After retiring from the board of Europe's largest television group RTL Group, the long-time station director Anke Schäferkordt also retires as head of Germany and member of the board of RTL parent company Bertelsmann.
"RTL Group and Anke Schäferkordt have decided together and in the best mutual agreement not to renew their contract as CEO of Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland," it said in a statement. At the end of the year, Bernd Reichart, the former managing director of the Cologne-based Vox radio station, which also belongs to the media group, succeeds on the head of the media group RTL Deutschland.
Christoph Mohn, Bertelsmann's Chairman of the Supervisory Board, thanked RTL's long-time CEO: "Anke Schäferkordt has been doing a great job for Bertelsmann for 30 years and is an outstanding TV manager who unites creativity and entrepreneurship."
"It's not an easy step after 27 years"
Schäferkordt headed the flagship station of the group and was also responsible for the German broadcasting family, which has been known since 2007 as Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland. "After more than 27 years, it is not an easy step to leave the media group RTL," said Schäferkordt (55), according to RTL message.
So far, it is unclear who follows their designated successor Reichart at Vox. The 44-year-old has been Vox CEO and member of the management of Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland since 2013.
The Luxembourg-based RTL Group is 75.1 percent owned by the media group Bertelsmann and involved in 60 television stations and 30 radio stations in Europe and in production companies worldwide. In Germany these are RTL, RTL II, Super RTL, n-tv and Vox.