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bertelsmann CREATE YOUR OWN CAREER

The application phase for the Business Track is currently open until December 29.

Apply now!

Bertelsmann Future Leaders Business

From numbers to values: Make your move.

Our Future Leaders Graduate Program offers you the perfect opportunity to think about and act on innovative business models shaping the future of our media, services, and education businesses. Work on projects matching your professional background, interest, and strengths. Get a glimpse of entrepreneurship while expanding your network and get to know innovative, creative people in an international setting.

The Business track of our graduate program includes mentoring by Corporate Management Development and divisional leaders. If you combine superior relationship-building and collaborative skills with an ability to communicate with diverse stakeholders, our program offers excellent opportunities for your professional development.

Your benefits

  1. 1.
    International work experience
  2. 2.
    Global network and community
  3. 3.
    Individual career coaching and targeted trainings
  4. 4.
    Excellent career prospects

Join our Business Graduate Program and you will

  • Turn your creative ideas into reality
  • Develop your own business concepts and strategies
  • Gain international work experience
  • Expand your international network
  • Enjoy individual career coaching
  • Grow through targeted training
  • Know what it takes to become an entrepreneur
„I really wanted to see what it’s like to work for a corporation, and I knew that this was not your typical corporate job. You move around the different divisions of the company like a free radical, looking for new, exciting businesses.“
Tobias Schiwek, Alumnus – CEO at WE ARE ERA

What you should bring to be a Business Future Leader

  • Master's degree or equivalent graduate degree and relevant work experience
  • Proven entrepreneurial experience displayed in a business initiative or large project
  • Leadership skills and demonstrated affinity for media
  • Ability to communicate with top management in English as well as in German
  • Geographic flexibility, as projects are located throughout the world

At a glance

  1. Application period: November - December 2024
  2. Start: September 2025
  3. Duration: 18 months
  4. Language: English & German
„Being part of this dynamic rotational program means to gain insight into the diverse array of business areas contained within Bertelsmann. I work on projects that touch on various subject areas and interact with driven colleagues who live out Bertelsmann’s creative and entrepreneurial spirit every day. One of my favorite parts of the program is seeing the value I add to each rotation and experiencing the lasting impact the teams have on me in return.“
Rebecca Cress, Alumna – Director Business Strategy at BMG

Your application

The application process

  1. 1.
    Apply online
  2. 2.
    Take part in an online test
  3. 3.
    Have your first interviews with HR
  4. 4.
    Come back for a second round of interviews with senior executives
  5. 5.
    Receive our offer shortly after

Alumni and their stories

Discover what Bertelsmann Future Leaders can do

Annabelle Long

Annabelle Long is a member of the Bertelsmann Group Management Committee, the Chief Executive of Bertelsmann China Corporate Center and the Founding and Managing Partner of Bertelsmann Asia Investments – a top venture player in China. She joined Bertelsmann via our graduate program in 2005 and has been with the company ever since. Annabelle Long is responsible for Bertelsmann’s strategic development in China. She was named Fortune China’s 25 Most Powerful Women in Business of 2017 and ChinaVenture – Financial Times China Top Investor. Annabelle Long holds an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business.

John Clinton

John Clinton is VP and Director of Creative Media at Penguin Random House. He joined our graduate program in 2011 during which he worked on various digital initiatives in Germany, London, and New York. Now, as part of Penguin Random House’s Consumer Marketing leadership team, he helms production and business development across all creative assets – from graphic and user experience design to live-action and animated video. Before joining Bertelsmann, he worked in music, film, and television production management for MTV Networks and Fuse Networks. He has an MBA from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor of Music from New York University.

Cristina David

Cristina David is the VP of Business Intelligence at Europe’s leading multiplatform network, We Are Era, and a Senior Executive for Strategic Partnerships, Tech & Data at the RTL Group. In this hybrid role, she applies her analytics and data visualization background to support data-driven internal decision-making as well as content strategy recommendations. Cristina joined our graduate program in 2018 and rotated through various media and services divisions. She holds a B.Sc. in Economics from Wharton and an MBA from INSEAD. Before her MBA, Cristina worked at LinkedIn in Sales Operations in both New York and Paris.

Our Future Leaders Trainee Program has been awarded the Fair Trainee Program title for the second year in a row.

Trendence Award for Fair Trainee Program 2024
Trendence Award for Fair Trainee Program 2023

FAQ

  • Bertelsmann Future Leaders I Business

    • Which divisions will I get to know during the Business track?

      In contrast to a traditional graduate program, there is no predefined path through the divisions. Generally, you can choose your rotations, but of course, we make sure that you can work on an exciting project in the division you wish to go to during the period in question. We will be happy to support you in choosing your stations and let you know about the jobs available to you within the Group on your way to becoming an entrepreneur.

    • What are the career prospects after the program?

      Our aim is to develop you into a manager who leads a department or a major project – preferably one that you initiated yourself.

    • Does the Business track offer theory as well as practice?

      First and foremost, you will be learning on the job. However, Bertelsmann University offers a great array of formats and learning platforms that will help you grow and shape the future.

Contact

Do you have further questions? Get in touch with Steffi Heldberg (s.heldberg(at)bertelsmann.de).

Please note that we do not consider applications submitted by mail, fax, or e-mail.

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