BMG leader Thomas Coesfeld has been appointed as the next chairman and CEO of global parent company Bertelsmann, succeeding Thomas Rabe when his contract wraps on Dec. 31, 2026. Coesfeld will officially take over as chairman and CEO on Jan. 1, 2027, marking a generational shift in leadership for the global media conglomerate, the company announced Thursday (Nov. 13).
Coesfeld has served as CEO of BMG since 2023, succeeding longtime chief Hartwig Masuch, and joined Bertelsmann’s executive board in 2024. Before that, he was BMG’s CFO and previously chief strategy officer on the executive committee of Bertelsmann Printing Group. He began his career as a management consultant at McKinsey in Munich.
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According to the announcement, Coesfeld is expected to lead both Bertelsmann and BMG “in a dual capacity.” BMG representatives confirmed this arrangement to Billboard.
Outgoing CEO Rabe, who has led Bertelsmann for 15 years, praised the board’s choice in Coesfeld as his successor. “We have worked closely and with great trust for many years, and I will do everything possible to ensure a smooth transition,” he said. “Bertelsmann’s leadership will be in excellent hands with him and his team.”
“I would like to thank the Supervisory Board – and in particular its Chairman, Christoph Mohn – for the trust they have placed in me,” added Coesfeld. “I am very much looking forward to assuming responsibility for leading Bertelsmann. It is a challenge I will take on with the full support of the Executive Board, top management, and all employees.”
Bertelsmann operates in about 50 countries and, in addition to BMG, includes divisions such as RTL Group, Penguin Random House and Arvato. In its latest interim report for the first half of 2025, the Gütersloh-based company posted revenues of €9.1 billion (approximately $9.8 billion), up 1.2% year-over-year.
The company’s supervisory board also announced that Clément Schwebig, currently a senior media executive with over 20 years of experience, will join Bertelsmann’s executive board as CEO of RTL Group effective May 1 of next year. Schwebig previously held leadership roles at RTL in multiple countries.
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After taking over as CEO of BMG in 2023, Coesfeld implemented a sweeping restructuring aimed at “local where necessary, global where possible.” He centralized catalog, sales, and marketing teams into global roles, expanded tech investments and made Los Angeles the hub for catalog operations. Coesfeld also ended BMG’s distribution deal with Warner’s ADA, bringing digital distribution in-house while partnering with Universal for physical formats. Additional moves included layoffs, shuttering Modern Recordings and discontinuing international marketing and film/TV divisions — all part of a strategy to streamline operations and focus on publishing, recordings and data-driven growth.
In its most recent earnings report, Berlin-based BMG posted steady operating profits despite lower revenue, reflecting its focus on core digital music operations. For the first half of 2025, revenue fell 8% year-over-year to €424 million ($463 million). Streaming revenue grew at a high single-digit rate, lifting digital’s share of total revenue to 72%. Coesfeld credited the gains to catalog acquisitions, distribution efficiencies and a strategic shift away from lower-margin physical formats and live entertainment.
