Rainer Esser

Speaker at the St. Gallen Symposium

Dr. Rainer Esser is Executive Advisor at Holtzbrinck and a member of the supervisory board of DIE ZEIT since 2026. Previously, he served for more than 27 years as Chief Executive Officer of the ZEIT publishing group, where he transformed the company into a leading digital media organization and expanded its portfolio significantly. Under his leadership, the group grew its product portfolio to over 100 offerings and substantially increased revenue and audience reach. Earlier in his career, he was Managing Director of Mediengruppe Main-Post and Spotlight Verlag and worked as Editor-in-Chief of legal publications at Bertelsmann. He began his professional career as a lawyer after completing studies in law and journalism. Dr. Esser holds a doctorate in International Law from the University of Regensburg and an LL.M. from the University of Georgia, and studied law in Munich, Geneva and London.