Co-CEO Stephan Schäfer exits RTL Deutschland amid management restructure

Stephan Schäfer is leaving his role as co-CEO of German media company RTL Deutschland as part of a management reshuffle after less than a year in the post.

Stephan Schäfer

Parent company RTL Group said Schäfer, who was named co-CEO last September, was leaving on the “best of terms” but did not disclose his next move. He will continue to be associated with RTL in an advisory capacity.

Schäfer had been responsible for RTL’s content and brands in Germany. He was also CEO of local publishing house Gruner + Jahr (G+J), which RTL Deutschland acquired last year.

Thomas Rabe, CEO of RTL Group and parent company Bertelsmann, has decided on a new management structure to help address what he called “major challenges.”

As a result, Rabe is now RTL Deutschland CEO and chairman of its management board. Schäfer’s fellow co-CEO Matthias Dang remains in his position and will manage the company alongside chief financial officer Alexander Glatz and RTL Deutschland board member and G+J MD Oliver Radtke, who is responsible for coordinating the combination of RTL Deutschland and G+J.

In addition, RTL Group executive VP of business development Andreas Fischer is joining the management board as chief operating officer.

Rabe said: “[Schäfer] provided a lot of impetus at both companies, including the combination of RTL Deutschland and G+J, the repositioning of the RTL brand and the further development of RTL’s programming. I am pleased that he will continue to support us in an advisory capacity.”

Schäfer added: “I would like to thank Thomas Rabe for his trust, and our teams in Cologne and Hamburg for their support over the past years, during which we have achieved a great deal together for G+J, RTL, and Bertelsmann.

“As a unified company, RTL Deutschland and G+J are in a good position to become a national media champion in Germany. I look forward to accompanying them on this path in an advisory capacity.”

Presented as RTL Deutschland’s management duo less than a year ago, Schäfer and Dang launched the merger of the TV channel group with the German magazine business of Hamburg-based magazine publisher G+J at the turn of the year. Both companies are part of the Bertelsmann portfolio.

The tighter advertising market, the expansion of streaming platform RTL+ into a cross-media offering and the merger of RTL and G+J are said to have contributed to Schäfer’s departure.