New presidential board at Borussia: Rainer Bonhof succeeds Rolf Königs as club president

Borussia Mönchengladbach’s supervisory board elected a new presidential board during a meeting at BORUSSIA-PARK today. Former vice president Rainer Bonhof (71) takes over from Rolf Königs as club president with immediate effect.

Following his recommendation, the supervisory board elected Hannelore Kraft (62, Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia from 2010 to 2017) and Dr. Stefan Stegemann (60, Chairman of the Management Board at electrical wholesalers Sonepar Deutschland GmbH and president for Sonepar central and northern Europe, already on Borussia’s presidential board since May 2022) as vice-presidents, as well as Roger Brandts (58, founder and owner of the fashion brand Fynch-Hatton) as a member of the new four-member presidential board. 

Former president Rolf Königs (club president since April 2004, on the presidential board since February 1999) put forward Rainer Bonhof as his successor for the role of president in a joint meeting between the supervisory board and the presidential board on 26th February. “He has been associated with the club for more than 50 years, has been vice-president since 2008 and is a good and proper choice for this position,” Königs said. “It was a great honour for me to be able to lead our special club for two and a half decades, and I wish my successor and his team fortune and success in the interests of our Borussia.” 

Hans Meyer stepped back from his position as a member of the presidential board in the course of the election. The Foals’ former head coach had been on the board since 2011. “I’m very grateful to everyone associated with the club to have received the opportunity to support this great club in an advisory capacity following my time as head coach. I will never forget these years, and I’ll also continue to hold Borussia in my heart and follow the club,” Meyer said. 

“Our special thanks go to Rolf Königs, who has steered Borussia’s fortunes for a quarter of a century, took care of the club’s economic recovery and infrastructural reframing during that period, and also laid the foundation for Borussia’s sporting comeback. His efforts will never be forgotten. We would also like to thank Hans Meyer for his 13 years of work on the presidential board, his valuable advice, his forthright opinions and his loyalty,” said Michael Hollmann, member of Borussia’s supervisory board. “At the same time we’re looking forward to working together with our new presidential board, where Borussia’s past, a political network, economic expertise, entrepreneurship, local and regional roots and life experience come together. The fact that all four are Borussia fans through and through goes without saying. The new presidential board will support and monitor the operational activities of the managing directors Stephan Schippers, Roland Virkus and Markus Aretz alongside the supervisory board by providing advice and assistance.

The newly-elected president Rainer Bonhof joined the Foals as a teenager under head coach Hennes Weisweiler in 1970. He became a Germany international at Borussia, won five league titles, the DFB-Pokal and the UEFA Cup with the club, and achieved World Cup success in 1974. He left Mönchengladbach and moved to Valencia in 1978. He returned to Borussia in 1998 when he was elected onto the supervisory board, whilst he later took over the role of head coach (November 1998 until September 1999). After working as a coach and a scout at various clubs abroad, he returned to Borussia again in 2008 when he was elected onto the presidential board as vice president. “Borussia Mönchengladbach is my life and it’s a great honour for me to now be president of this club,” Rainer Bonhof said. “I’m grateful for the supervisory board’s trust and I’m looking forward to working on our new presidential board. We will give everything for our club – on behalf of everyone connected to the club, our more than 100,000 members and the countless Gladbach fans.”

About the two newly-elected members of the presidential board:

With Hannelore Kraft’s arrival, a woman will serve on the presidential board at Borussia Mönchengladbach for the first time in the history of the club. The 62-year-old, who has lived her entire life in Mülheim an der Ruhr, has been a club member since 2011 and is a longstanding season ticket holder. After training as a bank clerk at CC-Bank in Mönchengladbach, she studied economics in Duisburg and at King’s College, London. After graduating, she worked as a management consultant until 2001. She was elected to the state parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia for the SPD in 2000, becoming Minister for Federal and European Affairs in 2001 before serving as Minister for Science and Research from 2002. She was a member of the state parliament until 2022, holding the role of Minister-President from 2010 to 2017.

Roger Brandts is a Mönchengladbach native, with his family having called the city their home for generations. The 58-year-old economist has been a season ticket holder at Gladbach for many years, and has been a member of the club since 2004. In 1998, he founded the Mönchengladbach fashion brand Fynch-Hatton, which now employs over 100 people in the city and sells its products in 55 countries.