Pascal Keutgens, 46, Senior Principal at Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), is to be appointed member of the company's Supervisory Board at the May 2021 Annual General Meeting and then become Chairman of the Audit Committee. He will succeed Ulrich Plett, 64, who is going to step down from the Supervisory Board as planned. CPP Investments came on board as a co-investor as part of the strategic partnership between Axel Springer and KKR, holding an approximately 25 per cent share in Traviata I S.a.r.l., a company that holds KKR's share in Axel Springer.

Mark Thompson, 63, has already been appointed as a consultant to the Supervisory and Executive Boards of Axel Springer at the beginning of this year. Prior to that, he spent eight years each in the positions of CEO at the New York Times and General Director of the BBC. Mark Thompson is to take over a Supervisory Board mandate at Axel Springer at a later date.&8239;

Ralph Büchi, 63, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Axel Springer SE, comments: "I am very much looking forward to working with Pascal Keutgens in future. He will be bringing to the Supervisory Board the international investment experience of our partner CPP Investments. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Ulrich Plett for the highly appreciated work he has done, not least as Chairman of the Audit Committee." About Mark Thompson, Ralph Büchi said: "It is a great pleasure for me to welcome Mark Thompson as a consultant to the Supervisory and Executive Boards. Mark Thompson's achievements in the media industry are legendary. He played a leading role in shaping the New York Times to become the world's most successful digital brand in journalism today. And his knowledge of the US media market is second to none. He will be contributing his invaluable input to our growth strategy with immediate effect."

Pascal Keutgens: "Axel Springer's excellent international prospects are a great fit for a global institutional investor like CPP Investments and I welcome the opportunity to contribute my experience, particularly in the transaction business, as a future member of the Supervisory Board."

Mark Thompson: "Axel Springer has already seized the digital opportunity in media with energy and imagination. I'm looking forward to helping the company's leaders plan and deliver its next chapter of growth and success."