Change in leadership at Club Bertelsmann

DirectGroup Bertelsmann today announced a change in management at Der Club Bertelsmann. Fernando Carro will become the new Managing Director of Germany's leading book club as of January 1, 2006. Carro has been the Managing Director of the Spanish book club Circulo de Lectores with great success for the past five years. Former Managing Director of Club Bertelsmann, Marc Oliver Sommer, will leave at his own request to join retail group Karstadt-Quelle as of January 1, 2006 where he will join the executive board with responsibility for the mail-order business division Quelle-Neckermann.

"Under Fernando Carro's leadership the Der Club business will continue to grow dynamically. His past record of achievements stands for itself and he truly represents entrepreneurial initiative and dedicated management", says Ewald Walgenbach, CEO of DirectGroup. "Marc Oliver Sommer has grown the club businesses as member of the Division Board very successfully and has brought the German club business back on track for success, for which I would like to thank him", adds Walgenbach. Sommer has been working for Bertelsmann for 13 years, since 1999 as member of the Division Board of DirectGroup for Southern and Western Europe, as Managing Director of the French book club France Loisirs and additionally as Managing Director of Club Bertelsmann for almost one year now.

Fernando Carro, 41, will continue the strategic reorganization of Club Bertelsmann. Vital restructuring milestones have now been achieved, including slashing costs by 20%, fine tuning workflows, relocating the program and marketing departments from Rheda to Berlin, and initial successes with the redesign of the book program. The desired effect is being felt, and the Club will move back into the profit zone next year.

Carro will focus in particular on the profile of Club Bertelsmann's range. "I am looking forward to my new tasks. Restructuring has almost been completed at Club Bertelsmann and now we can focus on our program and sales", says Carro. His success at the Spanish book Club Circulo de Lectores will be a source of inspiration.

Within DirectGroup, Circulo de Lectores is the most profitable book club, it increases its revenues and has a clear profile. The Club is seen as a cultural institution in Spain thanks to its premium book programs and special editions. The Spanish king, Juan Carlos, and Daniel Barenboim are both honorary members of Circulo.

Carro will initially continue to run the book club in Spain. He studied in Germany, has been working for Bertelsmann since 1993, and has also managed the specialist publishing house Heinrich Vogel in Munich.

"It is not easy for me to leave DirectGroup after so many years", says Marc Oliver Sommer (43). "However, redesigning the Karstadt-Quelle group is one of the most challenging management tasks in Germany at the moment", he adds.

As of January 1, 2006, Sommer's successor as Managing Director at France Loisirs in Paris will be Jörg Hagen. The 44-year-old manager has held an executive position with France Loisirs since 1998, and served for Sommer in the France Loisirs executive board since the beginning of the year. We will continue with our consistent growth that includes the integration of the newly acquired Privat, chain of bookstores, says Hagen.

Both Jörg Hagen and Fernando Carro will become members of DirectGroup's Division Board. Carro will take on responsibility for businesses in Germany, Spain, Portugal, Austria and Switzerland. Hagen will be responsible for club businesses in France, Belgium, French-speaking Switzerland, Canada and The Netherlands.
About DirectGroup Bertelsmann

Direct Group Bertelsmann integrates Bertelsmann's worldwide direct-to-customer business with media products. Approximately 32 million customer relationships ensure that DirectGroup commands a position among the world's media retail companies. At the heart of its business are the book and music clubs in 22 countries, including famous brands such as France Loisirs (France), Book-of-the-Month Club (USA), Der Club (Germany), Circulo de Lectores (Spain), and BMG Music Service (USA). Members have access to the clubs' broad product range via catalogues, the Internet or one of over 600 club centers in Europe and Asia. Since August 2002, Dr. Ewald Walgenbach has been CEO of DirectGroup. DirectGroup Bertelsmann is a division of Bertelsmann AG. In fiscal year 2004, DirectGroup recorded revenues of EUR 2.2 billion with more than 12,000 employees.

About Der Club Bertelsmann
Club Bertelsmann was founded in 1950 by Reinhard Mohn. It has around 3.6 million members in Germany, is one of the largest international media clubs and is a division of DirectGroup Bertelsmann. Last year, the club's revenues totaled EUR 360m. The Club has its HQ in Berlin and Rheda and offers unique access to the fascinating world of books and media for the whole family. Customers are offered three different ways to purchase products: through one of 300 shops all over Germany, extensive catalogues and the Internet shop www.derclub.de

About Circulo de Lectores
Circulo de Lectores with its HQ in Barcelona was founded in 1962 by Reinhard Mohn and was the first Bertelsmann book club outside Germany. Circulo has around 1.3 million members; more than one in of ten households in Spain is member of the club. Revenues in 2004 amounted to approx. EUR 149m and will increase again this year.

About France Loisirs
France Loisirs with its HQ in Paris has around 4.1 million members. More than 15% of all French households are club members. Last year, revenues of almost EUR 340m were realized. France Loisirs has recently acquired both book club GLM and the largest independent chain of bookstores Privat, and is a leading bookseller in France with its 200 club branches.