Early implementation of the succession plan for the management board of Bastei Lübbe AG

Cologne, 29 April 2020 - Bastei Lübbe AG, listed in the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, announces that Mr. Joachim Herbst (53) will take up his position as CFO as early as
August 1, 2020. Mr. Herbst will also assume the function of Spokesman of the Management Board at the end of the Annual General Meeting on September 15, 2020 and the termination of Carel Halff's (68) Management Board activities.

Carel Halff had announced in October 2019 that he would not renew his contract and would leave the company by the end of 2020 at the latest. At the end of the Annual General Meeting Carel Halff will end his Management Board activities and continue to advise the company until the end of the year.

"We are pleased with this consensual and overlapping transfer of responsibility. By bringing forward the implementation of the succession plan, we can send a clear signal of transparency and unity to employees and business partners, especially at this time," says Robert Stein, Chairman of the Supervisory Board. "Together with Simon Decot as Programme Director, Sandra Dittert as Director of Marketing/Press/Sales and Joachim Herbst as CFO and future Spokesman of the Management Board, the company is very well positioned for a successful future.

Mr. Klaus Kluge (62) and Mr. Ulrich Zimmermann (57) will already leave their functions in the company at the end of July and hand over their duties to the new Management Board members in August.

"I would like to thank Mr. Kluge and Mr. Zimmermann for their many years of great commitment in not always easy times, and I wish them all the best for the future, both personally and professionally," said Robert Stein, praising the work of the members of the Management Board who will be leaving at the end of July.


About Bastei Lübbe AG:

Bastei Lübbe AG is a German publishing house with headquarters in Cologne specialised in the publication of books, audio books and e-books with fiction and popular science content. The company's core business also includes the periodically published puzzle magazines and novel magazines. With its total of twelve publishing houses and imprints, the Bastei Lübbe group of companies currently offers around 3,600 titles in the areas of fiction, non-fiction as well as books for children and young adults. In the growing segment of hardcover fiction books, the company has been one of the market leaders in Germany for many years. At the same time, Bastei Lübbe is an engine for innovation in the area of digital media and distribution channels, among other things by the production of thousands of audio and eBooks. This includes the stake in the game publisher "Daedalic Entertainment".
With annual sales of approx. EUR 95 million (financial year 2018/2019), Bastei Lübbe AG is one of the largest medium-sized publishing companies in Germany. The shares of the company have been listed in the Prime Standard segment on the Frankfurt stock exchange (GSIN A1X3YY, ISIN DE000A1X3YY0) since 2013. Further information is available at


Contact Bastei Lübbe AG:
Barbara Fischer
Head of Press and Public Relations
Tel.: +49 221 / 82 00 28 50
E-Mail: