AZ Medien and NZZ Mediengruppe have appointed management for joint venture

In December of last year, AZ Medien and NZZ Mediengruppe announced their plans to establish a joint venture. AZ Medien and NZZ Mediengruppe want to join forces and establish a future-oriented and independent media company with strong regional roots. In this way, both want to secure the independence and further development of their regional media brands in a challenging market environment.

Management nominated

The designated company management was nominated. It will be made up of personalities with many years of experience in the Swiss media business:

• Axel Wüstmann, CEO
• Jürg Weber, Deputy CEO and Managing Director Publishing
• Dietrich Berg, Managing Director Publishing
• Roger Elsener, Managing Director TV & Radio
• Pascal Hollenstein, Head of Journalism
• Roland Kühne, Managing Director Operations & Technology
• Vivian Mohr, Head of Integration
• Peter Neumann, Managing Director Digital, CDO
• Veronika Novak, Head of Human Resources
• Roberto Rhiner, Head of Finance, CFO

Functional structure and focus on core competencies

The joint venture will stand for journalism and entertainment on all media channels. The aim is to drive forward the digital transformation through investment and innovation. The new company will consist of four different divisions and central functions. The Publishing division will be responsible for all print activities, including newspapers, advertisements, magazines and books. Electronic media will be bundled in the TV & Radio division. All digital activities will be bundled in the Digital division, which will be further developed in close coordination with the Publishing and TV & Radio divisions. The Operations & Technology division will be responsible for all printing activities of the joint venture as well as all central areas such as publishing services and IT. The divisions will be complemented by the central functions of Human Resources, Finance and the newly created "Integration" division, which will be responsible for the merger of the two companies.

The start of operations and the transfer of responsibility to the future company management are subject to approval by COMCO.

Independent media company with strong regional roots

The joint venture will become an independent media company with strong regional roots. The focus will be on independence and the further development of the regional media brands in a challenging market environment. With sales of around CHF 480 million and 1,800 employees, it will be one of the leading media companies in Switzerland.

Axel Wüstmann (44), designated CEO of the joint venture

He has been CEO of AZ Medien AG, Switzerland, since June 1, 2013.
Wüstmann previously worked at Gruner + Jahr AG & Co. KG, Hamburg, a Bertelsmann AG company, for over ten years in various functions. Most recently as a member of the Executive Board of Gruner + Jahr Germany, responsible for Operations and the German digital business.
Axel Wüstmann studied business administration in Munich. He completed his MBA at Bocconi University in Milan in 2003.

Jürg Weber (60), designated Deputy CEO and Managing Director of the Publishing division

He has been responsible for the NZZ Regional Media division since December 2014 and is a member of the Executive Board of the NZZ Media Group. Prior to this, he was responsible for the Media Central Switzerland division on the Executive Board from 2009. In 1997, he took over the management of Luzerner Zeitung AG. Jürg Weber holds a degree in law from the University of St. Gallen and is a lawyer. He is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Wemf AG für Werbemedienforschung, Net-Metrix, Stiftung für Werbestatistik and AdAgent.

Dietrich Berg (57), designated Managing Director of the Publishing division

He has been Managing Director Newspapers at AZ Medien AG, Switzerland, since October 1, 2009. Dietrich Berg completed his studies in business administration at the University of St. Gallen. From 1989, he held senior marketing positions at Yves Rocher SA. He entered the publishing industry in 1995 as Head of the Readers' Market Division at Tamedia AG and was Publishing Director of Tages-Anzeiger from 1997 to 2003. In 2005, he was appointed Publishing Director of the Blick Group of Ringier AG. In 2007, he was responsible for the magazine reader market division of Ringier AG and took over as Publishing Director of the CASH Group in 2008.

Roger Elsener (40), designated Managing Director TV & Radio

He has been Managing Director TV at AZ Medien AG, Switzerland, since September 1, 2013. Since 2017, Elsener has been responsible for the Radio division in addition to the TV division and has been Managing Director of the TV & Radio division since then. In his last role as COO at 3 Plus Group, Elsener was responsible for the operational business of the TV channels 3+ and 4+. Prior to this, he held various management positions, including at Viacom International Media Networks, where he was Managing Director of the Swiss broadcasting group (MTV, VIVA, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central) and Vice President Commerce in Central and Northern Europe for Nickelodeon. Elsener studied media and communication sciences with a focus on media economics at the University of Zurich and graduated with a degree (lic. phil.) in 2003.

Pascal Hollenstein (47), designated Head of Journalism

He has been Head of Journalism for the NZZ Media Group's regional media since 2016. He studied history, political science, economic and social history at the University of Zurich. He began his journalistic career as an editor at the "Thurgauer Volkszeitung", "Radio Thurgau" and the "Thurgauer Zeitung", later taking on various roles in corporate publishing and as a historian at an insurance company before moving to the "Sonntagszeitung" as business editor. In 2002, he was part of the founding team of "NZZ am Sonntag", where he was promoted to head of the Switzerland department and deputy editor-in-chief in 2011.

Roland Kühne (46), designated Managing Director Operations and Technology

He has been Managing Director of the "Media Switzerland" division of AZ Medien AG, Switzerland, since September 1, 2014. Kühne previously held various positions at Ringier AG in Zurich, including Head of MediaMat, Head of Services, Head of ICT and, most recently, Deputy Managing Director of the Blick Group in Zurich. During his time at Ringier, Kühne was a member of the Board of Directors of Schober Direkt Media AG, Ringier Print Adligenswil AG and SMD Schweizer Mediendatenbank AG, among others. Before joining Ringier AG, he worked for Mercedes Benz (Schweiz) AG. He holds a federal diploma in technical business management and completed the "Marketing Manager" course at the St. Gallen Business School, where he is still active as an alumni advisor.

Vivian Mohr (31), designated Head of Integration

Vivian Mohr has been Head of Strategy and M&A at the NZZ Media Group since April 1, 2016. Prior to this, he worked for McKinsey & Company, where he led consulting mandates primarily for media, telecommunications and high-tech companies in the areas of M&A, post-merger management and the development and implementation of growth strategies. The business economist studied at Bruchsal University of Applied Sciences and the University of Cambridge, where he also completed his doctorate and research.

Peter Neumann (50), designated CDO

He has been Chief Digital Officer of AZ Medien AG, Switzerland, since June 1, 2014. Neumann was previously Managing Director of Styria Digital Holding GmbH, based in Graz, which manages a large digital portfolio of classifieds, community and media portals. Before moving to Austria, he held various management positions at the Holtzbrinck Group for seven years, including Head of New Media Projects at the Holtzbrinck Publishing Group, General Manager Online at the Tagesspiegel Group and Managing Director of the digital technology and marketing unit Urban Media in Berlin. He studied information science, political science and marketing at Saarland University in Saarbrücken.

Veronika Novak (53), designated Head of Human Resources

She has been Head of Human Resources at AZ Medien AG, Switzerland, since August 1, 2015.
Veronika Novak, previously worked for Ringier AG for over twelve years. Most recently as Deputy Head of Human Resources. Before that, Veronika Novak worked as a lawyer for a law firm in Zurich and as Head Legal at a financial consultancy. She studied law at the University of Zurich and holds a Master's degree in Human Resources Management.

Roberto Rhiner (49), designated Head of Finance

He has been CFO of AZ Medien AG, Switzerland, since October 1, 2017.
Roberto Rhiner most recently spent 18 years at Tamedia, the last ten of which as Head of Controlling. Prior to that, he was Head of Accounting and Controlling at Mövenpick Hotels Switzerland. Rhiner is a qualified business economist and controller.