Values

Annabelle Long is astonished.
The young Chinese
woman has just presented
a concept in Beijing
showing how Bertelsmann can
be part of the rapid development on Asia’s
growth markets. Her suggestion: to establish an investment
fund. Now, she’s waiting for feedback. She’s hoping
that her idea won’t be immediately rejected, that it might
become part of further discussions in Gütersloh. On that
November day in 2007, Chief Financial Offi cer Thomas Rabe
doesn’t leave the promising manager hanging for long. “Let’s
do it,” he says.
“I never thought I’d get a decision like that right away,” Long
recalls. “I was amazed, but mainly, I was impressed.” A few
weeks later, in January 2008, she starts work as the managing director
of Bertelsmann Asia Investments. The Bertelsmann Executive
Board dedicated 100 million dollars to the fund – seed
money for startups in the Asian media and service sector.
– 28 –
VENTURING TO...
Sowing seeds
for the future
Bertelsmann is developing new markets in Asia, new sales methods in
Europe and the U.S., and new services for the global network.
We don’t yet know which of these activities will be the milestones of
tomorrow. What we do know is that there are plenty of entrepreneurial
opportunities for talented people and that they are receiving support –
for example through the Bertelsmann Entrepreneurs Program.
Following the Bertelsmann
Entrepreneurs Program,
Annabelle Long now runs
the “Corporate Center”
in Beijing and is looking
for investment
opportunities in Asia
So far, Long and her team have invested
about half of the money. The fund
has a stake in an Internet life style and online
shopping community for young people
(Yoho), and the No. 1 digital platform for further
education (China Distance Education Learning).
The leading integrated ad solution provider focusing
on China’s booming automobile sector, Bitauto is also part
of the portfolio, as are shares in the multimedia subsidiary of
broadcaster Phoenix, which operates China’s fi fths-largest
online portal (“ifeng.com”). “With these investments, we get to
directly experience how entrepreneurial ideas and new technologies
are being turned into reality. Strategically, it’s important
to be able to recognize new business potential early on in
the game in emerging markets like China,” said Long, who also
heads Bertelsmann’s Corporate Center in Beijing.
But the country also has a lot of potential in classic media
businesses, as evident in Gruner + Jahr’s latest business development
in China. Despite the global crisis in advertising, the