The German football league (DFL) has appointed Marc Lenz and Steffen Merkel as joint-Chief Executive Officers (joint CEOs), the body said on Thursday.
The decision was unanimously taken by the league’s supervisory board chaired by Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke.
Lenz and Merkel will take the position from July 1, replacing interim CEOs Axel Hellmann and Oliver Leki.
Both have been part of the DFL for years and, as members of the management board, “are closely involved in the work and proceedings of the league’s governing bodies,” the German football league said.
“Both enjoy the highest respect within the organisation and at the clubs. They are familiar with all matters and future projects of the DFL Group, were already part of the management group, and have excellent networks,” Watzke said.
Lenz has managed various strategic projects with economic and social relevance to the Bundesliga and second division in recent years.
He has also represented the DFL in the European Leagues and World Leagues Forum.
Merkel, meanwhile, has been with the DFL since 2014.
Since 2020, he has been responsible for German-language media rights, national and international product management and the protection of audio-visual rights against copyright infringement.
The DFL leadership under Watzke, Hellmann and Leki have recently suffered a massive defeat in a vote over the entry of an investor into the league.
A motion to this effect did not receive the required two-thirds majority among the 36 Bundesliga and second division clubs at an extraordinary general meeting on May 24.
Watzke suggested at the time that the 11 votes against the investors came from second division clubs.
dpa/NAN
