Reinhard Mohn

Notable work and positions

Bertelsmann - chairman and chief executive (1971-1981); chairman of the supervisory board (to 1991)
Bertelsmann Stiftung - founder (1977)

Biography

Reinhard Mohn (June 29, 1921 - October 3, 2009) was a German entrepreneur who built Bertelsmann from a mid-sized German printing and publishing house into one of the world's largest media, services and education conglomerates. A great-grandson of company founder Carl Bertelsmann, he took over management of the family's C. Bertelsmann publishing house in 1947 after returning from two years as a prisoner of war in the United States. He launched the Bertelsmann book club, the Lesering, in 1950, followed by a record club and expansion into magazine publishing and, by the 1960s, television. In 1971 he converted the family firm into a stock corporation and became its chairman and CEO, a position he held until 1981; he remained chairman of the supervisory board until 1991. In 1977 he founded the nonprofit Bertelsmann Stiftung, to which he transferred majority ownership of Bertelsmann in 1993, making it the company's largest shareholder while keeping voting control separate from the foundation. From the late 1980s Mohn was also active as an essayist and nonfiction author, writing on management philosophy and corporate governance.

Career highlights

• Founding the Bertelsmann Lesering 1950 · Launched the book club that became the foundation of Bertelsmann's growth into a global media group.
• Bertelsmann Stiftung 1977 · Established the nonprofit foundation that today is one of Germany's largest, and which became Bertelsmann's majority shareholder in 1993.
• Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, Knight Commander's Cross · Among numerous German and international honors recognizing his business and philanthropic work.