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Björn Bauer Named CFO of Combined BMG and Concord as Deal Moves Toward Closing
Björn Bauer will become CFO of the combined BMG and Concord once the transaction closes, with current CFOs staying on in the meantime.
Björn Bauer has been tapped to serve as chief financial officer of the newly combined BMG and Concord, with the appointment announced Tuesday, May 12. Based in Nashville, Bauer will report to Bob Valentine, who has already been designated CEO of the combined company.
The move pulls Bauer over from RTL Group, the entertainment company majority-owned by BMG parent Bertelsmann. He has been CFO there since 2019, while also serving as an executive director and member of the executive committee. In that role, Bauer was credited with helping steer RTL’s transformation, including narrowing the portfolio toward its largest businesses, expanding Fremantle’s global content operation and building a profitable streaming business. The release also points to his involvement in RTL’s acquisition of Sky Deutschland (GSA) and the sale of RTL Netherlands.
Before RTL, Bauer spent years in senior positions across Bertelsmann, where he worked from 2007 onward. His previous posts included executive vp of corporate controlling and strategy, as well as CFO of Relias, Bertelsmann’s U.S.-based online learning provider.
Until the BMG-Concord transaction closes, the current finance chiefs at both companies will stay in place. BMG CFO Mathis Wolter will continue in Berlin, where he’ll help guide integration with Concord before moving into a new role within Bertelsmann. Concord CFO Kent Hoskins will also remain in his role through closing, after which he is expected to take another senior leadership position in the combined company.
Thomas Coesfeld, who has been designated chairman of the combined BMG and Concord, framed Bauer’s appointment as part of the practical work of making the merger function beyond the headline. “Björn brings a wealth of experience and a proven track record of delivering strong results through operational excellence and disciplined financial management,” he said in a statement. Coesfeld also thanked Wolter for what he called an instrumental role in BMG’s strategic transformation over the past three years.
Valentine echoed that sentiment, saying Bauer’s financial background will matter as the new company looks toward “sustainable growth and long-term value creation” after the deal closes.
Bauer, for his part, cast the merger as a response to a music business still reshaping itself around scale, catalogs and artist development. “As the global music industry evolves, the combination of BMG and Concord will be uniquely positioned to capture new opportunities through its talent focus, entrepreneurial spirit and global scale, supported by continued investments in catalogs and talent,” he said. He added that the closing marks “a pivotal moment” and said he looks forward to working with the teams on the company’s next phase of growth.
