Hartmut Ostrowski, who became chairman and CEO of Bertelsmann on January 1, 2008, will step down from those roles at the end of the year for personal reasons and will be succeeded by Thomas Rabe, currently CFO.
The official Bertelsmann release said Ostrowski’s departure “takes place amicably and by mutual consent.” Bertelsmann credited Ostrowski with expanding Bertelsmann’s Arvato printing services division, guiding the German conglomerate through the economic crisis and paying down debt. It was also on his watch that Random House underwent a changing of the guard when Peter Olson resigned and was succeeded by current RH chair Markus Dohle.
Ostrowski will take a spot on the supervisory board when he steps down from his chairman and CEO roles.
