What is familiar to us can cause great amazement abroad. Our Burda Verlag top lists and seals have long since become flagships beyond Germany's borders.
As part of the ongoing generational change, Dr Jacob Burda and Elisabeth Burda Furtwängler assumed entrepreneurial and publishing responsibility for the Burda Group from their father, Dr Hubert Burda, at the start of 2025. Following a year of reorganisation under the leadership of Olaf Koch as Chairman of the Board of Directors, the Executive Board has been substantially reconstituted with effect from 1 January 2026. Alongside Jan Wachtel, who has been leading the entire media business as CEO Burda Media since the beginning of the year, Dr Maximilian Preisser, Dr Lydia Rullkötter and Christian Teichmann have now joined the Executive Board.
Former General Counsel Dr Maximilian Preisser, who joined Burda in 2017, will oversee equity investments – including HolidayCheck, XING and kununu, and Cyberport – as well as the central functions of M&A, legal affairs, compliance, and sustainability. Dr Lydia Rullkötter, previously Co-CEO of BurdaForward and with more than 13 years of service at the company, succeeds Holger Eckstein as CFO. Eckstein will retire as planned by the end of 2026 and will support an orderly transition until then.
Christian Teichmann, who co-founded BurdaPrincipal Investments (BPI) ten years ago and has led it since, will take responsibility for the new strategic focus area Venture & Networks on the Executive Board. This includes the venture business BPI, the DLD innovation conference, and the development of new growth areas.
Dr Marc Al-Hames, until now CEO of Burda Equity, moves to the Board of Directors and assumes its chairmanship. Olaf Koch, after an intense year driving the reorganisation of the Burda Group, will once again focus fully on his own investment activities as a partner at Zintinus. As Chairman of the Board of Directors, Dr Marc Al-Hames will continue to actively support the company’s further development together with the shareholders. Having joined Burda in 2011, served on the Executive Board since early 2023, and successfully led several Burda Group businesses through extensive transformation and growth, he brings deep knowledge of the company and its culture.
“It has been a pleasure working with Olaf Koch. He provided important momentum during a transition phase and made a key contribution to the company’s reorientation.”
Dr Jacob Burda
“We are deeply grateful to Olaf Koch for his dedication and valuable support across many areas, also on behalf of our father, Hubert Burda,” adds Elisabeth Burda Furtwängler. “We are delighted that Marc Al-Hames, as a profound expert on the company, will now accompany us closely in its continued development.”
“I would like to extend my sincere thanks to the Burda family for their trust and close partnership in 2025. It was both an honour and a pleasure to contribute to the company’s reorganisation. I wish the Burda family and the Group all the very best for the future,” says Olaf Koch on his departure.
The new Chairman of the Board of Directors, Dr Marc Al-Hames, comments on the new Executive Board appointments:
“With this new Executive Board, we are drawing on both renewal from within and enrichment from beyond. The three senior executives from our own ranks, together with Jan Wachtel, form a strong team that knows our strengths and is driving the company’s transformation forward with great energy and new ideas.”
The Executive Board collectively holds responsibility for leading the entire Burda Group. The Board of Directors advises and oversees the Executive Board and plays a key role in defining the company’s strategy and portfolio policy. In addition to the owning family, its members are Dr Marc Al-Hames (Chairman), Dr Ulrike Handel, Meredith Whittaker, and Dr Andreas Rittstieg (Deputy Chairman).
