Generation change in Gütersloh Liz Mohn hands over power to Bertelsmann

As of: June 21, 2021 1:48 p.m.

An era ends at the Bertelsmann media group: On her 80th birthday, Liz Mohn officially hands over responsibility for the clan empire to her son Christoph.

By Thomas Spinnler, tagesschau.de

It’s an exciting year for the Mohn family and thus also for Europe’s largest media group Bertelsmann from Gütersloh, which has been under the family’s control for almost 200 years. A few days ago, Liz Mohn announced that she would be handing the fate of Bertelsmann in the hands of her son Christoph on her 80th birthday today. Liz Mohn has been the spokesperson for the Mohn family since 2002, which directly holds around 20 percent of the company. This position is now taken over by Christoph Mohn – as well as the chairmanship of the steering committee of Bertelsmann Verwaltungsgesellschaft (BVG), in which the family’s voting rights are bundled. This guarantees him control of the entire group via a right of veto and allows him to determine the strategic direction to a large extent. The remaining 80 percent or so of the capital shares in Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA are held by foundations such as the Bertelsmann Foundation, the Reinhard Mohn Foundation and the BVG Foundation. Liz Mohn is now also stepping down from the board of the influential Bertelsmann Stiftung.

“My husband was my teacher”

Liz Mohn determined the fortunes of the media empire for a long time. She originally started at Bertelsmann as a secretary. At the age of 17 she met the then company patriarch Reinhard Mohn at a company party and finally married him in 1982.

Then she began to take on tasks in the group with his support. “My husband was my teacher,” wrote the jubilee. Reinhard Mohn took over C. Bertelsmann Verlag in 1947 in the fifth generation and expanded it into a media group. He died in 2009. It was up to Liz Mohn to help shape the change to a digital media company and to determine it in a responsible position.

Largest book publishing group in the world

What kind of company is it that the 80-year-old is now handing over to her son Christoph? The business of the media group already starts with the children. It is active on the education market with the Bertelsmann Education Group. Bertelsmann expects a lot from the growing demand for e-learning.

The group also includes Penguin Random House, the world’s largest consumer publishing group with more than 300 independent book publishers, and the magazine publisher Gruner + Jahr, which is responsible for titles such as “Stern”, “Geo”, “Brigitte”, “Essen & Trinken” or ” Beautiful living “is known.

TV group as a source of revenue

The RTL Group, in which Bertelsmann holds a majority stake of 75 percent, with the channels RTL, RTL 2, Vox and NTV, provides the largest share of group sales. Then there is BMG, the fourth largest music publisher in the world. The second largest group division – measured in terms of sales – is the service company Arvato, which operates call centers and organizes financial services, IT services and logistics for its customers. A total of around 130,000 employees work for the media group worldwide. In the past 2020 financial year, it generated sales of 17.3 billion euros. The “Billionaires-Index” of the news service Bloomberg estimates the current fortune of Liz Mohn at 7.5 billion dollars.

In the sixth generation

Liz Mohn was honored with the Great Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2010 for her social commitment. Mohn donated, among other things, a singing competition and campaigns for stroke victims. The Bertelsmann Foundation is one of the largest foundations in Germany and, according to its own statements, invested 74 million euros in charitable projects last year. It was founded in 1977 by the corporate patriarch Reinhard Mohn. Critics accuse her of pursuing the interests of the group with her influence.

The new family spokesman Christoph Mohn takes over the reins of the Gütersloh group, which has its roots in the printing of religious works, in the sixth generation. In addition to the 55-year-old and Liz Mohn, their daughter Brigitte is also represented on the steering committee of the Bertelsmann management company

In the long-term brand development process, ART has gradually formed ART classic, ART city, ART West, ART space, Jonathan & Richard, yvvy and other brand matrices, creating a multi-dimensional image of the art space: ART classic is responsible for providing pure American home furnishings The life experience is always prosperous among the market and consumers; the new brand ART space jointly launched by Meike Home and the Danish Treton Group presents a more international vision of living style; ART West District, is The fusion of bohemian style and new modern style; ART City uses the popular new urban luxury elements to deduce a personalized space experience that is both rational and sensual.

Since its inception, Meike Home ART brand has been thinking about home life culture constantly. As a pioneer in exploring the ideal life, Meike Home ART adheres to the mission of perfecting the integration of art, design and home furnishing. Under the integration of multiple artistic aesthetics, it continues to explore the best mode of ideal living. Let everyone benefit from artistic life and let everyone’s living space be decorated with art, which is the pursuit of the ART brand for many years. The resulting trip to China for the designers of Meike Home Furnishing ART brand is a carrier for the ART brand to pass on the thinking results to the public.

It’s been the sixth year of the China Tour for Meike Home Furnishing ART brand designers. At the Shanghai station, Ge Chengkang, Deputy General Manager of Markor Retail and COO of the ART brand, Wang Xiaoli, Deputy General Manager of Red Star Macalline Shanghai Business Center and General Manager of the No. 1 Global Home Furnishing Store, and Zhang Yaotian, founder of Funconnection Design Wu Xiaohui, Director of Store Management Department I of Khome ART, and others discussed many related topics about home design and living space construction.

The content of the exchanges between the big coffee is impressive; the designer’s in-depth explanation of the design concept is deeply inspired by the audience.

Meike Home Furnishing ART brand designer’s trip to China is a platform for many practitioners in the home furnishing industry to build a platform for dialogue, and use other stones to attack jade and promote the sustainable development of its own brand.

In this tour of north and south, the ART brand has also successfully passed the pioneering life philosophy and good life attitude to people who love life.

Meike Home Furnishing said that this year’s brand designer’s trip to China is over, but the exploration and thinking of the ART brand will not stop, and it will continue to meet the public’s pursuit of a higher quality of life. (Photo courtesy of the event organizer)

Karin Senz, ARD studio Istanbul There’s a lot going on in the large square in front of Istanbul’s Bazaar district, but not nearly as much as before the pandemic: a few Arab tourists and locals stock up on their fasts or just sit in the sun. Ali stands at his little oil press and waits in vain for customers. He usually works seven days a week and gets around 3,000 lira, that’s a little more than 300 euros. With that he can just make ends meet. But now it’s lockdown on the weekend. “That’s why I only work five days a week and get 100 lira a day, which makes about 2000 lira a month,” says Ali. “That’s not enough to support my family. But what should I do? We have all got used to these circumstances.”

No protection from state social security

He does not get compensation from the state, which ordered the lockdown. “In Turkey it is very common that you do not work in small companies, for example in restaurants, small hotels or workshops,” says Istanbul economist Baris Soydan. An estimated 30 percent of workers are not registered – and thus without social and unemployment insurance, like Ali. The Turkish media reported that around 2.5 million permanent workers were sent on unpaid leave by their bosses. The state pays them around 1000 lira a month, a good 100 euros. Mücke is sitting a few doors down behind the counter in her little shop. It’s full of Turkish sweets – but not a single customer can be seen. “Before the pandemic, we had two shops, one more straight down the street,” she says. “We had to close it, the shutters are down. At the moment we’re trying to stay afloat with this shop.”

Terminations despite the ban

The 40-year-old could have applied for a rent subsidy, around 100 euros. But that wouldn’t matter with the high rent she has to pay here in the tourist district, she says. That is why she did not even apply for the grant: “We get state support for the insurance contributions of the employees. And there are reductions and deferrals for income tax. But that’s it.” Mücke has five employees. She has not cut their salaries, she says – although the working hours are significantly shorter from the early evening due to the weekend lockdown and curfews. “We were able to claim short-time work allowance for two months. It was said that it would be extended to June. But then they ended it. That is over.” Actually, the state has banned firing workers during the pandemic. According to the Turkish statistical office, around 250,000 people lost their jobs in February alone.

No rate cut

Turkey only went into a complete lockdown a year ago, which then lasted almost three months. Since then, the shops have remained largely open. Restaurants, cafes and bars are closed from time to time, as they are now during Ramadan. “Last year, in 2020, the economy in Turkey grew by 1.8 percent. In Germany, for example, it shrank,” says economic expert Soydan. “From a purely macroeconomic perspective, things went okay here, but not for the population.” Inflation is currently over 16 percent. That is also why many Turks looked to the decision of the new head of the central bank, Sahap Kavcioglou, on Thursday. The central bank did not comply with President Erdogan’s request to lower the key interest rate. Expert Soydan warns of another sticking point: the upcoming holiday season. “It could be that this year there are not many tourists from Germany or Russia,” he says. “If that were the case, significantly fewer foreign currencies – that is, euros and dollars – would enter Turkey.” And this is what the country needs – especially now in the pandemic. And the waiters, maids, bartenders, and entertainment staff need the jobs. At the moment, however, Turkey is struggling with record levels of around 60,000 new infections per day. Many people find it difficult to think of a successful holiday season.

Around the world, distribution teams work hard to get the Covid-19 vaccine to the most remote locations. In areas not accessible by car, people have to resort to sleighs, drones, or even elephants, horses, and camels to deliver vaccines. “The effort to bring vaccines to every country in the world right now is unprecedented,” said Robin Nandy, UNICEF’s head of immunization. In the photo, the vaccine on the ship brought to Great Cranberry Island, Northeastern United States. Photo: AP.

Immunization plans are in disarray in many areas, many people still waiting for their turn to receive vaccines. In the most remote, inaccessible places, a time-race effort to deliver vaccines is underway. These are places, whether the virus has invaded or not, are not equipped with adequate medical equipment to respond in the event of a pandemic outbreak. Photo: AP.

In the icy plains of southern Alaska, the Yukon-Kuskokwim medical organization distribution team used sleighs to deliver vaccines to dozens of villages in the most remote, remote areas. Vaccine delivery efforts kicked off in December 2020, when temperatures ranged from -30 to -20 degrees Celsius, putting the vaccine at risk of freezing inside the needle. In the photo, the vaccine is taken to the village of Napakiak, Alaska. Photo: AP.

“People here are desperately waiting to get vaccinated. It’s thrilling to be able to do something for them, keep them safe,” said Dr. Ellen Hodges, head of the vaccine distribution team. To date, Yukon-Kuskokwim has helped distribute thousands of doses of vaccine to 47 villages in southern Alaska. In the photo, a resident of Great Cranberry Island, is vaccinated. Photo: AP.

In the most remote areas of the Indian state of Assam, the vaccine is delivered to the vaccination site by very rudimentary means. Bahakajari village has 9,000 people waiting to receive the vaccine. To get the vaccine here, the medical teams had to row a boat, and then walk. In the photo, people in Bahakajari take a boat to the vaccination site. Photo: AP.

In Brazil, remote Amazon communities face a huge logistical challenge, traveling by boat for hours to the vaccination sites. For them, access to vaccines is extremely important, because most communities have only minimal medical facilities, and are unable to effectively treat advanced Covid-19 cases. In the photo, the vaccine is transported by small ship in the Amazon. Photo: AP.

As in many other parts of the world, health workers in Brazil face the challenge of convincing people to overcome skepticism, believe in vaccine safety and accept vaccinations. “Vaccine hesitancy is a complex issue, so it is extremely important to have adequate information available to all walks of life,” said a spokesman for the Global Vaccine Alliance (GAVI). In the photo, a person in the Amazon is vaccinated. Photo: AP.

On islands off the northeast of the United States, going inland was once the best option for vaccination. Each trip usually takes one day of travel. The harsh winter weather made the situation worse, as it prevented sea-going vehicles from going out to sea for days. The lack of early access to vaccines makes people even more isolated because they cannot leave their homes. Photo: AP.

When teams of volunteers sent vaccines to remote islands, the people here seemed to be rescued. Vaccine provides an opportunity to help people restore a normal life. “We are very excited. This vaccine helps relieve the isolation we have suffered for so long,” said Lindsay Eysnogle, a teacher on Islesford Island, Maine. In the photo, people on Islesford Island celebrate when they receive the vaccine. Photo: AP.

Specifically, she begins to practice in the video using a comb to divide each small curls. Then, she wrapped her fingers around the curl with her fingers and stroked the length of her hair.

“Healthy strands are heavier, resting on fingers. The split ends pop and you can easily cut them with scissors,” explains the man.

Meggan Garland teaches simple split ends trimming at home. Photo: The Sun.

Meggan added that girls should do this weekly to keep their hair healthy, avoiding damage from split ends.

Clip of Australian barbers received hundreds of thousands of likes and comments from netizens. Many people thank Meggan for sharing simple tips for repairing damaged hair. Others have practiced on a variety of hairstyles, including straight and curly hair.

Another barber said: “I used to do this for my client, very effectively. However, make sure the scissors are always sharp. Otherwise, you will continue to create hair sections. split new tops “.

Regularly removing split ends will fix damaged hair. Photo: Justdial.

In addition to weekly trimming hair, split ends also need special care, helping to repair damaged parts. Many people believe that regular washing of hair will help keep hair clean and healthy.

However, when you wash your hair regularly, the cleaning chemicals in products can strip the scalp of the moisture needed to dry, and split ends faster.

Women need to use a soft cotton towel and gently dry their hair after washing. Do not rub or twist your hair vigorously.

One thing to note is to limit the effect of heat on the hair. The hair is very weak so it is necessary to wear a wide-brimmed hat to protect it from sunlight exposure. In addition, it is advisable to let hair dry naturally after shampooing, avoid heat stretching or curling when there are signs of split ends.

Taking care of split ends is very important. Photo: Glamzocalo.

Health care workers give COVID-19 vaccine to people in Bangkok, Thailand, on April 7, 2021. Photo: THX / TTXVN

In the past 24 hours, the ASEAN association had up to four member states that recorded COVID-19 deaths: the Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia and Malaysia.

Indonesia remains the most serious outbreak of COVID-19 among ASEAN countries, when it recorded the highest number of cases in the region. However, the epidemic situation in the “country of thousands of islands”, after many months of outbreak, has seen a trend of cooling down, when the number of new cases began to decrease compared to the previous period.

Meanwhile, developments are returning and serious outbreaks in the Philippines. The epidemic progressed badly with the number of new cases / day many times higher than the “epidemic” in Indonesia and the highest among Southeast Asian countries, while the number of deaths increased sharply compared to the previous days. The disease situation in the Philippines is the hottest in the ASEAN region, the total number of new cases per day in this country is more than the region combined.

Malaysia continued to be concerned about the situation, the new epidemic wave has prolonged and there is no sign of cooling off in Malaysia. Malaysia is seeing the trend of epidemic escalate again due to the rapid increase in the number of new cases per day in the past few days. In Myanmar, according to website worldometers.info, Myanmar, in the past 24 hours, 9 cases of COVID-19 were reported.

Health care workers give COVID-19 vaccine to people in Bangkok, Thailand, on April 7, 2021. Photo: THX / TTXVN

Thailand also faces a worrying situation when the number of cases of community infection remains high in recent days, forcing the country to decide to tighten epidemic prevention measures. This country on April 14 recorded 1,335 new cases.

Cambodia’s epidemic disease is increasing rapidly and ominously when the country has 277 new patients and 1 death on April 14. “Community incident” has recently started to tend to cool down, the number of new patients tends to level off.

Specifically, the SARS-CoV-2 virus has so far claimed the lives of a total of 63,114 people in Southeast Asia, an increase of 296 cases compared to a day ago. While the number of cases increased to 3,090,106 cases. Besides, the ASEAN region also witnessed the number of patients successfully treated is 2,710,182 cases.

The whole bloc still witnessed worrisome, complicated epidemic developments and a potential risk of outbreaks of new epidemics in many member countries. In the past 24 hours, ASEAN had nine member countries recording new cases of COVID-19. Only Brunei and Laos have no more deaths or illnesses.

Evolution of COVID-19 in ASEAN on April 14:

People waiting for the COVID-19 vaccine to be vaccinated in Manila, Philippines, on March 31, 2021. Photo: THX / TTXVN

On April 14, the Philippines’ Ministry of Health (DOH) announced that it had recorded an additional 8,122 cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of cases in this Southeast Asian country to 892,880.

According to DOH, the total number of COVID-19 deaths in the Philippines also increased to 15,447, 162 more than the day before. Speaking at an online press conference, Philippine Deputy Health Minister Maria Rosario Vergeire said that the rate of disease spread in this country has not decreased, the number of cases continues to increase.

The average number of new cases per day still ranges from 10,000-11,000 cases. According to the Philippine Deputy Health Minister, the infection in the community still occurs, the outbreaks in the workplace are the main source of transmission, mainly in hospitals and closed workspaces.

Since the outbreak in January 2020 until now, the Philippines has tested for more than 10 million people out of a total of 110 million people. The Philippine Government is now stepping up efforts to strengthen the health system by adding resources to quarantine and health care facilities. During the press conference, Ms. Vergeire also emphasized the importance of maintaining the health system and ensuring hospitals are ready to accept patients.

Police on duty in Manila, Philippines. Photo: THX / TTXVN

Since March 29, the Philippine government has imposed stringent blockade measures in metropolitan Manila and four neighboring provinces to control the outbreak that has emerged since the end of February. until the end of April 30. The DOH believes that factors such as the new variant of the virus spread faster, people move more and lack a sense of compliance with epidemic control regulations that have caused the number of cases to increase.

On the same day, Malaysia recorded 1,889 new cases, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases in the country to 365,892. According to the Malaysian Ministry of Health, among the aforementioned new cases, there were 6 entries and 1,883 infections in the country. Malaysia also recorded eight more deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of deaths from the disease in the country to 1,353.

A total of 347,780 COVID-19 patients in Malaysia were discharged, equivalent to a cure rate of 95.1%. Out of 16,696 patients under treatment, 204 need special care and 79 need a breathing device.

German police check vehicles in the border area. (Photo: AFP / VNA)

The Czech news agency (ČTK) reported that Germany would end the measures border control long-term with the Czech Republic, which has been applied since February 14, due to serious epidemics.

Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Germany Tomáš Kafka said the representative of the German Ministry of Interior informed the Czech diplomatic mission of the decision.

Ambassador Kafka welcomed this decision by the German side, saying that this was not only a step towards a return to normal in Czech-German relations, but also an encouragement in a joint effort to control COVID-19 translation.

German Interior Ministry spokesman Steve Alter said the country was transitioning from a permanent border control regime to random inspection after it found that the disease situation in the Czech Republic had improved significantly. Accordingly, the standing border force will finish the mission at 0:00 on April 15.

However, Mr. Alter stressed that Germany will continue to implement quarantine measures through intensive random inspection in the area. German-Czech border.

Germany has resumed regular border controls with the Czech Republic and the Austrian state of Tyrol since February 14 to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

At that time, Germany had identified both of these regions with a high infection rate variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Germany then stopped long-term border control with the state of Tyrol since the end of March, but has extended this measure to the Czech Republic so far.

On April 14, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said it would extend a series of measures to protect tenants – a group of people believed to be vulnerable, in the context of the COVID epidemic- 19 has a heavy impact on the economy.

These measures will be extended for another Three months.

Under current regulations, tenants will not have a rent increase or termination and may apply for a temporary or partial rent delay if the owner is more than 10. real estate unit, having more than 1,500 square meters of real estate, or being a public institution. They can also renew the lease for an additional six months under the same conditions.

In place since the early days of the epidemic crisis in March 2020, the measures above have been repeatedly extended and will expire on May 9, when the national emergency ends.

During the last year against the COVID-19 pandemic, hundreds of thousands of people in Spain lost their jobs, prompting the government to expand social protection measures.

In Ukraine, the capital Kiev will also extend the blockade until April 30, after the number of deaths and new infections by day continues to increase despite the strict restrictions imposed in March. by.

Medical staff treating patients COVID-19 at a hospital in Lviv, Ukraine. (Photo: AFP / VNA)

According to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, the city government has no other choice because without such a decision the health system will not be able to accommodate the increasing number of patients, thereby increasing the number of patients. deaths caused by COVID-19.

Previously, to control the spread of the epidemic, Kiev restricted public transport services, closed schools, theaters and shopping centers, and banned spectators from coming to monitor events. sports events. Restaurants and cafes are only allowed to operate in the form of door-to-door delivery and recommend all government employees. work from home.

However, despite the imposition of strict restrictions, the number of new infections in Kiev is still higher than in other regions, with approximately 1,500 new infections and more than 40 deaths due to COVID-19 everyday.

Across the country, Ukraine has a total of 1.9 million cases, of which 38,225 have died since the epidemic broke out in the country last year.