Thomas Ebeling will become the new chairman of the ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG on March 1, 2009. The current CEO Guillaume de Posch will leave the company on December 31, 2008, while Axel Salzmann, a member of the executive board and CFO, will be the acting CEO from January 1 until the inauguration of Ebeling.
Ebeling is currently CEO of Novartis Consumer Health and a member of the executive committee of Novartis. In a press release, Götz Mäuser, chairman of the supervisory board of ProSiebenSat.1, said: “With Thomas Ebeling, we have found an outstanding CEO for Pro Sieben Sat 1. He is one of Germany’s top managers of international format, with a longtime experience with global corporations such as Pepsi and Novartis. He has a clear strategy, strong competence in the implementation and spirit of innovation. At Pro Sieben Sat 1, he is the right man at the right place.”
At least on paper, he sounds like the right man for ProSiebenSat.1 in these troubled times for mainstream commercial broadcasters.