Thomas Rabe, born in Luxembourg-Ville in 1965, holds a Diploma and a Doctorate in Economics from the University of Cologne. He started his career in 1989 at the European Commission in Brussels. From 1990 to 1996 he held various senior positions at Forrester Norall & Sutton (now White & Case) in Brussels as well as the state privatisation agency Treuhandanstalt and a venture capital fund in Berlin. In 1996, he joined Cedel International (Clearstream, following the merger with Deutsche Börse Clearing) where he was appointed Chief Financial Officer and member of the Management Board in 1998. In 2000, Thomas Rabe became Chief Financial Officer and member of the Executive Committee of RTL Group. In March 2003 he was also appointed Head of Corporate Center and responsible for the Luxembourgish activities of RTL Group. Thomas Rabe was Chief Financial Officer and Head of the Corporate Centre of Bertelsmann AG from January 2006 until 31 December 2011. As of 1 January 2012 he was promoted to CEO of Bertelsmann AG.