President and CEO. After completing his doctorate in nuclear physics at the University of Göttingen, Markus Schäfer began his professional career in 1997 as a consultant at Roland Berger Strategy Consultants in Munich before joining TV-Loonland AG in 2000 as its COO and later Head of the Business Unit Home Entertainment. In 2004, he moved to All3Media Deutschland GmbH in Munich. There he held various management positions, including that of CFO from 2010 until his appointment as CEO in 2014. From 2018 to 2022, Schäfer was also Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of Allianz Deutscher Produzenten – Film & Fernsehen e. V.
Since July 2022, the proven expert in corporate development, portfolio management and strategic growth has been the President and CEO and spokesman of the Executive Board of ZDF Studios GmbH.
DF Studios is a commercial subsidiary of ZDF, one of the largest TV broadcasters in Europe. Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Mainz, Germany, the ZDF Studios Group operates more than 30 direct and indirect subsidiaries and affiliates in Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom spanning TV production, distribution and services.
The parent company, ZDF Studios, is responsible for global programme distribution, realisation of international co-productions, acquisition of licences and merchandising of successful programme brands under its own name, for ZDF and third parties. ZDF Studios has the largest German-language programme inventory in the world and a constantly growing range of international productions, consisting of series and mini-series, television films, documentaries and children’s programmes.
The companies of the ZDF Studios Group cover the entire value chain from the development of scripted and unscripted TV content to production, marketing and monetizing, including TV and streaming licences as well as merchandising and online rights.
The positioning of ZDF Studios as an integrated media company enables the development of innovative, outstanding and high-quality programmes and makes the Group an attractive workplace for German and international talent to flourish in a very inspiring and creative environment.
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