Dr. Dr. Axel Diekmann

Dr. Dr. Axel Diekmann, Managing Partner of Verlagsgruppe Passau GmbH in Passau spoke in his presentation "Verlagsgruppe Passau Ein Zeitungshaus im Zentrum Europas" about ways and strategies to expand business activities within Europe and the associated growth opportunities for a German publishing house.

Dr. Dr. Diekmann took over the management of Verlagsgruppe Passau and Neue Presse Verlags-GmbH in 2003. The company is one of the largest publishers of regional daily newspapers in Europe, with operations in Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. VGP reaches more than 17.6 million readers every day with a daily circulation of 10.8 million. The Passauer Neue Presse alone, with its local editions, reaches more than 500,000 readers in south-east Bavaria every day, making it the largest regional daily newspaper in Bavaria outside the conurbations. Dr. Dr. Diekmann has been Chairman of the Dr. Hans Kapfinger Foundation since 1984. In 2002, he was awarded the Bavarian Order of Merit by the then Minister President Edmund Stoiber. He was also made an honorary senator of the University of Passau in 2005.

In his contribution to the 16th Munich Management Colloquium, Dr. Dr. Diekmann will discuss how a German publishing house was able to develop into one of the largest publishers of regional daily newspapers through its European involvement. He will present concepts and experiences on how Verlagsgruppe Passau GmbH was able to profitably manage the sometimes immense growth of recent years and not fail due to its own growth like other companies because the environment, suppliers, processes or structures could not grow at the same pace as the core business. The philosophy of the entrepreneur within the company is an important success factor for the growing and very healthy Verlagsgruppe Passau GmbH.

Status: Beginning of 2009