At Bastei Lübbe AG, we work as a team. And that includes our board of directors. Soheil Dastyari has been our CEO since 2022. Simon Decot is in charge of our publishing programme. Since 1 September 2023, Mathis Gerkensmeyer has been the CFO of Bastei Lübbe AG and is responsible for accounting & controlling, group accounting, IT, manufacturing, contract management and law.
Soheil Dastyari, born in 1972, began his career as a brand strategist at the communications agency Lintas following his studies in Applied Cultural Studies—with a focus on Business Administration as well as Media and Communication Studies—at Leuphana University Lüneburg. Subsequently, from 1999 to 2006, he held various positions in Hamburg, Berlin, and New York City at the agency FCB Global, ultimately serving as Managing Director Germany. In 2007, Soheil Dastyari joined the media company Gruner + Jahr GmbH & Co KG in Hamburg; there, he initially led Brand and Innovation Development, later the Corporate Media division, and finally served as Publishing Director Germany—a role in which he acted as Managing Director for titles including *Capital* and the *Stern* Group. From 2016 to 2021, Soheil Dastyari served as the founding CEO of the communications service provider Territory, under whose umbrella the Bertelsmann Group consolidated and relaunched all of its companies in the field of content communications. After leaving Bertelsmann, he worked as a management consultant before assuming the position of Chairman of the Executive Board of the Issuer in March 2022.
Simon Decot, born on July 14, 1970, studied General and Comparative Literature and Journalism at the Free University of Berlin. Prior to this, he had already completed an apprenticeship as a publishing bookseller at Suhrkamp Verlag in Frankfurt am Main. Subsequently, from 2000 to 2003, he worked as a Product Manager for Fiction at bol.de (then part of Bertelsmann). In 2003, he moved to the Weltbild Publishing Group, where he initially served as a Product Manager for Fiction and Audiobooks; in 2004, he was promoted to Head of Program for Fiction and Audiobooks—a role in which he also held additional, temporary responsibility for current non-fiction titles until 2014.
In 2014, he assumed the position of Head of Program for Narrative Children's and Young Adult Literature at Ravensburger AG. He subsequently joined Bastei Lübbe AG in 2015, where he initially served as Head of Digital Program and Original Content, and—starting in 2016—also as Publishing Director for LYX. At the end of 2018, in his capacity as Head of Program Strategy, he assumed additional responsibility for the Fiction, Non-Fiction, and Eichborn divisions. Since 2020, Simon Decot has served as the Executive Board Member for Program at the Issuer.
Mathis Gerkensmeyer, born in 1982, studied Business Administration with a focus on Media Management and Corporate Finance at the University of Cologne and the Rotterdam School of Management. Following various roles in the consulting and media sectors held alongside his studies, he joined Axel Springer SE in Hamburg in 2009 to support the group's digitalization strategy. Holding various positions, he was notably involved in building a portfolio of digital company investments, ultimately serving as Head of Portfolio in Berlin starting in 2014. In the spring of 2015, he moved to Runtastic GmbH in Linz, Austria, initially taking on the role of Head of Finance. The company subsequently became part of the adidas Group, and Mathis Gerkensmeyer assumed additional areas of responsibility. From 2019 onwards, he served as Managing Director / CFO, continuously driving the development of the mobile fitness app provider. Since September 2023, Mathis Gerkensmeyer has served as a Member of the Executive Board of the issuer, holding responsibility for the departments of Accounting & Controlling, Group Accounting, IT, Production, and Contract Management & Legal Affairs.
Carsten Dentler
Carsten Dentler has served as a Managing Partner at Palladio Infrastruktur GmbH since 2019. He possesses extensive experience in transactions and management within the banking and capital markets sectors. Prior to joining Palladio Partners, he was responsible for establishing and managing the M&A/IPO/DCM advisory business for a leading American investment bank—and subsequently for a major Swiss investment bank—in Germany and Austria. His professional career spanned more than two decades—including 12 years as an executive board member—and encompassed a wide spectrum of industries. His primary areas of focus included the energy, chemicals, and other energy-intensive sectors, as well as the associated critical infrastructure. Carsten Dentler began his career at Commerzbank AG with an apprenticeship as a banker. Subsequently, he studied Business Administration at the University of Mannheim, graduating with a *Diplom-Kaufmann* degree. His professional career has included positions at firms such as Arthur Andersen GmbH, Deutsche Bank AG, Morgan Stanley Bank AG, and UBS Deutschland AG. He currently serves on the supervisory boards of several publicly listed and privately held companies.
Dr. Ralph Drouven
After studying law at the University of Cologne and the University of Geneva, Dr. Ralph Drouven completed his legal traineeship within the district of the Higher Regional Court of Cologne. He was admitted to the bar, initially at the Regional Court of Cologne and subsequently at the Higher Regional Court of Cologne. He earned his doctorate under Professor Dr. Gerhard Kegel—Director of the Institute for International and Foreign Private Law at the University of Cologne—writing his dissertation on a topic concerning the law of damages in the United States. He has been practicing as an attorney since 1986. He specializes in corporate law advice and the legal support of transactions. Having served as a partner in various leading commercial law firms since 1991, he founded the firm Drouven Dietlein Rechtsanwälte PartmbB in 2023. From 1999 to 2022, he served as Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the publicly listed company Splendid Medien AG.
Dr. Melanie Bockemühl
Dr. Melanie Bockemühl possesses extensive experience in leading strategy, business-building, and transformation programs, with a particular focus on digital and technology-related topics. At IBM Consulting, she served as a Senior Partner, heading the Strategy Consulting and Digital Agency divisions for the DACH region. Prior to this, she spent many years as a Partner at Boston Consulting Group and Bain & Company, advising clients across various sectors—including telecommunications, media, and technology. Most recently, she was active as a business angel within the start-up ecosystem and led the Strategy & Transformation division at Diebold Nixdorf. Dr. Melanie Bockemühl studied Business Administration at the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, earned an MBA from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota, and received her doctorate (Dr. rer. pol.) from Göttingen with a dissertation titled "Real Options Theory and the Valuation of Product Innovations." Today, she serves on the Advisory Board of the Faculty of Economics at the university.
