Wübbenhorst to Step Down as GfK's CEO

GfK CEO Professor Klaus Wübbenhorst, who has been with the firm for 20 years, has decided that for personal reasons, he will not be extending his employment contract when it expires at the end of July 2012.

Wübbenhorst was appointed to the Management Board as CFO in 1992 and took over as CEO six years later. During this time, he was responsible for restructuring GfK in 1992, the stock exchange launch in 1999, the acquisition of NOP-World in 2005 and the transformation of GfK AG into GfK SE in 2008.

Before joining the firm, he was a member of the management Board at KBA-Planeta, and a manager at media firm Bertelsmann.

'In 2012 I will have been with GfK for 20 years, and can look back with pride and joy, particularly with respect to 2010,' Wübbenhorst said in a statement earlier. 'Today is a special day for me personally: it is my 55th birthday, and this makes it a good time for GfK to plan for a change of management in the medium term. For myself, it is a welcome opportunity to seek fresh challenges in pastures new.'

Arno Mahlert, Chairman of GfK's Supervisory Board, says that the firm 'very much regrets' Wübbenhorst's decision. 'We would like to express our thanks to Professor Klaus Wübbenhorst for having informed us of his decision at an early stage, so that with his support, we should be able to achieve an orderly handover.'

Web site: www.gfk.com .