Meinolf Sprink – Director of Fans/Community

Meinolf Sprink originally trained as a shipping agent and Bachelor of Business Administration. However, from the start of his professional life he was drawn to the world of journalism. After working as a trainee and, later, editor of his local newspaper the Neuss-Grevenbroicher-Zeitung/ Rheinische Post, he joined the publicity section of Bayer AG in 1988. His final position there was as head of the “Press and PR Germany” section.

He then spent the next three years gaining experience abroad. From 1996 to 1999, he was media relations manager for Bayer's US subsidiary, the Bayer Corporation, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. On his return from the USA, Sprink was appointed as the sports manager for Bayer AG. As part of his duties he was a member of the shareholders’ committee of Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH.

Sprink spent a total of seven years working for the general Bayer Sports organisation before joining the football subsidiary, where he was head of communications/marketing and head of communications/media. He has been director of Fans/Community since July 2015.