Amsterdam - The Board of European Directories today announced that Cornel Riklin has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of the company. Cornel succeeds Lex Cohen who is retiring after a long and highly successful career in the industry. Lex will remain an advisor to the Group.
Cornel’s most recent position was CEO of Findexa, Norway’s leading directory publisher. He
had been a director of Findexa since 2001 and was the company’s CEO from January 2005
until the recent sale of the business to Eniro. Prior to this he was a Managing Director at
Texas Pacific Group ("TPG"), Findexa’s main shareholder, where he was responsible for
TPG's European portfolio of companies. Cornel also has extensive media industry
experience from working at Mirror Group plc for seven years, where he was Group
Managing Director, and before that as a strategy consultant at Bain and Company.
Michael Cook, director of the Board, said, “The Board is delighted to announce Cornel Riklin
as European Directories’ new Chief Executive Officer. He has a unique combination of
industry experience, strategic insight and leadership ability. The Board is unanimous in the
view that Cornel has all the attributes required to drive profitability and position the
business for its next phase of growth. ”
Cornel Riklin said “I am extremely pleased to accept the role of CEO at European
Directories and help the company take advantage of the new opportunities that lie ahead.
I see scope to further grow our print directories and a great opportunity for the Group to
become a major player in online and wireless search. The team has already achieved a
great deal in a short period of time and I believe we can build on this and realise further
operational efficiencies and revenue growth by working together as an effective group.”
Cornel succeeds Lex Cohen whose leadership and drive helped establish European
Directories as a top-5 European company in its sector. At the time of acquisition in 2005,
Lex advised the Board and the management team of his wish to retire from the company in
the second half of 2006. Prior to his Group role Lex was CEO of De Telefoongids, where he
lped that company with great success to become the number one player in the Netherlands.
The Board of European Directories is grateful to Lex for his contribution to the Group and to
the directories industry in general, and wishes him well in his retirement.
Notes to Editors:
Biography: Cornel Riklin graduated from Wirtschaftsuniversitaet, Vienna in 1980 with an MA and PhD in Social and Economic Sciences. In 1982 he gained an MBA from Harvard Business School. In the same year Cornel joined Bain and Company where he worked for five years based in San Francisco and London. He subsequently spent four years in the food industry, first as Chief Executive of Borthwicks plc, where he oversaw the successful restructuring and turnaround of the company, and then as Chairman of Paladin Associates Ltd, working with CVC and BC Partners on acquisition opportunities in the European food industry. In 1993 Cornel joined Mirror Group plc, a leading newspaper publisher in the UK. As Director of Group Operations he managed the relocation of the business to new, facilities in Canary Wharf, introduced new publishing technology, and created an efficient shared services operation. These measures resulted in significant cost savings and in 1997 Cornel was promoted to Group Managing Director in charge of Regional Newspapers, Group Operations and New Media, with responsibility for around 3,000 people.
In 1999 Cornel was headhunted into Texas Pacific Group (TPG) as one of four partners in the London office in charge of the European Operating Group focusing on business due diligence, post acquisition management, and the oversight of the European portfolio of companies. He was a member of the Investment Committee and Board member of Punch plc, Spirit, Grohe, Bally, Gate Gourmet, Findexa and Debenhams. In 2001 Cornel was involved with TPG’s acquisition of Findexa from the very start of the due diligence process. As Operating Partner he helped reduce costs, and increase margin from 30% to 50% and was also involved in refocusing the new media strategy of the company. In January 2005 Cornel became CEO of Findexa, a position he held until the successful sale of the business to Eniro AB for €1.1bn.
About European Directories:
European Directories is a pan-European directory services group, operating in printed directories, online and mobile searches and directory assistance. It holds the leading market position in the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Czech Republic and Slovakia and has a strong presence in Sweden, Poland and Gibraltar. The company has more than 4,000 employees and services around 700,000 advertisers with long established brands including De Telefoongids, Herold, De Gule Sider, Fonecta and Zlaté Stránky. The company is owned by a consortium led by Macquarie Capital Alliance Group and including Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Macquarie Bank and Nikko Principal Investments.
www.europeandirectories.com
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