Döpfner to step down from Vodafone board as of July 27

Appointed by Vodafone in 2015, Döpfner will be focusing on his responsibilities at Axel Springer SF

Vodafone Group has announced that Dr Mathias Döpfner will be stepping down from his role as non-executive director of the company to focus on other roles he currently occupies.

Döpfner was initially appointed for this position on April 1 2015 and will stand down from the board on July 27 at the Vodafone annual general meeting (AGM).

Döpfner will focus on his responsibilities as chief executive and chairman of Axel Springer SF and as president of The Federation of German Newspaper Publishers. He also holds positions on the board of directors for many companies including; eMarketer Inc, Time Warner, Warner Music Group and Business Insider where he is chairman of the board of directors.

Since 1998, Döpfner has been with Axel Springer, initially as an editor-in-chief of Die Welt before joining the board in 2000 and becoming CEO in 2002.

Döpfner began his career in journalism in 1982, working at Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and then became director of a PR agency in 1988 until 1990.

In 1992 Döpfner worked as an international director at the Gruner and Jahr publishing company in Paris, before becoming assistant to the CEO of the same company in Hamburg.

Döpfner then held roles as editor-in-chief at Wochenpost and the Hamburger Morgenpost, between 1994 to 1996 and 1996 to 1998 respectively.

Vodafone Group chairman Gerard Kleisterlee said: “On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Mathias for his significant contribution to Vodafone and wish him well for the future.”