dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH
Christopher Höpfner takes over as Head of Sales and Marketing at dpa
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Hamburg (ots)
Christopher Höpfner joins the Gerrman Press Agency on 1 April and takes over as Head of Sales and Marketing on 1 July. In his last role as Executive Sales Director with the RTL Group, the 52-year-old was responsible for the sales activities of Gruner + Jahr's magazine portfolio. Christopher Höpfner succeeds Thorsten Matthies, who is retiring after 37 years at Germany's largest news agency.
“We are delighted that we have been able to recruit Christopher Höpfner, a manager with proven expertise in the media business, to succeed Thorsten Matthies as Head of Sales and Marketing,” says Peter Kropsch, Chairman of the dpa management board. “Christopher Höpfner has many years of experience in the management of sales units in demanding markets and in the development and digitalization of media business and revenue models. This will allow him to support the agency in the dynamic transformation of the core market of newspaper publishers, news portals, TV and radio. The aim is also to develop new impetus in the business and governance sectors as well as the national and international project business.”
Born in Frankfurt am Main, Christopher Höpfner studied industrial engineering at the Technical University of Darmstadt and began his professional career in 2000 at Gruner + Jahr, which is now part of the RTL Group. Until 2010, his roles included working as subscription advertising manager for various titles. He then took on the role of Director Distribution & Sales at the same company, where he was responsible for all sales activities, sales revenue and circulation of print and digital products in the segments News (including ‘stern’ magazine) and Economy. From 2018 through 2024, Christopher Höpfner was Executive Sales Director responsible for sales activities, sales revenue and circulation of all magazine products (print and digital) at Gruner + Jahr. Christopher Höpfner is also a trained systemic coach.
“In Thorsten Matthies, one of my closest colleagues is leaving his position. Thorsten has worked with commitment, intelligence and skill for many years and has helped shape dpa,” says Peter Kropsch. “In combination with his extensive experience, he has always found solutions that were in the best interests of our customers, of dpa and the industry as a whole. On behalf of the management and the chief editorial team, I would like to express my sincere thanks for his great commitment and his always loyal and constructive cooperation. We wish him all the best for the future.”
A trained journalist, Thorsten Matthies began his career at dpa in 1988 in the radio newsroom. He then worked as a senior editor in the regional offices in Frankfurt am Main and Hamburg. After a stint as deputy head of the general news department at dpa headquarters, he took over as head of the business desk in 2003. At the same time, he set up dpa-RegioData, dpa’s first editorial department for data mining and computer-assisted reporting. In 2008, he took over the role of Head of Domestic Sales and Marketing, and since 2019 he has also been responsible for the agency's international business. He has been an authorized signatory since 2012 and was additionally Managing Director of the dpa subsidiary Rufa Rundfunk-Agenturdienste GmbH in Berlin from 2011 to 2019.
About dpa:
The German Press Agency (dpa) was founded in 1949 and is one of the world's leading independent news agencies. dpa supplies media groups, companies and organisations with editorial content. This includes texts, photos, videos, graphics, radio reports and other formats. As an internationally active agency, dpa reports in seven languages. Approximately 1,000 journalists work from around 140 locations in Germany and abroad. Around 170 German media companies are dpa shareholders. The dpa editorial team works according to the principles laid down in the dpa statutes: independent of world views, commercial enterprises or governments. The central editorial office, headed by Editor-in-Chief Sven Gösmann, is located in Berlin. The executive board, headed by CEO Peter Kropsch, is based at the company's headquarters in Hamburg. The chairman of the supervisory board is Daniel Schöningh (Ippen Media Group, Munich).
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