Hans-Joachim Watzke

Last updated
Watzke in 2011 Hans-Joachim Watzke.jpg
Watzke in 2011

Hans-Joachim "Aki" Watzke (born 21 June 1959, Marsberg, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a German businessman and football official. He is the CEO of Borussia Dortmund.

Contents

Background

Watzke watched his first games at the Rote Erde as a child, [1] and has been a club member of Borussia Dortmund since 1996.

Business career

He earned a Master of Business Administration from the Paderborn University.

He founded and grew Watex, a company making safety clothing, with sales of EU15-20m and 45 employees. [2] [3]

Work at Borussia Dortmund

He became treasurer of Borussia Dortmund in 2001.

In 2005, at the climax of the club's financial crisis, he was appointed chief executive officer. Alongside chairman Reinhard Rauball and CFO Thomas Treß, Watzke is credited with having saved the club from bankruptcy. He restructured and streamlined the club, made rigid cost cuts, and operated a clear financial plan. [4] A 20% pay cut was made for all players. [5] In 2006, in order to reduce debt, the Westfalenstadion was renamed "Signal Iduna Park" after a local insurance company (the naming rights agreement runs until 2031).

Other

Watzke is a member of the Christian Democratic Union. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borussia Dortmund</span> German professional sports club based in Dortmund

Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund, BVB, or simply Dortmund, is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional football team, which plays in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German football league system. The club have won eight league championships, five DFB-Pokals, one UEFA Champions League, one Intercontinental Cup, and one UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Łukasz Piszczek</span> Polish footballer (born 1985)

Łukasz Piotr Piszczek is a Polish professional footballer and coach who serves as a player-manager for III liga club Goczałkowice-Zdrój. He is primarily positioned as a right-back, but is capable of playing as a centre-back.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Zorc</span> German football player/general manager

Michael Zorc is a German former footballer who played as a central midfielder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Felipe Santana</span> Brazilian footballer

Felipe Augusto Santana, known as Felipe Santana, is a Brazilian professional footballer.

Bernhard Wessel was a German footballer who played as a goalkeeper, most notably for Borussia Dortmund.

Reinhard Rauball is a German politician, member of the SPD, a trained lawyer, and football official. He is known for having served as president of football team Borussia Dortmund several times and also served very briefly as Minister of Justice of North Rhine-Westphalia. In addition to currently serving as president of Borussia Dortmund, he has also been President of the German Football League since August 2007. From November 2015 to April 2016, he was acting President of the German Football Association along with Rainer Koch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julian Weigl</span> German footballer (born 1995)

Julian Weigl is a German professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach. He also represents the Germany national team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maximilian Philipp</span> German footballer (born 1994)

Maximilian Marcus Philipp is a German professional footballer who plays as a forward for Bundesliga club SC Freiburg on loan from VfL Wolfsburg. He represented Germany internationally at youth levels U20 and U21.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mahmoud Dahoud</span> German footballer (born 1996)

Mahmoud Dahoud is a German professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion and the Germany national team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goool.de</span> German sports brand

Goool.de was a German brand of Goool.de Sportswear GmbH, selling sports and leisure clothing, sporting goods and most notably, team kits. The company was a subsidiary of Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 DFB-Pokal final</span> Football match

The 2017 DFB-Pokal Final decided the winner of the 2016–17 DFB-Pokal, the 74th season of the annual German football cup competition. The match was played on 27 May 2017 at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.

The 2018–19 Bundesliga was the 56th season of the Bundesliga, Germany's premier football competition. It began on 24 August 2018 and concluded on 18 May 2019. It also marked the first season without Hamburger SV, previously the only team to have played in the top tier of German football in every season since the end of World War I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edin Terzić (footballer)</span> German-Croatian football manager (born 1982)

Edin Terzić is a German-Croatian professional football coach and former player, who is currently the head coach of German Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Youssoufa Moukoko</span> German footballer (born 2004)

Youssoufa Moukoko is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund. Born in Cameroon, he plays for the Germany national team. He is known for his scoring ability at younger age levels.

The 2020–21 season was the 112th season in the existence of Borussia Dortmund and the club's 45th consecutive season in the top flight of German football. In addition to the domestic league, Borussia Dortmund participated in this season's editions of the DFB-Pokal, the DFL-Supercup, and the UEFA Champions League. The season covered the period from 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021.

The 2021–22 Bundesliga was the 59th season of the Bundesliga, Germany's premier football competition. It began on 13 August 2021 and concluded on 14 May 2022. The fixtures were announced on 25 June 2021.

The 2022–23 Bundesliga was the 60th season of the Bundesliga, Germany's premier football competition. It began on 5 August 2022 and concluded on 27 May 2023.

The 2023–24 Bundesliga is the 61st season of the Bundesliga, Germany's premier football competition. It began on 18 August 2023 and will conclude on 18 May 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marcel Lotka</span> Polish footballer (born 2001)

Marcel Laurenz Lotka is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Borussia Dortmund. Born in Germany, he represented Poland as a youth international.

Rowe Mineralölwerk GmbH is a lubricant manufacturer headquartered in Worms, Germany. Founded by Michael Zehe in Flörsheim-Dalsheim in 1995, the company relocated its headquarters to Bubenheim in the Palatinate in 2000. To increase production capacity, the new headquarters in Worms were opened on 9 December 2013.

References

  1. KGaA, Borussia Dortmund GmbH & Co. "Hans-Joachim Watzke to present biography". www.bvb.de. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  2. "Hans-Joachim Watzke – Keynote Speaker". London Speaker Bureau. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  3. "Mittelständler Watex: André Watzke: Der Sohn des BVB-Bosses mischt beim eigenen Familienunternehmen mit". www.handelsblatt.com (in German). Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  4. "Hans-Joachim Watzke – Keynote Speaker". London Speaker Bureau. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  5. Von abendblatt.de. "Pikantes Geheimnis – Hoeneß plaudert: "Haben BVB zwei Millionen Euro geliehen" – Sport – Fußball – Hamburger Abendblatt" (in German). Abendblatt.de. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
  6. "Hans-Joachim Watzke im Interview: "Wir brauchen eine Agenda der Fleißigen"". Mittelstands- und Wirtschaftsunion (MIT) (in German). 2021-10-26. Retrieved 2021-12-29.