and entrepreneurial thinking that is more important than ever for our book publishers. Thomas Rathnow will successfully develop Verlagsgruppe Random House with his team, and shape the future of our company with a clear awareness of the cultural and socio - political significance of book publishing".

Verlagsgruppe Random House, based in Germany, is a division of Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA. Among Verlagsgruppe Random House’s 45 imprints in Germany are Blanvalet, Goldmann, Heyne and Penguin.