The Supervisory Board of Deutsche Telekom AG has appointed Dr. Manfred Balz as the Board member responsible for the new Data Privacy, Legal Affairs and Compliance department as of October 22. This department was established last week following a recommendation by the Board of Management, and is aimed at firmly embedding in particular the topics of data privacy and data security at the top management level. Dr. Balz was previously General Counsel at Deutsche Telekom. “Dr. Balz will be able to successfully contribute to this position his extensive international experience in legal matters, as well as his knowledge of the Group, which has been gained over many years. Dr. Balz has already been playing a decisive role in supporting the Board of Management and the Supervisory Board with the investigation and resolution of the incidents relating to data security and convinced the supervisory body of his suitability for the position,” emphasized Prof. Ulrich Lehner, Chairman of the Supervisory Board.
René Obermann, Chairman of the Board of Management of Deutsche Telekom, said of Dr. Balz's appointment: “I am delighted that Manfred Balz's appointment enables us to even more intensively drive forward the topics of data privacy and data security with immediate effect.” Dr. Balz (63) studied law at Tübingen, Munich, St. Petersburg and Boston, Harvard Universities. During his career, Dr. Balz has held positions at the Max Planck Institute for Private Law, Hamburg (1969/1970), the German Federal Ministry of Justice (1974-1990), as General Counsel of the Treuhandanstalt Berlin (1990-1993), and as a partner at the international law firm Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering (1993-1997). He has been General Counsel at Deutsche Telekom since 1997.