Euronews names former LCI and BFMTV chief as CEO

Guillaume Dubois

International news channel Euronews has named Guillaume Dubois as CEO.

Dubois will take over on June 18, replacing Bénédicte Bachs-Scherrer, who has held the role on an interim basis since December last year. Bachs-Scherrer will remain chief financial officer of Euronews.

The appointment of Dubois comes ahead of the sale of the shares of Euronews’ majority shareholder MGN to investment outfit Alpac Capital in the next few weeks. The signing of a binding offer to acquire these shares had been announced in December.

Dubois, who will report to chairman Michael Peters, was previously director of broadcasting at TF1’s French 24-hour news channel LCI. Prior to that, he held various positions within the Altice Media group, as managing editor and then managing director of the news channel BFMTV, as well as managing director of BFM Business and deputy managing director and then chairman and CEO of L’Express Group.

Peters said: “As Alpac Capital is set to become Euronews’ majority shareholder, and as we have finished 2021 with a significant improvement in its operating result of almost 20% compared to budget, we are confident that we will achieve our objective of reaching our break-even target by 2023. Guillaume joins us at a strategic time in the development of our group. His solid experience in key positions within renowned news brands and his personal skills will enable him to drive a renewal in the editorial offer, to accompany the diversification of the group, while strengthening its identity based on independence and its European DNA.”

Dubois said: “I am immensely proud to be joining Euronews, at a time when the war in Ukraine is showing how the European point of view is more necessary than ever in the international news landscape. The company, which will be celebrating its 30th anniversary in a few months’ time, has all the assets needed to continue, strengthen and extend its mission to inform and explain, across all platforms.”