One of the giants of French broadcasting, Nicolas de Tavernost, is to step down as chairman of M6, earlier than planned.
De Tavernost will leave in April and will be succeeded by David Larramendy, 49, the current CEO of M6 Publicité.
The announcement was made ahead of the company’s annual results that recorded a net profit of 237 million, up 43%. Last year, M6 saw its terrestrial licence renewed for another 10 years.
In an interview with Le Figaro, de Tavernost said he wanted to go out on a high. “I felt that the current conditions allowed, given the good performance of the group, to move to the succession stage,” he said. “It is better to entrust the presidency of the group to a new generation that will have to carry out its transformation.”
The 73-year-old is also leaving the Group Management Committee (GMC) of parent company Bertelsmann.
Thomas Rabe, Chairman and CEO of Bertelsmann, described De Tavernost as a pioneer of European commercial television. “He made Groupe M6 one of the most successful media groups on the continent and also provided a lot of input at Bertelsmann – especially on the GMC. He will remain on friendly terms with our company. On behalf of the entire Executive Board and personally, I’d like to say: Merci, Nicolas!”
De Tavernost joined the newly founded television channel M6 in 1987 its as Managing Director. The following year, he took over responsibility for M6 Publicité, then for the M6 television channel in 1990. In 1996, de Tavernost took a seat on the Board of Directors of Metropole Television. In May 2000, he was appointed Chairman of the Executive Board of Groupe M6.