Karl Dietrich Seikel

Karl Dietrich Seikel (born August 17, 1946 in Geisenheim im Rheingau) is a German media manager. He is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the FAZIT Foundation . Previously, he was managing director of the long mirror Publishing Group , Chairman of the Board of the Professional Association consumer magazines in the Association of German Magazine Publishers (VDZ) and media coordinator for the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg .

biography

He completed his studies in business administration and economics at the Technical University of Darmstadt and the University of Frankfurt am Main with a degree in economics and worked from 1973 to 1976 as a lecturer at the University of Frankfurt am Main as well as deputy headmaster of the Fachschule für Wirtschaft in Frankfurt am Main . In 1977 he entered the economy as Head of Human Resources and Central Services at WIBAU-Maschinenfabrik Hartmann AG.

Seikel has been working for the Spiegel publishing group since 1980, where he initially headed the central human resources department. After assuming several management positions within Spiegel Verlag, Seikel was appointed managing director of Spiegel Verlag, manager magazin Verlagsgesellschaft mbH and Spiegel TV GmbH in 1991. On January 1, 2007, he gave up his management activities at the Spiegel publishing group and will be available to the publishing house as a consultant until the end of 2008. He was succeeded by Mario Frank , previously managing director of the Dresden printing and publishing house . In addition, from 1995 to 2008, Seikel was Chairman of the Board of the Trade Association of Consumer Magazines in the Association of German Magazine Publishers (VDZ). There he is particularly involved in the areas of freedom of the press ( German Press Council ) and tariff policy . From 1996 to 2011 Seikel was a member of the board of directors of the Swiss media group tamedia . Since 2011 he has been on the supervisory board of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, and since 2012 as chairman.

Seikel supported the establishment of the Hamburg Media School and is also heavily involved in the arts as a sponsor in Hamburg. He is a board member of the New Art Association in Hamburg , which promotes young artists in Hamburg, and is on the supervisory board of the Deichtorhallen . He was instrumental in the fact that the image archive of "Spiegel" gave the International House of Photography in the Deichtorhallen around three million analogue photographs on permanent loan.

In June 2008 Seikel was introduced as the new media coordinator for the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg. Its tasks include promoting Hamburg as a media location . He reported directly to the First Mayor, Ole von Beust . After his resignation in August 2010, Seikel also resigned as media coordinator at the end of 2010.

Awards

In November 2006 Seikel was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit on Ribbon for his voluntary and professional commitment .