Oliver Eckert Appointed COO of DuMont

Cologne, February 1, 2024. DuMont welcomes new COO: The Supervisory Board appoints Oliver Eckert as the new Chief Operating Officer to the Group Management Board of DuMont, effective April 1, 2024. The Holding Group’s executive leadership will now comprise Dr. Christoph Bauer (CEO), Stefan Hütwohl (CFO), and Oliver Eckert (COO). Eckert will report directly to Dr. Christoph Bauer.

With the addition of Oliver Eckert, the Group Management Board gains a versed manager and journalist with extensive digital expertise. For nearly 18 years, he has successfully led prominent digital and media companies, developing and implementing strategic and operational concepts. Until October 2023, Eckert served as the CEO at BurdaForward, overseeing the digital publishing business. Under his leadership, BurdaForward evolved into a profitable and innovative digital publisher with double-digit growth rates, reaching over 40 million people monthly in Germany with its offerings.

During his almost 15-year tenure with Burda, Eckert held various roles. In 2009, he joined as the founding director at Finanzen100, which has since become a leading financial app for private investors. In 2010, he also assumed the management of the then Tomorrow Focus Publishing GmbH, which later merged into BurdaForward GmbH in 2015. This entity consolidates numerous leading websites and apps, including Focus Online, Chip, and Bunte.de. Under Eckert’s guidance, BurdaForward introduced the Huffington Post (“HuffPost”) and the Weather Channel to Germany and initiated innovative offerings like E-Fahrer.com, Germany’s No. 1 portal for e-mobility. Until October 2023, he was responsible for nearly 800 employees across eight locations in Germany and Italy. In 2022, Eckert was additionally appointed to the management of the Burda Verlag, overseeing digital strategy, the TEC investment holding, and product segments such as Food, Health, and Garden & Living.

A native of Cologne, Eckert has journalistic roots. During his business studies at the University of Cologne, he worked as a freelance contributor for the Kölnische Rundschau and WDR. He later graduated from the Axel Springer Academy of Journalism and began his career as a political and economic editor at Bild. He held editorial leadership positions at Bild.T-Online and served as the editor-in-chief and managing director of RP ONLINE (Rheinische Post) from 2006 to 2009.

Isabella Neven DuMont, Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board, and Christian DuMont Schütte, Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board, comment: “With Oliver Eckert, we are strengthening our Management Board with an expert in digital business with extensive experience, aligning with the growth of our group of companies. We are particularly pleased that he also brings a journalistic background.”

Dr. Christoph Bauer, CEO of DuMont, states: “Oliver Eckert is one of the most experienced managers in the field of digital publishing and publishing management. We are confident that he will provide crucial impetus to our media and technology company during its successful transition and will consistently accelerate digital diversification and growth.”

Oliver Eckert: “I am very excited to join the DuMont team – an enterprise that has continuously reinvented itself for over 400 years with courage and creativity. Today, DuMont is a group of companies that has successfully embraced digitalization and diversified into the realms of journalism, data, and technology. This both impresses and motivates me. Alongside my new colleagues, I look forward to contributing my experiences and ideas to the dynamic development of this extraordinary family business. I firmly believe that sustained economic success is only achievable through innovative strength.”