Rolf Buch

Rolf Buch
Buch in 2019
Born
Rolf Eberhard Buch

(1965-04-02) 2 April 1965
Weidenau, Germany
Alma materRWTH Aachen University
OccupationBusiness executive
Years active1991–present

Rolf Eberhard Buch (born 2 April 1965) is a German business executive.[1][2][3] He was chief executive officer of the real estate company Vonovia from 2013 to 2025.[4] Appointed in 2013 to lead Deutsche Annington,[5] he oversaw the company's renaming to Vonovia following the takeover of GAGFAH in the year 2015.[6] Previously, Buch held an executive position at Arvato.[7]

Early life and education

Buch was born in Weidenau near Siegen. At age three, his family moved to the Kettwig district in the city of Essen.[8] After completing his secondary education ("Abitur"), Buch studied mechanical engineering and business administration at the RWTH Aachen University and received his engineering degree in 1990.[1]

Career

Bertelsmann

in 1991, Buch began his career in the print and industrial division of Bertelsmann,[9] which was later renamed Arvato.[10] After serving in various positions in sales and marketing of domestic and foreign subsidiaries, he became a member of the executive board of Arvato in 2002.[11] Under his leadership, the international services business grew into a key revenue and profit generator.[12]

In 2008, Buch succeeded Ostrowski as CEO of Arvato and also took up duties as a member of the Bertelsmann executive board.[13][14] In this position, he promoted business involving services for cities and communities.[15] Moreover, he increasingly invested in digital services to prepare Arvato for the digital transformation.[16]

At the end of 2012, Buch stepped down from the Arvato executive board upon his own wishes and left the group.[17]

Vonovia

In 2013, the real estate company Deutsche Annington announced Buch's appointment as CEO.[18] He took the company public, expanding the property portfolio through acquisitions.[19][20] With the takeover of competitor GAGFAH in the year 2015, he created Germany's largest real estate group.[21][22] Under the new name of Vonovia, the company was later listed in the DAX blue-chip index.[23][24]

Vonovia acquired the Austrian property company Buwog in 2018 and Deutsche Wohnen in 2021.[25][26] The company's business model drew repeated public criticism, and Buch conceded shortcomings in interviews.[27] In 2022, he announced substantial rent increases, which he attributed to high inflation.[28]

In May 2025, Vonovia announced that Buch would hand over the management of the company to Luka Mucic. He left the company at the end of 2025.[4]

Other activities

Corporate boards

Until May 2009, Buch was member of the supervisory board of the internet service provider Lycos Europe.[29][30] Besides, in 2017 and 2018, he was on the board of directors of the Swedish real estate company D. Carnegie & Co.[31] Buch has also served on the supervisory board of the Gesellschaft zur Sicherung von Bergmannswohnungen (GSB) and as a member of the board of trustees of Sparkasse Gütersloh's Woldemar Winkler Stiftung foundation.[2]

In October 2025, Buch joined the advisory board of the Hagedorn group, a German demolition and recycling company based in Gütersloh.[32] In December 2025, the investment firm KKR appointed him executive advisor for its DACH region with effect from January 2026.[33]

Non-profit organizations

Personal life

Buch lives with his wife and two children in Gütersloh.[35]

References

  1. 1 2 "Rolf Buch". Internationales Biographisches Archiv (in German). Munzinger. 1 March 2016. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  2. 1 2 "Rolf Buch". Bloomberg. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  3. ↑ Götz Hamann (2015), "Er kann es doch", Die Zeit (in German), no. 37, p. 24
  4. 1 2 "Vonovia: Das ist der neue CEO des Dax-Konzerns". Handelsblatt (in German). 7 May 2025. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
  5. ↑ Hans-Peter Siebenhaar, Reiner Reichel (1 March 2013), "Der neue Herr im Haus", Handelsblatt (in German), p. 70
  6. ↑ "Alles neu macht der Herbst: Deutsche Annington schließt sich mit Konkurrenten Gagfah zusammen und nennt sich Vonovia.", Der Tagesspiegel (in German), p. 3, 2 May 2015
  7. ↑ Tina Kaiser (3 August 2008), "Der Vordrängler: Ob an der Kasse, am Flughafen oder im Beruf: Rolf Buch hasst es zu warten.", Welt am Sonntag (in German), p. 72
  8. ↑ Tina Kaiser (3 August 2008), "Maschinenbauer mit Faible für das Rasen", Welt am Sonntag (in German), p. 72
  9. ↑ Stefan Brams (15 December 2006), "Vor dem Karrieresprung", Neue Wesfälische (in German)
  10. ↑ "Neuer Name, neue Ziele", Darmstädter Echo (in German), 9 June 1999
  11. ↑ "Ostrowski folgt auf Thielen bei Arvato", Die Welt (in German), p. 11, 2 September 2002
  12. ↑ "Ein Dienstleister rückt an die Spitze", Neue Westfälische (in German), 20 January 2007
  13. ↑ Hans-Peter Siebenhaar (22 January 2007), "Rolf Buch wird Arvato-Chef", Handelsblatt (in German), p. 13
  14. ↑ Stefan Brams (2 January 2008), "Zuckende Finger und große Aufgaben", Neue Westfälische (in German)
  15. ↑ Kai-Hinrich Renner (10 April 2008), "Bertelsmann-Tochter Arvato will Kommunen als Kunden gewinnen", Die Welt (in German), p. 14
  16. ↑ Lutz Knappmann (24 March 2010), "Arvato drängt ins Digitalgeschäft", Financial Times Deutschland (in German), p. 7
  17. ↑ Stefan Schelp (1 December 2012), "Arvato-Chef räumt das Feld", Neue Westfälische (in German)
  18. ↑ "Deutsche Annington findet neuen Chef". WirtschaftsWoche (in German). 1 March 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  19. ↑ Andreas Heitker (2 March 2013), "Rolf Buch soll Deutsche Annington an die Börse führen", Börsen-Zeitung (in German), p. 16
  20. ↑ Norbert Schwaldt (4 June 2014), "Mieter sind keine Zahlmeister", Die Welt (in German), p. 17
  21. ↑ Norbert Schwaldt (2 December 2014), "Wohnungskonzerne feiern Elefantenhochzeit", Die Welt (in German), p. 15
  22. ↑ Heike Jahberg (2 December 2014), "Eine Million Mieter unter einem Dach", Der Tagesspiegel (in German), p. 6
  23. ↑ Christoph Rottwilm (4 September 2015). "Wie Deutschlands größter Wohnungsvermieter in die erste Börsenliga aufstieg". Manager Magazin (in German). Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  24. ↑ Volker ter Haseborg (18 December 2018). "Wie Vonovia-Chef Rolf Buch ein Immobilienimperium formte". WirtschaftsWoche (in German). Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  25. ↑ "Vonovia-Angebot für Buwog erfolgreich". Der Standard (in German). 12 March 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
  26. ↑ "Dritter Anlauf: Vonovia bei Deutsche Wohnen am Ziel". Berliner Morgenpost (in German). 7 October 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
  27. ↑ Alexander Jung, Anne Seith (2018), "„Wir haben Fehler gemacht"", Der Spiegel (in German), no. 38, p. 64
  28. ↑ "Größter Wohnungskonzern: Vonovia kündigt deutliche Mieterhöhungen an". FAZ.NET (in German). 1 June 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
  29. ↑ "Rolf Buch bleibt Lycos erhalten", Neue Westfälische (in German), 25 May 2007
  30. ↑ "Geschäftsbericht 2009" (PDF) (in German). Bertelsmann. p. 160. Retrieved 13 June 2019. 11,6 MB
  31. ↑ "Board of Directors". D. Carnegie & Co. Archived from the original on 14 August 2016. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  32. ↑ "Christian Lindner und Rolf Buch neu im Beirat der Hagedorn-Gruppe". EUWID Recycling und Entsorgung (in German). 10 October 2025. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
  33. ↑ "Rolf Buch wird Executive Advisor bei KKR". Immobilien Zeitung (in German). 11 December 2025. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
  34. ↑ Membership Trilateral Commission.
  35. ↑ "Niedrigere Mieten – und trotzdem rentabel", Höxtersche Zeitung (in German), p. 6, 16 December 2016
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