PW: B'mann Names Chief Creative Officer

Bertelsmann will soon have a chief creative officer--an executive responsible for group-wide content strategy. The appointee, Rolf Schmidt-Holtz, who at present is CEO of CLT-UFA, Europe's largest TV network, also wins a seat on Bertelsmann's executive board as its eighth member, where he will be expected to speak for the interests of authors, musicians and producers. He will also be responsible for content digitization and networking across profit center and divisional boundaries, with a mandate to reinforce Bertelsmann's position in Internet operations.

Bertelsmann CEO Thomas Middelhoff stressed the value of in-house talent and Schmidt-Holtz's writ to "sharpen our profile as a creative media powerhouse and magnet for artists and creative people." The new creative officer will be working closely with Klaus Eierhoff, head of the recently created Bertelsmann Direction Division (which combines the worldwide club network and the group's multimedia and online operations).