BERLIN (CelebrityAccess) – Thomas Coesfeld was appointed the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of BMG, announced in January of this year with a start date of January 1, 2024, marking the last day for current CEO Hartwig Masuch. However, today (May 17), BMG has announced the effective date will be July 1, 2023 – six months ahead of schedule.
Coesfeld joined the Bertelsmann-owned company as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in April 2021. In a release, BMG called this “part of a long-term succession plan,” as Masuch remains associated with Bertelsmann in a consultant/advisory role.
Coesfeld will also join the Bertelsmann Group Management Committee (GMC), which advises the Group Executive Board.
Bertelsmann CEO Thomas Rabe said: “I would like to thank Hartwig Masuch and Thomas Coesfeld for the smooth handover at the helm of BMG. Hartwig has written many chapters in BMG’s success story, which Thomas will continue. Likewise, Thomas Coesfeld takes the helm of a company whose revenues increased by more than 30% in the record-setting year 2022. As CFO, he got to know BMG well, drove forward its digital orientation, and invested considerable funds in acquiring music rights.
“I am certain that BMG will continue to grow under Thomas Coesfeld’s leadership, and I wish him and his new management team the best of luck in their efforts. I also look forward to working with Thomas on the Bertelsmann Group Management Committee.”
Coesfeld has announced further senior appointments for BMG as he prepares to take office as CEO.
The new CFO, his replacement, will be Mathis Wolter, who joins BMG from RTL Group. Current Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Sebastian Hentzschel will take over operating areas rights and royalties, supply chain and technology and data as Chief Operating Officer (COO). Dominique Casimir will remain Chief Content Officer (CCO), and Nikola Holle-Spiegel, who joined BMG in 2018, will remain the company’s Chief Human Resources Officer.
Mathis Wolter, Sebastian Hentzschel, Dominique Casimir and Nikola Holle-Spiegel will join Thomas Coesfeld on the BMG executive board. Another new appointment to BMG’s top management team is Alberto Chullen Llamas, who joins BMG from Bertelsmann Education Group as executive vice president of investments to drive forward the parent company’s ‘boost’ strategy and support future catalog acquisitions.
