The Supervisory Board of GfK has elected Ralf Klein-Bölting as its new Chairman in an extraordinary meeting held today. Mr. Klein-Bölting will take over office on September 13, succeeding Dr. Arno Mahlert.
“I sincerely appreciate the trust placed in me by the members of the Supervisory Board. Together with my colleagues, I will dedicate all my efforts to GfK. On a basis of trust and in close collaboration with the Management Board, we will focus on the execution and, respectively, the continued development of the strategy as well as on setting GfK on course into a successful future. In addition, the top priority will be on further strengthening the operational business as well as the search for a new CEO,” said Klein-Bölting, the designated Chairman of GfK’s Supervisory Board.

Over the past years GfK has driven a comprehensive transformation in line with the strategy that remains valid today: The product and service offering has been consistently digitized and internationalized, the setup of the Group has been developed into a global matrix organization, and more stringent process and cost management has been implemented. Currently, the Group is focused on even closer customer relationships, the realization of its sales potential and the successful implementation of defined key projects.

The designated Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Ralf Klein-Bölting, 54, has been a member of the Supervisory Board since May 2016. He holds a business degree and is a specialist in consumer marketing with comprehensive industry experience ranging from branded products to services, from stationary retail to e-commerce. He has been Managing Partner of NEXTBRAND, a brand consultancy and investment company, since 2013. Furthermore, he draws on extensive leadership experience gained as Management Board member, plenipotentiary and member of the Board of Directors during his time at Mars, Deutsche Bahn, Tchibo and Otto Group. Over the past seven years, he has actively deployed this experience in his work for the Executive Board of GfK Verein. Building on this, Ralf Klein-Bölting can now provide further impetus for the ongoing successful development of GfK and perform his supervisory function.
Dr. Arno Mahlert, the outgoing Chairman of the Supervisory Board, has been serving as a member of the Supervisory Board of GfK SE since 2004 and as its Chairman since 2008. As communicated on August 11, 2016, he announced his resignation effective September 12, 2016.

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