After only 8 months: Bertelsmann Foundation loses CEO

The Bertelsmann Foundation is restructuring its Executive Board. Chairman Hannes Ametsreiter, in office since the beginning of the year, will leave the foundation at his own request and, according to a press release, by mutual agreement, effective July 31, 2025.

Ametsreiter, head of Vodafone Germany between 2015 and 2022, intends to return to business activities. Brigitte Mohn, board member and member of the founding family, will lead the foundation as interim chairwoman of the board.

Daniela Schwarzer remains on the Executive Board alongside her. As part of a planned expansion of the Foundation's Executive Board, Wilfried Uhr will also be appointed to the Bertelsmann Stiftung's Executive Board as Chief Operations Officer. Uhr has held various management positions at the Bertelsmann Stiftung since 2000, most recently as Senior Vice President of Corporate Operations.

"Continuity and stability in the socially relevant work of the Bertelsmann Foundation are important to me and the entire family, in the spirit of the foundation's founder, Reinhard Mohn. I am delighted to be able to assume special responsibility for this. Together, Daniela Schwarzer, Wilfried Uhr, and I, as members of the Board of Directors, will work with our colleagues to develop solutions for the major challenges of our time in the spirit of shaping society," says Mohn.

Bertelsmann Foundation has so far provided 2 billion euros

The Bertelsmann Foundation aims to stimulate social progress through its work. Since its founding in 1977 – with initial capital of 100,000 DM – the Bertelsmann Foundation has provided approximately 2 billion euros for charitable purposes. In 2024, it spent 77 million euros on its work. 334 employees work for the Foundation at its offices in Gütersloh and Berlin. In addition, there are affiliated organizations in Washington and Barcelona. The Bertelsmann Foundation has endowment capital of approximately 1.2 billion euros.

In 1993, founder Reinhard Mohn transferred the majority of the Bertelsmann Group's capital shares to the foundation. This increased its stake to 68.8 percent, which is now estimated to be around 77 percent. The foundation is thus the group's largest shareholder. A further 19.1 percent belongs to the Mohn family, approximately 3 percent to the Bertelsmann Verwaltungsgesellschaft and the Richard Mohn Foundation.

The donation agreement separated the equity stake and voting rights. Since the Bertelsmann Foundation receives dividends for its investment in the group, the transfer of the majority stake led to an increase in the budget and an expansion of operational project work.

In addition to the RTL Group, Bertelsmann also owns other media companies, including the book publisher Pinguin Random House, the magazine publisher Gruner + Jahr, the music company BMG, and the service provider Arvato. In 2024, Bertelsmann generated revenue of approximately 19 billion euros.