Business News
Ralf Bierfischer and Michael Weinreich join the arvato AG Executive Board
Monday 09. July 2012 - arvato AG has appointed two new members to its Executive Board: Ralf Bierfischer (48), Chief Strategy Officer of arvato, and Michael Weinreich (46), CEO of arvato Infoscore, are joining the Board of Europe's leading BPO provider with effect from 1 October 2012. The expansion of the Board reflects arvato's strategic focus on further dynamic growth in the services business. In his new role, Ralf Bierfischer will concentrate on advancing arvato's future strategic focus. Michael Weinreich will develop additional options for dynamic growth for the successful integrated financial services businesses.
“With Ralf Bierfischer and Michael Weinreich the arvato AG Executive Board gains two top managers who have proven their exceptional entrepreneurial skills in various management positions in recent years,” says Rolf Buch, CEO of arvato AG. This expansion of the Executive Board supports arvato’s focused growth strategy. It is also a clear sign of the increased cooperation of the arvato Executive Board.
Buch continues: “The appointment of Ralf Bierfischer adds a successful international entrepreneur and a proven team player to the Executive Board. As arvato’s Chief Strategy Officer, he was formative in the evolution of arvato’s strategy, while also doing an impressive job developing the growth markets in Asia.” Buch says Michael Weinreich has an equally impressive personal record. “Michael Weinreich has an excellent reputation in the financial services industry. He stands for leadership through partnership and creative concepts. Under his leadership Infoscore has become a leading European service provider for integrated, value-driven management of customer relationships and payment flows.”
After completing a degree in Business Administration at the University of Bielefeld, Ralf Bierfischer joined Bertelsmann AG in 1988 as a controller at the head office of the Printing and Industry division. In 1994 he went to the U.S as head of a Bertelsmann merger and acquisition project. A year later he was named CEO of Bertelsmann Industry Services in Valencia. In 1999 he became Product Line Manager, Industry Services at arvato Distribution, and a year later was appointed Managing Director of arvato services. Bierfischer has headed the arvato AG Strategy department since the beginning of 2011, and oversees arvato’s development in the rapidly expanding services markets of Poland, China and India.
Bierfischer was born in Nuremberg in 1963. He lives in Gütersloh and is married with three children.
Following a degree in European Business Administration at Reutlingen and London, Michael Weinreich began his career in 1990 as a consultant with the consulting firm Gruber, Titze & Partner (Gemini Consulting) in Bad Homburg. Four years later he became head of consulting at the OTTO Group (then Otto Versand) in-house consulting service in Hamburg. In 1996 he was named head of customer services at OTTO’s Hanover office. Two years later he became head of OTTO Shops and in 2002 was appointed Managing Director of the OTTO subsidiary Corso. In 2005 he took over management of the EOS Group, OTTO Group’s German debt collection service, and in 2007 was appointed head of the EOS Group for the Germany region. Weinreich has served CEO of arvato Infoscore since March 2009.
Weinreich was born in Kassel in 1966. He lives in Ahrensburg and is married with two children.
As of 1 October the Executive Board of arvato AG will consist of Rolf Buch (CEO of arvato AG and a member of the Bertelsmann Executive Board), Dr. Ulrich Cordes (CFO), Ralf Bierfischer, Dr. Hans-Peter Hülskötter, Hervé Milcent, Markus Schmedtmann and Michael Weinreich.