Philipp Welte was born in 1962 and trained as a newspaper journalist. After studying political science and empirical cultural studies at the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, he became a freelance journalist. In 1992, he moved to Leipzig to work at MDR, a public service broadcaster that was being developed as part of the ARD network.

He joined Hubert Burda Media in 1994 as head of communications. In late 1998, as managing director, he assumed responsibility for Bunte magazine. It was in this capacity that he launched the German edition of InStyle in 1999, the world’s first franchise of the successful US brand. He also founded the Burda People Group, which encompassed the STARnetONE entertainment unit in Berlin – the unit that produces Bambi, Europe’s most important media award.

In late 2006, Welte moved to Axel Springer, where he was appointed CEO of Bild T-Online AG in 2007 and became responsible for what is now Bild.de. In early 2008, he was named Chief Marketing Officer and managed Axel Springer Media Impact, the emerging multi-channel marketer. At the end of 2008, he was appointed to the Hubert Burda Media management board and has been in charge of the corporation’s national publishing business ever since.