On the pan-European channel Euronews, no one expected the hasty departure of Guillaume Dubois. However, the company’s CEO since 2022 was removed from his position within a few hours, on Friday, October 11. The leader announced “revocation” of his mandate “with immediate effect”via an email sent to employees on Friday, shortly before 6 p.m. A text, revealed by the media politicalthat the world He was able to consult. An hour earlier, at 5:00 p.m., an extraordinary board meeting was held that quickly ratified Mr. Dubois’ departure through a vote. “No explanation has been given to anyone about the reasons for the dismissal of Guillaume Dubois”laments a union representative who wishes to remain anonymous.
Addressing employees in a farewell email, Guillaume Dubois said he took note of this decision, although he regretted having made it. The former general director of BFM-TV and former editorial director of the express He also boasts “the incredible transformation of the company that its disastrous financial health had made necessary”referring repeatedly to the transfer of Euronews’ nerve center from Lyon to Brussels. The transition to a new model, as close as possible to the European institutions, was painfully carried out with an employment protection plan that caused the departure of 170 people out of a total of 380 employees and widened the company’s deficit to 30 million euros.
However assuming “This terrible decision in the name of the recovery of Euronews”states Guillaume Dubois, in his email, “the best operating result in ten years” for the year 2024, without giving figures. However, according to our information, the target of achieving balanced accounts by the end of 2024 cannot be achieved. And this, despite the two European Union (EU) tenders won by the chain and which would represent, in total, almost a dozen million euros, as much as in previous years. Contacted, Mr. Dubois did not respond to our requests.
Positioning considered very conservative
To replace him, Pedro Vargas David, president of Alpac, a mysterious Portuguese investment fund that is a shareholder in Euronews, but also president of the channel’s board of directors, chose German journalist Claus Strunz, 58 years old. After twenty-six years at the Axel Springer media group, where Strunz was vice president in charge of television and video, but also editor-in-chief of the tabloid. image and its Sunday edition Bild am Sonntag – was appointed CEO and CIO of Euronews.
You have 55.41% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.
