Joel Klein to join Bertelsmann, Inc. in New York als Chairman an CEO
New York/Gütersloh (ots)
Joel Klein, the renowned attorney and former head of the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, will join the international media enterprise Bertelsmann. The 54 year-old is taking over the function of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Bertelsmann, Inc. in New York as well as the newly created position of U.S. Liaison Officer effective 1 February 2001. In this function, he will also serve as a key strategic advisor to Bertelsmann's CEO Thomas Middelhoff - especially in the venture capital, e-commerce and Internet-based file sharing sectors.
Bertelsmann, Inc. is part of the Bertelsmann corporate headquarters as a central services unit and comprises the traditional tasks of finance, billing and accounting as well as legal issues, management development and real estate. In these areas, Joel Klein is assigned to the Head of the Bertelsmann corporate offices in Gütersloh, Member of the Board Siegfried Luther.
Before joining the Clinton administration in 1993, Joel Klein successfully practiced law in Washington, D.C. for 20 years. As the head of the Antitrust Authorities he distinguished himself as a committed advocate of fair competition and open markets. Among other things, Klein was thrust into the center of public attention as the chief prosecutor of the U.S. government in the antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft.
Bertelsmann AG is the world's most international media enterprise, commanding leading positions in the global media and entertainment industries. The Bertelsmann Group includes publishing and music companies, book and music clubs, magazines and newspapers, television and radio stations, print and media service providers, multimedia and professional information companies represented by such brands as Random House, BMG, Gruner + Jahr and RTL. Bertelsmann is the world's largest general-interest publisher and the biggest English-language publishing house world-wide. Bertelsmann's book and music clubs are the world-wide market leaders. Its subsidiaries RTL Group and Gruner + Jahr put the company at the top of the European broadcasting and magazine sectors, respectively. Bertelsmann ranks at the top of its peer market in e-commerce, with BOL in Europe and barnesandnoble.com in the US. The organization currently employs 76,000 people in 55 countries and posted DM 32,4 billion in total revenues during the 1999/00 financial year ended June 30, 2000.
For further questions, please contact:
Susanne Erdl Medien- und Wirtschaftsinformation Tel.: +49 - 52 41 - 80 25 35 susanne.erdl@bertelsmann.de
Original content of: Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA, transmitted by news aktuell