Clément Schwebig to succeed Thomas Rabe as CEO of RTL Group

Schwebig will join RTL Group in May 2026 from Warner Bros. Discovery, where he currently serves as President and Managing Director of the company’s Western Europe and Africa division.

In 2024, Rabe announced his intention to step down from RTL and its majority owner Bertelsmann.

Elmar Heggen, Deputy CEO and Chief Operating Officer of RTL Group, will also step down by the end of 2025.

Schwebig began his career in the media industry at RTL Group, where he spent more than a decade managing television operations across Europe.

In 2013, he joined Time Warner/Turner in Hong Kong, where he served in several senior positions, including Head of Business Development and Digital for Asia, General Manager in China, and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Asia Pacific.

After the merger of Warner Media and Discovery, he was appointed President and Managing Director of Warner Bros. Discovery in Asia, encompassing India, Southeast Asia, and Korea, based in Singapore.

In his current role as President and Managing Director of the company’s Western Europe and Africa division at Warner Bros. Discovery, he oversees a regional portfolio across brands such as Warner Bros., HBO, Discovery and Eurosport, covering TV networks, the streaming service HBO Max, local content production and Warner Bros. Studio activities.

RTL Group is home to 52 television channels, six streaming services and 40 radio stations in Europe. Its streaming services include RTL+ in Germany and Hungary, and M6+ in France.

The group also owns Fremantle, one of the world’s largest creators, producers, and distributors of scripted and unscripted content.

The streaming tech company Bedrock, the ad-tech company Smartclip and the social media company We Are Era are also owned by RTL Group.

Rabe said: “Clément Schwebig is deeply familiar with the global TV industry and with RTL Group. We worked together over many years and I greatly value his expertise, leadership style, and international network. Together with our CFO Björn Bauer and the CEOs of our business units, he will lead RTL Group with a team of first-class managers to further expand the company, in particular, in the areas of streaming and content production.”

Fremantle UK, which is part of RTL Group, recently appointed Adam Middleton as Head of Digital and Branded Content. Discover more here.