At the same time, Mr. Schmidt-Holtz was a member of the Bertelsmann AG Executive Board and headed the BMG division which, today, consists of the joint venture share in SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT and of BMG Music Publishing. He also served as Chief Creative Officer of Bertelsmann AG.

Mr. Schmidt-Holtz's career spans high-profile positions for major European television and print media, having worked as a journalist, television editor and correspondent, magazine Editor in Chief and Publisher, newspaper publisher and television executive. In 1986 he was appointed Editor in Chief of German public broadcaster WDR where he ran a weekly political talk show. In 1988, he became Publisher and, two years later, Editor in Chief of Gruner + Jahr's Stern news magazine, halting the circulation decline by reestablishing the publication's reputation. In 1989 he served as a member of the Executive Board of Gruner + Jahr. In 1994, he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Bertelsmann's television business UFA which he led into the merger with Luxembourg based broadcaster CLT to form CLT-UFA in 1997. As Chief Executive Officer of CLT-UFA he orchestrated the combination with Pearson Television to form RTL Group in 2000.

Mr. Schmidt-Holtz, born on August 31, 1948 in Martinsreuth, Germany, is a lawyer by profession, and studied political science and psychology.