Döpfner, Mathias

Mathias Döpfner, (born January 5, 1963, Bonn, West Germany [now in Germany]), German businessman who served as chairman and CEO (2002– ) of Axel Springer SE, a German media and tech company especially known for its newspapers and magazines.

Döpfner studied musicology and theatrical arts before he joined the staff of the daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (1982). Later he worked in public relations (1988–90) and held various jobs in publishing, including editorial jobs with the Berlin weekly Wochenpost (1994–96) and the newspaper Hamburger Morgenpost (1996–98). In 1998 Döpfner joined Axel Springer Verlag (later known as Axel Springer SE) as editor in chief of Die Welt, Springer’s daily news counterpart to its flashier tabloid, Bild. Within four years of his arrival, the 39-year-old Döpfner was named chief executive of Axel Springer. He cut costs, expanded business lines, and in 2004 increased Springer’s earnings by 23 percent.

Döpfner’s occasional forays into the editorial pages echoed the actions and opinions of the late Axel Springer, the company’s outspoken founder, and earned him the crucial approval of the founder’s widow, Friede Springer, who controlled 60 percent of the firm’s stock. Indeed, Döpfner was known for expressing his politically conservative opinions in newspapers around the world, including The Wall Street Journal. He made a splash in 2004 when he published his provocative essay “Europe, Thy Name Is Cowardice,” in which he decried European tolerance and accommodation of deadly enemies. Döpfner’s managerial moves addressed a world driven by global competition and instantaneous communication. In 2005 Springer’s $3 billion acquisition of ProSiebenSat.1, Germany’s largest television concern, marked its first step outside publishing. The merger gave the company access to five German television channels that claimed a combined 45 percent market share and moved the firm into direct competition with the privately owned German media giant Bertelsmann AG. The deal also permitted advertisers to maximize their presence across Springer’s newspapers, magazines, TV programming, and Web sites.

The acquisition of ProSiebenSat.1 complemented the firm’s expansion into emerging markets. Döpfner placed special emphasis on gaining—and holding—prominence in new markets, especially in eastern Europe and Asia. The firm drew upon the success of its photo-rich Bild—Germany’s best-selling newspaper—before it launched (2003) the Polish newspaper Fakt, which by 2005 was Poland’s most popular daily. Döpfner continued to exploit realistic growth opportunities to expand his company’s reach and its profits. In 2009, despite the global financial crisis, Axel Springer reported the highest earnings in its history, and Döpfner continued to look for ways to expand the company’s holdings.

In 2020 Axel Springer went private after being taken over by an American investment firm. Döpfner continued as CEO, and, later that year, Friede Springer named him her successor. It was also announced that she would gift him a 15 percent stake in Axel Springer and sell him an additional 4.1 percent; at the time his stake was about 3 percent.