Hans-Joachim Watzke
German businessman and football official (born 1959)
Hans-Joachim "Aki" Watzke (born 21 June 1959, Marsberg, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a German businessman and football official. He was the CEO of Borussia Dortmund from 2005 until 2025 and has been the club's elected president since November 2025.2
From Wikipedia’s article on Hans-Joachim Watzke (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Born Jun 21, 1959.1
Companies
- Borussia DortmundChair 2005 to now9
Early life and education
Hans-Joachim Watzke watched his first games at the Rote Erde as a child, and has been a member of Borussia Dortmund since 1996.
From Wikipedia’s article on Hans-Joachim Watzke (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Career
Occupation: manager, entrepreneur, executive.4
- Since 2005Chair, Borussia Dortmund3
Business career
He earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Paderborn University.
He founded and expanded Watex, a company specializing in safety clothing, which achieved sales of €15–20 million and employed 45 people.
Work at Borussia Dortmund
He became treasurer of Borussia Dortmund in 2001.
In 2005, at the height 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, implemented strict cost-cutting measures, and followed a clear financial plan. A 20% pay cut was applied to all players. In 2006, to reduce debt, the Westfalenstadion was renamed "Signal Iduna Park" after a local insurance company (the naming rights agreement runs until 2031).
In 2024, it was announced that he would step down as CEO the following year. His replacement was named as Lars Ricken.
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Administrative career
On 14 December 2021, Watzke was elected first vice-president of the German Football Association (DFB). In February 2022, he was appointed chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Die Liga – Fußballverband. On 5 April 2023, he became a UEFA Executive Committee member.
From Wikipedia’s article on Hans-Joachim Watzke (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Personal life
Politics
Watzke is a member of the Christian Democratic Union and considered as a trusted friend of chancellor Friedrich Merz.
From Wikipedia’s article on Hans-Joachim Watzke (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Awards
Links
Sources
The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.
- 1WikidataHans-Joachim Watzke on Wikidata
- 2WikipediaHans-Joachim Watzke on Wikipedia
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- 9WikidataBorussia Dortmund, Chair
- 10Wikimedia CommonsHans-Joachim Watzke photo by Martin Davidsen, CC BY 2.0