René Beutner appointed new Chief Communications Officer at Ringier
As the new Chief Communications Officer (CCO) of the Ringier Group, René Beutner (47) will be responsible for all communications matters at the media company, which operates in 16 countries.
René Beutner will take over as Head of Corporate Communications for the Ringier Group on May 1, 2017. Together with the team at the Zurich location, he will be responsible for the Group-wide communications activities of the broadly diversified media company, which operates in 16 countries. In his position, Beutner reports directly to Ringier CEO Marc Walder.
Marc Walder, CEO of Ringier: "We are delighted that we have been able to recruit René Beutner, a proven communications expert. With his experience in the development and management of classic and digital communication channels and his international know-how, he is an ideal addition to our management team. I look forward to working with him."
René Beutner has worked in his professional career as a journalist and communicator in leading positions in large media houses and corporations. A graduate of the Axel Springer School of Journalism, he studied American studies, history and politics in Berlin and Washington, D.C. As a journalist, he worked as a reporter for the BILD newspaper and in the politics and feature sections of the daily newspaper Die Welt, among others. He joined the Bertelsmann Group's corporate communications department in New York in 2000. From 2002 onwards, he headed the corporate press office of Hypovereinsbank as department director and built up the European communications departments of Payback operator Loyalty Partner and discounter Plus, now Netto Marken-Discount. As Head of Corporate Communications at Metro Cash & Carry, he built up the wholesaler's first social media department, among other things. As Head of Communications Central & Eastern Europe at the online group Groupon, Beutner was responsible for online and offline communications activities in seven countries, including DACH, Poland and Russia, with a strong focus on digital communications channels over the past four years.
Danja Spring, who took over as interim Head of Corporate Communications for the Ringier Group on January 1, 2017, will remain in her role as Deputy Chief Communications Officer from May.
