on the record

CEO Mathias Döpfner talks “on the record” about exciting news for the media company. Dive into this compelling episode on the company's revamped structure, discover what it means for the team, and what his vision for the future is. Don't miss these exclusive insights—tune in now!

To wrap up our three-part series with the CEOs of leading media brands, we address the burning question: What's next in media? Join us as we dive into a captivating conversation with Carolin Hulshoff Pol, CEO of WELT; Business Insider's CEO Barbara Peng; Claudius Senst, CEO of BILD; and Goli Sheikholeslami, CEO of POLITICO. This episode is all about the game-changing role of Artificial Intelligence in the media landscape. Discover how AI is already reshaping how these brands serve their audiences and what Axel Springer's groundbreaking OpenAI partnership means for the future of journalism.

In the second episode of our three-part series with the CEOs of our biggest media brands, we dive deep into the challenges on both sides of the Atlantic. Join us as Carolin Hulshoff Pol, CEO of WELT; Barbara Peng, CEO of Business Insider; BILD's CEO Claudius Senst; and POLITICO's CEO Goli Sheikholeslami tackle the big questions: Are the challenges unique to each brand? How does the decline of local journalism fuel polarization of society? And most crucially, how do we keep trust in the media alive? Don't miss this insightful discussion. Tune in to the second episode of our series now.

In the first of three special episodes, the CEOs of our biggest media brands from both sides of the Atlantic come together to discuss the future of the news business. On the one hand, we have BILD and WELT—two formerly traditional print newspapers with a history of transformation. On the other, the digital natives Business Insider and POLITICO. Join Carolin Hulshoff Pol, CEO of WELT, Business Insider's CEO Barbara Peng, BILD's CEO Claudius Senst, and Goli Sheikholeslami, CEO of POLITICO, as they discuss, among other topics: What's the best starting point for disruption? And: Is being a legacy business a blessing or a burden?

In this episode, we welcome Andrew Briz, Editorial Director of Newsroom Engineering at POLITICO. As a participant of the AI Fellowship, he explored the AI hubs in Silicon Valley and Los Angeles, and presents his insider's view of the the technology's potential and our approach to utilizing it. Later, we meet Dan Van Dyke, VP Generative AI at EMARKETER. As a member of Axel Springer's AI Ambassador Program, he exchanges new ideas with colleagues from other brands of Axel Springer. He shares insights into the program's focus areas, his motivation, and the challenges he tackles on a daily basis. This special episode was recorded live during Axel Springer's Media & Tech Con in Berlin in May 2024.

Niddal Salah-Eldin, Executive Board Member for Talent & Culture, joins us to elaborate on our hands-on approach to Generative Artificial Intelligence, transforming the way we operate, innovate, and connect with our audience. Later in the episode we welcome Ekaterina Schneider, Head of Upskilling at the Axel Springer Academy of Journalism & Technology. She explores how our upskilling programs empower employees to stay ahead in a rapidly evolving media landscape. This special episode was recorded live during the Media & Tech Con of Axel Springer in May 2024 in Berlin.

On this episode, we welcome Gordon Repinski, Executive Editor Germany from POLITICO. Berlin marks the latest expansion of POLITICO, and Gordon has just published the 100th issue of the “Berlin Playbook” newsletter, among other regular products like the Pro newsletter and podcast. It's a good time to catch up: How has the launch been for him? How is he handling the extreme workload? How is he working with POLITICO's transatlantic network? Tune in to the latest episode for an in-depth exploration of the innovative world of political journalism and future media trends.

In this episode, Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner provides an exclusive business update. He delves into the complex macro environment we're navigating and outlines his strategy for overcoming challenges. Mathias emphasizes the importance of prioritizing sales as a key driver of revenue growth. He also shares insights on fostering an office-first approach and highlights the value of social interaction and direct collaboration for long-term success.

In this episode, we talk with Miriam Krekel, Head of the Journalism School at the Axel Springer Academy of Journalism & Technology, about the challenges facing journalism in the Age of AI. Miriam gives us insight into how the Academy operates and how students utilize technology and critical thinking for their research. She also elaborates on the importance of their sense of democracy and freedom, as well as many other interesting aspects of the education of young journalists.

In this episode, we talk with Awin's CEO, Adam Ross, about the company's transformation into a leading Marketing Technology (MarTech) company. We learn about the business of affiliate marketing and the dynamics shaping the industry. Adam shares insights into the incredible potential of affiliate marketing and the challenges the industry has yet to overcome. Finally, he outlines how Awin benefits from being part of the Axel Springer family, which has transformed Awin into a true hidden gem within the portfolio.

In this episode, we engage in a conversation with Chris Forman, the CEO of Appcast. Appcast stands as a leading provider of recruitment marketing technology solutions in the United States. Since 2019, it has been a part of Axel Springer following its acquisition by the Stepstone Group. Together with Chris, we explore the intricacies of their successful business model. Additionally, we gain insights into the changes that have occurred since Appcast acquired Bayard Advertising. Chris also provides a comprehensive overview of the challenges present in the recruitment market and offers his perspective on what to anticipate from the AI revolution.

Germany's biggest tabloid, BILD, is on its path to becoming digital-only and had an exceptional year in 2023: surpassing the milestone of 700,000 digital subscribers or being the most quoted medium in Germany, to name just a few achievements. BILD's CEO, Claudius Senst, takes us through this exceptionally successful year that has set the bar extremely high for 2024. What are the plans? How will he ensure that BILD continues on its successful route? How can Artificial Intelligence help journalists with their work? In our latest episode of “on the record,” Claudius takes us into the future of BILD in the coming year and beyond.

Our CEO Mathias Döpfner reflects on the, as he calls it, “transformative, challenging, and energizing” year of 2023. The podcast covers the digital-only future of the transatlantic media powerhouse, and, of course, the global partnership with OpenAI. Moreover, Mathias addresses the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, emphasizing Axel Springer's strong support for Israel. Another crucial topic is the globally increasing antisemitism – for Mathias, a symptom for the rise of anti-democratic forces –, with Mathias sharing personal insights. Learn more about these subjects and Mathias's expectations for 2024 in the latest episode of „on the record“.

Austin Rief delves into the history of “Morning Brew” and tells its success story, from a university project to a thriving multi-platform media brand with over 4 million subscribers. Gain valuable insights from Austin as he discusses the art of crafting compelling business content spanning newsletters, podcasts, and social media. He discusses also key milestones and provides insight into their goals for 2024. Along the way, he also shares how a fortune cookie influenced his journey...

In the latest episode of our podcast, we have John Harris as our guest. John is the Global Editor-in-Chief of POLITICO and co-founder of this transatlantic media company, which now looks back on almost 16 years of exciting history. This time, we look ahead to the new year 2024, and discuss POLITICO's plans. We delve into topics such as the progress of the expansion into Germany and the role John envisions for POLITICO in the upcoming U.S. elections.

In today's episode of "on the record", we are pleased to welcome Niddal Salah-Eldin, President Talent & Culture. She discusses the hot topic of the day: Generative Artificial Intelligence. This groundbreaking technology holds immense potential not only for us at Axel Springer but also for the entire business world and society, both now and certainly in the years to come. Niddal discusses the following topics: -Axel Springer's plans in the field of Generative Artificial Intelligence. -A detailed examination of Axels Spinger's approach on AI, the three pillars including education and -exchange, optimization, and exploration. -The roles and responsibilities of Axel Springer's Global Generative AI Team. -The significance of the AI Expedition, its background, and the program's first participant.

In this episode, our Deputy CEO and Board Member for News Media USA, Jan Bayer, provides us with an overview of Axel Springer's U.S. expansion. He explains where we currently stand in this endeavor and the significance of opening the New York office in this context. However, he also delves into the challenging market conditions and explains why Henry Kravis's quote, "Never waste a good crisis," is apt. Tune in to learn how the crisis was leveraged.

Julian Deutz, Axel Springer's CFO and President Classifieds, gives an overview of the numbers and most important developments, and mentions his expectations for AI and the next six months ahead. He also touches upon the most difficult aspects of the first half of the year: Both the tough economic times and our strategic focus on digital have forced us to let people go in some of our businesses. These difficult steps were tough for everyone involved, but necessary in order to keep us competitive.

This is the third time in a row that Mathias Döpfner is talking about artificial intelligence in this podcast. No wonder, because the topic is a game changer, not only for the creation of texts and images, but also with regard to trust, truth and manipulation.

We talk to Mathias Döpfner, our CEO, and to Mathias Döpfner, our CEO – the AI bot version. If you have questions, so did we when Mathias (the real one) during our podcast, in which we talk a lot about artificial intelligence and its potential impact on the media, mentioned a recent conversation he'd had with an AI bot version of himself.

AVIV is one of the world's largest digital real estate tech companies and a subsidiary of Axel Springer. Its unique family of leading brands includes some of Europe's best-known digital real estate marketplaces: Groupe SeLoger in France, Immowelt in Germany and Immoweb in Belgium. Ait talks about the strategy and transformation of AVIV, how they simplify the real estate buying and selling process and how the real estate market will develop in our current macroeconomic environment.

In this special edition of On the Record, Mathias reflects on the decisions announced for our German media business and why they were taken, what these decisions mean for our businesses outside Germany, the future role of AI for journalism, and where the HQ of Axel Springer will be in the future.

In this episode of on the record, we welcomed Sebastian Dettmers, CEO of StepStone. Founded 25 years ago as an online job board, StepStone has become one of the world's next-generation recruitment platforms offering AI-powered cutting-edge recruiting services. Their mission: Helping companies to hire the right talent. Sebastian talks about how and why StepStone's business thrives, the increasing importance of data in the job search market, and – of course –the big trend all mature economies face: the great people shortage.

In this episode of ‘on the record', our CEO Mathias Döpfner reflects on an all-hands meeting of the French division the AVIV group he attended last week – and as you can hear, he is still very much impressed by the company's spirit. AVIV, our classifieds business unit, is about to disrupt the European real estate market. Their vision: Changing the way European consumers buy, sell, rent, or lend properties. The second topic of this episode focuses on the first “anniversary” of Russia's invasion into Ukraine (5:49). No matter for how long the Ukrainian fight for freedom will continue, Mathias is hopeful that this war is a wake-up call for democracies to defend our liberal and open societies.

In this episode, Mathias refers to an interview he gave the German news agency dpa last week. He outlines three messages which were quite important for him: the focus on international growth, his firm conviction of a digital-only future of journalism, and the reflection of the satisfactory fiscal year 2022. Furthermore, he reveals his theme for 2023 and why –for him– NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg shows real leadership.

Goli Sheikholeslami talks about her first months heading the Washington-based media powerhouse, her learnings, and her business strategy that entails some exciting plans both for the US and the European markets.

In this fifth episode, Mathias looks back on a turbulent but also successful year 2022 and an anniversary that symbolically stands for a fundamental change in the media industry. He also expresses his sincere thanks to all Axel Springer employees for their commitment and hard work and gives an outlook on 2023: A year that will be again both exciting and challenging.

Since July 2022, Niddal Salah-Eldin has served as President of the new Talent & Culture board division at Axel Springer. In this episode of #on the record', she speaks about why and how she wants to update Axel Springer's cultural "OS", why culture is crucial for success, and how she defines diversity.

In the third episode of "on the record", Axel Springer's CEO Mathias Döpfner talks about: • Recent strategic decisions on Axel Springer's German news business • What led to the departure of Ulrike Handel • A self-critical look back to a very tumultuous chapter of the company • The FIFA World Cup in Qatar and his hope for a debate on the limits of tolerance for intolerance

In the second episode of "on the record," Axel Springer's CEO Mathias Döpfner talks about what freedom means to him and why freedom is the core value that guides us in everything we do. Mathias does not deny the fact that freedom and free media are currently threatened - both ideologically and economically - and explains why courage and entrepreneurship are even more important now.

Mathias Döpfner, Axel Springer's CEO, talks about how Axel Springer in its diversity of business models fared in this current phase of multiple crises, and his vision—or probably better, two visions—he has for the Axel Springer, and why he embraces change as a chance for growth.