Rene Obermann
After completing school with a high school diploma in Krefeld in 1982, he completed an apprenticeship as an industrial clerk at the automobile manufacturer BMW in Munich from 1984 to 1986. He then founded the trading company ABC Rufsysteme in Münster in 1986, which later traded as ABC Telekom. He completed his studies in economics at the Westphalian Wilhelms University after completing his intermediate diploma. In 1991, after obtaining service provider status for the German D-Netz, ABC Telekom merged with Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. to Hutchison Mobile GmbH, which became The Phone House in 2003. Obermann was managing partner here from 1991 to 1994.
In 1994 he was appointed chairman of the board until 1998. After selling his shares in Hutchison Mobile, Obermann moved to T-Mobile Deutschland GmbH as Sales Director in 1998. From November 2002 he became a member of the board of the parent company Deutsche Telekom under CEO Kai-Uwe Ricke and in December 2002 chairman of the board of T-Mobile International AG & Co. KG. After the resignation of Kai-Uwe Ricke, who was accused of poor results and passivity in the face of the loss of customers, the supervisory board of Deutsche Telekom under Klaus Zumwinkel appointed René Obermann as CEO of the company on November 13, 2006. In 2006 he became a member of the board of trustees of the Rheinviertel Community Foundation. From 2007 to 2013, Obermann was a member of the BITKOM Executive Board.
On August 14, 2010, he married the television presenter Maybrit Illner. Obermann was already the father of two daughters from his first marriage. In 2011 he was elected to the Senate of the Fraunhofer Society. He gave up his position at Deutsche Telekom on December 31, 2013. In the same year Obermann was appointed officer of the Legion of Honor. From 2013 to 2014 he worked for the Dutch cable network operator Ziggo. In 2016 he became a co-founder of the Internet Economy Foundation. In addition to numerous other business offices, he became a member of the supervisory board of Allianz Deutschland AG in 2017. In April 2018 he also became a member of the Board of Directors of Airbus SE, of which Obermann was appointed chairman in April 2020.
In 1994 he was appointed chairman of the board until 1998. After selling his shares in Hutchison Mobile, Obermann moved to T-Mobile Deutschland GmbH as Sales Director in 1998. From November 2002 he became a member of the board of the parent company Deutsche Telekom under CEO Kai-Uwe Ricke and in December 2002 chairman of the board of T-Mobile International AG & Co. KG. After the resignation of Kai-Uwe Ricke, who was accused of poor results and passivity in the face of the loss of customers, the supervisory board of Deutsche Telekom under Klaus Zumwinkel appointed René Obermann as CEO of the company on November 13, 2006. In 2006 he became a member of the board of trustees of the Rheinviertel Community Foundation. From 2007 to 2013, Obermann was a member of the BITKOM Executive Board.
On August 14, 2010, he married the television presenter Maybrit Illner. Obermann was already the father of two daughters from his first marriage. In 2011 he was elected to the Senate of the Fraunhofer Society. He gave up his position at Deutsche Telekom on December 31, 2013. In the same year Obermann was appointed officer of the Legion of Honor. From 2013 to 2014 he worked for the Dutch cable network operator Ziggo. In 2016 he became a co-founder of the Internet Economy Foundation. In addition to numerous other business offices, he became a member of the supervisory board of Allianz Deutschland AG in 2017. In April 2018 he also became a member of the Board of Directors of Airbus SE, of which Obermann was appointed chairman in April 2020.
