BMG’s new chief financial officer will be Thomas Coesfeld, the recorded music & publishing giant has confirmed.
Coesfeld will join the international as deputy CFO on October 15, 2020, before ascending to CFO and the executive team on April 1 next year. He succeeds Maximilian Dressendörfer, who is leaving to take on new responsibilities within parent company Bertelsmann, and will report to BMG CEO Hartwig Masuch and Bertelsmann CFO Bernd Hirsch.
Coesfeld joins a company in rude financial and creative health, with BMG reporting revenues up 10.1% in 2019 to €600 million (£550m), and revenues growing 5% in the first six months of its 2020 financial year, despite the coronavirus pandemic. That was BMG’s best first-half result since it returned as a standalone company in 2008. The company won the award for Catalogue Marketing Campaign at today’s 2020 Music Week Awards, for its work with Kylie Minogue.
Coesfeld currently serves on the executive committee of the Bertelsmann Printing Group, and as chief strategy officer at Mohn Media.
“I very much look forward to working closely with Thomas Coesfeld,” said Masuch. “Thomas has demonstrated great entrepreneurial skills in his previous positions. Moreover, he has already worked for BMG during his time in the Bertelsmann entrepreneurs programme. I am convinced that Thomas, with his strategic perspective and strong customer focus, is the ideal candidate for the CFO position at BMG as we continue our growth path with a strong focus on the needs of artists and songwriters.
“At the same time, I would like to thank Maximilian Dressendörfer, with whom I have been building BMG for more than 10 years,” he added. “Max was instrumental in our successful development from start-up in 2008 to becoming the world’s fourth largest music company. I wish him all the best for his future.”
"As a strategic growth platform, BMG is very important to Bertelsmann's business development,” said Hirsch. “I would like to welcome Thomas Coesfeld to Bertelsmann's finance community, and look forward to working with him.”
Coesfeld initially joined Bertelsmann in 2016 as part of its entrepreneurs programme. He previously worked as a management consultant at McKinsey.
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