Thomas Middelhoff (born 11 May 1953
) is a German retired corporate manager. He was on the board of directors of
Bertelsmann
Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA () is a German private multinational conglomerate corporation based in Gütersloh, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is one of the world's largest media conglomerates, and is also active in the service sector and ...
from 1990–2002, being
CEO
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
from 1998. From 2004 to March 2009, Middelhoff was chairman of the supervisory board of
Arcandor
Arcandor AG was a holding company located in Essen, Germany, that oversaw a number of companies operating in the businesses of mail order and internet shopping, department stores and tourism services. It was formed in 1999 by the merger of Kar ...
(previously KarstadtQuelle), and CEO of the company.
Background
Thomas Middelhoff was born in
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...
, Germany, the son of a textile businessman. He studied business at the
University of Münster
The University of Münster (german: Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, WWU) is a public university, public research university located in the city of Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany.
With more than 43,000 students and over ...
and received his doctorate at the Institute for Marketing under the supervision of
Heribert Meffert Heribert is a Germanic given name, derived from ''hari'' ("host") and '' beraht'' ("bright"). See also Herbert, another given name with the same roots.
* Charibert of Laon (died before 762), also spelled Heribert, Count of Laon and maternal grandf ...
. While at university, he was already working in his father's textile business. After graduating he was given a high post in the company.
Bertelsmann (1986 - 2002)
In 1986 he moved to
Bertelsmann
Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA () is a German private multinational conglomerate corporation based in Gütersloh, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is one of the world's largest media conglomerates, and is also active in the service sector and ...
, a multinational media corporation based in Germany, as assistant manager of the graphic firm in
Gütersloh
Gütersloh () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, in the area of Westphalia and the administrative region of Detmold. Gütersloh is the administrative centre for a district of the same name and has a population of 100,194 peo ...
. In 1990, he became a member of the board of directors of Bertelsmann.
Middelhoff recognized the potential of the new digital media early. He made small investments into Firma Pixelpark in Berlin among others, on Bertelsmann's behalf. As an early believer in the rapid development of the Internet, he suggested a large financial participation of Bertelsmann in America Online (AOL) when it was still a young company, and created the joint venture AOL Europe, with a financial holding of $50 million for a 5% stake. This investment was extremely successful and would later influence Middelhoff's ascent in the company to
chairman of the board
The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...
. In May 1995, he became a member of the governing board of AOL, and during his time in this position Middelhoff became a "close friend" of AOL's founder,
Steve Case
Stephen McConnell Case (born August 21, 1958) is an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist best known as the former chief executive officer and chairman of America Online (AOL). Case joined AOL's predecessor company, Quantum Computer ...
.
In 1995, Bertelsmann and AOL started the
joint venture
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...
AOL Germany. From November 1998 to July 2002, Middelhoff was the CEO of Bertelsmann. During this time it increased its internet activities by starting the online media portal
BOL (Bertelsmann Online), which was sold to in 2002. But Bertelsmann soon stepped back from these online engagements, selling its shares of AOL-Europe back to
Time Warner
Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States.
It was originally established in 1972 by ...
, which had merged with AOL in 2001. In January 2000 Middelhoff declined a directorship at AOL and resigned from the supervisory board of the corporation.
Besides his position at the Bertelsmann group, Middelhoff has been a member of the Board of Trustees of the non-profit
Bertelsmann Stiftung
The Bertelsmann Stiftung is an independent foundation under private law, based in Gütersloh, Germany. It was founded in 1977 by Reinhard Mohn as the result of social, corporate and fiscal considerations. As the Bertelsmann Stiftung itself h ...
, too (2000–2002).
Subsequent career and life
Beginning in 2003, Middelhoff coordinated the European affairs of the
holding company
A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...
Investcorp
Investcorp is a global manager of alternative investment products, for private and institutional clients. Founded in Bahrain in 1982, the firm has offices in United States, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, India, China, ...
. The German businesses of the corporation included and Callahan. After
APCOA Parking
APCOA Parking AG is Europe's longest-established full service parking management company. was taken over by Investcorp in 2004, he was appointed to its supervisory board.
Since 2003 Middelhoff has also been a member of the board of
The New York Times Company
The New York Times Company is an American mass media company that publishes ''The New York Times''. Its headquarters are in Manhattan, New York City.
History
The company was founded by Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones in New York City. T ...
responsible for the
compensation committee
Executive compensation is composed of both the financial compensation (executive pay) and other non-financial benefits received by an executive from their employing firm in return for their service. It is typically a mixture of fixed salary, variab ...
. As a confidant of
Madeleine Schickedanz
Madeleine Schickedanz (born 20 October 1943) is a German heiress and philanthropist. She is the daughter of Gustav and Grete Schickedanz, the founders of catalog retailer Quelle Versand, which was merged with Karstadt to form Arcandor, a compa ...
, he became the chairman of KarstadtQuelle AG's supervisory board in June 2004 and its CEO in May 2005. KarstadtQuelle was renamed
Arcandor
Arcandor AG was a holding company located in Essen, Germany, that oversaw a number of companies operating in the businesses of mail order and internet shopping, department stores and tourism services. It was formed in 1999 by the merger of Kar ...
in 2007.
Middelhoff was removed from his position as CEO of Arcandor and Thomas Cook Group in March 2009, following a significant decrease in Arcandor's share prices since he had taken the position in 2005. Three months later, German justice minister
Brigitte Zypries
Brigitte Zypries (born 16 November 1953) is a German lawyer and politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). Between 2017 and 2018, she served as Minister for Economics and Energy in the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel; she was the fir ...
announced an investigation into alleged fraud on Middelhoff's part, following allegations of inflated prices for lease agreements involving a firm in which he and his wife were shareholders. Arcandor declared bankruptcy in the following week. In 2014, Middelhoff was convicted on criminal charges related to his activities while head of Arcandor; he was sentenced to three years' imprisonment.
Middlehoff served 3 years in prison for Arcandor-related crimes. He separated from his wife, with whom he had five children.
References
External links
Profileon Business Week
on New York Times
Where Are They: Thomas Middelhoff- Wall Street Journal
Who's WhoQuotes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Middelhoff, Thomas
1953 births
Living people
Businesspeople from Düsseldorf
University of Münster alumni
German Catholics