European media giant Bertelsmann has found the successor to Thomas Rabe, the long-serving chief executive at both Bertelsmann and its television operation RTL Group.

As of January 1, 2027, Thomas Coesfeld will succeed Rabe as chairman and CEO of Bertelsmann and Clment Schwebig will take over as CEO of RTL Group.

Coesfeld is being promoted from withing the ranks. He joined Bertelsmann Printing Group in 2018, moving to music division BMG in 2020, becoming CEO in July 2023. He will continue as BMG boss, holding a dual position. Schwebig, a French native, spent more than a decade at various management positions at RTL before shifting to Warner Bros., where he most recently was president and managing director at Warner Bros. Discovery Western Europe and Africa.

When Rabes contract expires on December 31, 2026, it will mark the end of a 15-year tenure as Chairman and CEO of Germanys largest media group.

I am very pleased with the supervisory boards decision and congratulate Thomas Coesfeld on behalf of the entire executive board, Rabe said in a statement. We have worked closely and with great trust for many years, and I will do everything possible to ensure a smooth transition. Bertelsmanns leadership will be in excellent hands with him and his team.

Rabe added that Clment Schwebig knows RTL Group well, having worked for the company in senior positions in several countries between 2002 and 2013. In addition to his media expertise, he brings valuable insights into the growth markets of Asia, where Bertelsmann also aims to expand further. I know and value Clment Schwebig we have worked together for many years and I look forward to handing over the leadership of RTL Group to him.

In his long tenure at Bertelsmann, the 60-year-old Rabe has shifted the legacy media organization towards content production investing heavily in RTLs production subsidiary Fremantle, whose divisions make everything from the Idol and Got Talent formats to the Oscar-winning film Poor Things as well as in-house streaming platform RTL+, which just passed the milestone of more than 7 million paying subscribers this year.