Gunter Thielen

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Gunter Thielen (2015)

Gunter Thielen (born August 4, 1942 in Qui Various ) is a German manager and chairman of the Walter Blüchert Foundation . Before that, he held various management positions at Bertelsmann and the Bertelsmann Foundation . For his services as a socio-political and socially oriented entrepreneur, Thielen received, among other things, the Federal Cross of Merit .

origin

Thielen was born in Quiigart / Saar and grew up in Saarbrücken . His father was a civil servant in the Saarland construction department . After graduating from high school, Thielen studied mechanical engineering and economics at RWTH Aachen University . In 1970 he received his doctorate in engineering with a dissertation funded by the Volkswagen Foundation on “Transport processes in binary and ternary membrane systems” .

career

Thielen began his career at the chemical company BASF in Ludwigshafen . He then took over the technical management of the Wintershall refinery in Lingen .

In 1980 Thielen moved to Bertelsmann's Printing and Industrial Operations division. Under his leadership, the two printing works Maul from Nuremberg and Belser from Stuttgart were merged to form Maul-Belser . Thielen acted as CEO of the new company. In 1985 he was appointed to the Bertelsmann Executive Board, where he was responsible for all printing and industrial operations. He reorganized the group division under the umbrella of a new stock corporation, focused more on services and internationalized the business. He also modernized the working time model, for example, which gave employees and companies alike more freedom. In order to document the change to the outside world, the brand name Arvato was introduced in 1999 . Thielen was now head of one of the fastest growing segments of the group.

In 2000, Mark Wössner announced his resignation from management positions at the Bertelsmann Foundation and the Bertelsmann Verwaltungsgesellschaft , whereupon Thielen took over his duties. After Bertelsmann had also parted ways with Thomas Middelhoff , Thielen was promoted to CEO of the group in 2002 . One of his first tasks was to present the results of an independent historical commission that examined Bertelsmann's past in the Third Reich . In the following years, Thielen successfully consolidated the core business and invested more in digital activities. He also tied the magazine publisher Gruner + Jahr more closely to Bertelsmann. Thielen initiated the repurchase of the shares in Groupe Bruxelles Lambert , which prevented an IPO.

At the end of 2007, Thielen handed over the chairmanship to Hartmut Ostrowski. He switched to the supervisory board , which elected him as its chairman. He later became chairman of the supervisory board of the car rental company Sixt and a member of the supervisory board of the pharmaceutical company Sanofi- Aventis. At the beginning of 2008, Thielen also took over as CEO of the Bertelsmann Foundation. It was his declared aim to raise the profile of the organization and to internationalize its activities. Thielen publicly campaigned for more income equity and citizen participation, among other things . He dealt intensively with the education system and the social market economy. Upon reaching the age limit of 70, Thielen stepped down from both the Bertelsmann Stiftung's Executive Board and the Bertelsmann Supervisory Board.

Since then, Thielen has dedicated himself to the Walter Blüchert Foundation , which he set up in 2007 as executor of the will of the publisher and financial broker Walter Fritz Blüchert . It promotes social participation and stands up for people who are in need through no fault of their own. Thielen is chairman of the board of the Walter Blüchert Foundation. Furthermore, since 2011 he has held an honorary professorship at the Reinhard Mohn Institute for Management in the Faculty of Economics at the University of Witten / Herdecke . The institute was opened in 2010 in memory of Reinhard Mohn .

Thielen is married to Ulla Höll. The couple has two children and lives in Gütersloh, Munich and southern France.

Honors

  • 2003: Federal Cross of Merit, 1st class
  • 2005: Global Leadership Award
  • 2006: Golden Lion as "Media Man of the Year"

In addition, according to Time and CNN , Thielen was one of the most important business people worldwide.

criticism

Thielen's closeness to the owners of Bertelsmann caused occasional criticism of his appointment as CEO. In addition, during his time as CEO of the Bertelsmann Stiftung, he had to react to criticism of structures and influence.

In connection with Thielen's role as the owner of the Saarland sausage manufacturer Höll, Thielen was accused by the mayor of the Illingen community , formerly the seat of the now insolvent company, among other things as "ruthlessness towards the common good" and "speculation".

Web links

Commons : Gunter Thielen  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Gunter Thielen. In: International Biographical Archive. Munzinger Archive, October 30, 2012, accessed on February 27, 2019 .
  2. ↑ a b Bernhard Hänel: Half a life for Bertelsmann . In: New Westphalian . 4th August 2012.
  3. ↑ a b Award for the Bertelsmann boss . In: Hamburger Abendblatt . March 8, 2003, p. 23 .
  4. ↑ a b Thomas Clark: Numbers instead of magic . In: Financial Times Germany . March 24, 2003, p. 20 .
  5. ↑ Stages of a long career . In: New Westphalian . February 14, 2011.
  6. ^ Gunter Thielen: Transport processes in binary and ternary membrane systems . Krupinski, Mondorf 1970 (university thesis of the mathematical and natural science faculty of the Technical University in Aachen).
  7. ↑ 175 Years of Bertelsmann: A Future Story . C. Bertelsmann Verlag, Munich 2010, ISBN 978-3-570-10175-9 , pp. 354 .
  8. ↑ The new one . In the background: Gunter Thielen. In: Trierischer Volksfreund . July 30, 2002.
  9. ↑ Master of the printing machines . In: The world . July 29, 2002, p. 13 .
  10. ↑ Bertelsmann Industrie: Lifetime working time model creates more freedom for employees and companies. Mohndruck employees can turn the clock forward for the transition to retirement age. In: Handelsblatt . May 20, 1994, p. 3 (career section).
  11. ↑ New name, new goals . In: Darmstädter Echo . June 9, 1999.
  12. ↑ Bertelsmann Industrie: The new name is intended to document change . In: Frankfurter Rundschau . June 9, 1999, p. 16 .
  13. ↑ Arvato on course for growth . In: Handelsblatt . June 9, 1999, p. 19 .
  14. ↑ Wössner resigns . Ex-Bertelsmann boss surprisingly leaves media company. In: Hamburger Abendblatt . May 20, 2000, p. 23 .
  15. ↑ Ralph Kotsch, Thomas Schuler: Turbulences on the swan pond . In: Berliner Zeitung . May 20, 2000, p. 20 .
  16. ^ Inga Michler, Ansgar Graw: Bertelsmann Patriarch Mohn resigns . In: The world . August 25, 2001, p. 15 .
  17. ↑ Lutz Meier: Middelhoff is leaving Bertelsmann . In: Financial Times Germany . July 29, 2002, p. 1 .
  18. ↑ Thielen comes, Middelhoff goes . In: Frankfurter Neue Presse . July 29, 2002, p. 7 .
  19. ↑ Bert Fröndhoff, Axel Postinett: unifying figure without vanity . In: Handelsblatt . July 29, 2002, p. 20 .
  20. ↑ Miserable self-marketer with a bite . In: Der Tagesspiegel . July 29, 2002, p. 17 .
  21. ^ Klaus Boldt: Gunter who? In: Manager Magazin. July 29, 2002, accessed February 28, 2019 .
  22. ↑ Bertelsmann boss shows remorse. In: Handelsblatt. October 7, 2002, accessed February 28, 2019 .
  23. ^ Nicole Adolph: Resistance legend exposed . In: Der Tagesspiegel . October 8, 2002, p. 27 .
  24. ↑ Volker Ullrich: A model company. In: The time. October 10, 2002, accessed February 28, 2019 .
  25. ↑ Thielen pulls the brake. In: Manager Magazin. July 30, 2002, accessed November 24, 2015 .
  26. ↑ Philipp Jaklin: Gunter Thielen Bertelsmann world . In: Financial Times Germany . April 22, 2004.
  27. ↑ Henrik Mortsiefer: Departure for parting . In: Der Tagesspiegel . March 22, 2007, p. 21 .
  28. ^ Share buyback: Bertelsmann prevents its own IPO. In: tagesspiegel.de. May 25, 2006, accessed November 24, 2015 .
  29. ↑ Bertelsmann boss Gunter Thielen hands over command . In: Saarbrücker Zeitung . December 14, 2007.
  30. ↑ a b Stefan Brams: Mission accomplished . In: New Westphalian . August 1, 2007.
  31. ↑ Stefan Brams: Moved to say goodbye . Executive Board gives Gunter Thielen 100 additional training positions when he leaves as CEO. In: New Westphalian . December 13, 2007 (Local Affairs Department).
  32. ↑ Thielen becomes controller . In: Frankfurter Rundschau . January 15, 2008, p. 18 .
  33. ↑ Kristina Spiller: Car rental company Sixt changes supervisory board chairman. Former Bertelsmann boss Thielen joins the committee. In: Financial Times Germany . April 23, 2008, p. 8 .
  34. ^ Personal details : Sanofi-Aventis . In: Financial Times Germany . March 10, 2008, p. 2 .
  35. ↑ Karsten Seibel, Martin Dowideit: Thielen now heads the foundation . People & Markets. In: The world . January 3, 2008, p. 11 .
  36. ↑ Bertelsmann Stiftung: Gunter Thielen takes over as CEO. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. January 6, 2008, accessed February 28, 2019 .
  37. ↑ Thielen wants to sharpen the profile of the foundation . In: New Westphalian . January 3, 2008.
  38. ↑ Thielen heads the foundation . In: Südwest Presse . January 3, 2008, p. 6 .
  39. ↑ "Citizens want more say" . In: New Westphalian . February 14, 2011.
  40. ↑ Stefan von Borstel, Marcus Heitheker: “The cake must be distributed more fairly ” . In: The world . May 31, 2010, p. 10 .
  41. ↑ Tanja Breukelchen: "Education is our only raw material". (PDF) In: Change Magazine . Bertelsmann Stiftung , p. 54 , accessed on March 4, 2019 (No. 01/2008).
  42. ↑ Wolfram Weimer: People and Managers. (PDF) In: change magazine. Bertelsmann Stiftung, p. 10 , accessed on March 4, 2019 (No. 03/2012).
  43. ↑ a b "I work until I fall over" . In: New Westphalian . 19th July 2014.
  44. ↑ Help that arrives . In: New Westphalian . March 29, 2014.
  45. ↑ New job for the head of the Bertelsmann Foundation . In: Handelsblatt . June 27, 2012, p. 54 .
  46. ↑ Thielen heads the foundation . In: Westfalen-Blatt . March 19, 2013.
  47. ^ Professorship for Gunter Thielen . In: New Westphalian . November 11, 2011.
  48. ↑ Profile details: Gunter Thielen. University of Witten / Herdecke, accessed on February 28, 2019 .
  49. ↑ In memory of the founder . In: New Westphalian . October 30, 2010.
  50. ↑ Research center pays tribute to poppies . In: Westfalen-Blatt . October 30, 2010.
  51. ^ Hans-Peter Siebenhaar: Bertelsmann boss Gunter Thielen honored . In: Handelsblatt . November 9, 2005, p. 20 .
  52. ↑ Stefan Brams: A golden lion for the maker . In: New Westphalian . June 22, 2006.
  53. ↑ Hans-Peter Siebenhaar: Thielen is one of the most powerful managers . In: Handelsblatt . December 14, 2004, p. 9 .
  54. ↑ Noticed: Gunter Thielen . In: Mitteldeutsche Zeitung . December 15, 2004.
  55. ↑ Bertelsmann: Victory of the old guard. In: Spiegel Online. July 29, 2002, accessed February 28, 2019 .
  56. ↑ Heike Göbel: "We would like a little competition". In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. April 28, 2008. Retrieved February 28, 2019 .
  57. ↑ Hans-Peter Siebenhaar: "We are not a secret government". In: Handelsblatt. October 25, 2010, accessed October 1, 2016 .
  58. ↑ Armin König attacks Gunter Thielen. In: Saarbrücker Zeitung . September 27, 2013, accessed October 8, 2014 .
personal data
SURNAME Thielen, Gunter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German manager and CEO of the Walter Blüchert Foundation
DATE OF BIRTH 4th August 1942
PLACE OF BIRTH Quiver