MAIN NEWS HEADLINES
June 26 – July 3, 2008 Edition
Bertelsmann Elects
Gettkant to AG’s
Supervisory Board
Gütersloh/6/24/08 Helmut Gettkant (54), chairman of the Mohn Media works council and member of the Bertelsmann AG Corporate Works Council, has been elected as an Employee Representative to the Bertelsmann AG Supervisory Board. The election took place today in an extraordinary general meeting following his nomination by the Corporate Works Council. Helmut Gettkant will join the Supervisory board with immediate effect, taking the seat of Willi Pfannkuche, who had stepped down from the Supervisory Board after taking early retirement in January 2008.
Gunter Thielen, Chairman of the Bertelsmann AG Supervisory Board, said: Having employee representatives on the Supervisory Board of Bertelsmann is an expression of our corporate culture of partnership. Helmut Gettkant has been a works council member here at Bertelsmann for 24 years and during that time has earned great respect from his colleagues. He is deeply familiar with Bertelsmann and with employees concerns. The Supervisory Board looks forward to a trusting collaboration that will benefit the company.
Helmut Gettkant is a machinist by training and joined the Bertelsmann subsidiary Sonopress in 1975 as a metalworker. In 1990, he moved to the metalworking department of Gütersloher Druckservice (then a Mohndruck subsidiary), followed six years later by a move to the metalworking department at Mohndruck. He has served as a works council since 1984; full-time since 1998. In 2002, Gettkant was appointed the deputy of the long-time Mohn Media Works council chairman Willi Pfannkuche, replacing him as works council chairman upon his departure. At the beginning of June 2008, Gettkant was elected to the Corporate Works Council of Bertelsmann AG. Helmut Gettkant was born in Rothenuffeln (Minden-Lübbecke district), is married and has two grown children. Bertelsmann AG is an international media company encompassing television (RTL Group), book publishing (Random House), magazine publishing (Gruner + Jahr), music (BMG), media services (Arvato), and media clubs (Direct Group) in more than 50 countries. Bertelsmanns claim is to inspire people around the world with first-class media and communications offerings entertainment, information and services and occupy leading positions in its respective markets.