RTL Group has appointed Chairman Thomas Rabe as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) with immediate effect, after former Chief Exec Bert Habets resigned for what the company termed “personal considerations”.
Rabe will take on his new role in addition to his duties as Chairman and CEO of Bertelsmann.
At the same time, RTL’s Vice Chairman, Martin Taylor, has been appointed Chairman of the Board, and former Nestlé Chief Financial Officer, James Singh, has been named Vice Chairman of the Board.
“We thank Bert Habets for more than 20 years in various managerial positions at RTL Group and wish him all the best for the future,” said Rabe.
“RTL Group will continue to focus on three priorities: further strengthening its core TV, audio and production business; building local video streaming champions; and growing its advertising technology business.”
At RTL, Rabe was appointed Chief Financial Officer and member of the Executive Committee in 2000, Member of the Board in 2006 and Chairman of the Board in 2012. In 2006 he was also appointed Chief Financial Officer of majority RTL-owned media company Bertelsmann, and in 2012 its Chairman and CEO.
Habets was named sole CEO of RTL Group in December 2017 after Guillaume de Posch announced he would step down as co-CEO on January 1, 2018.
He joined the company in 1999, became CFO of RTL Nederland in 2001, and was CEO of RTL Nederland between 2008 and 2017, where he was credited with transforming the company from a traditional broadcaster to an “all-round media and entertainment company”. Habets became Co-CEO of RTL in April 2017.
With the reshuffle Martin Taylor remains Chairman of RTL Group’s Nomination and Compensation Committee and James Singh Chairman of the Audit Committee.
