New branch “HFM – Lagardere Active”

Didier Quillot is joining the Lagardère group and will be taking charge of the new entity

Arnaud LAGARDERE, general and managing partner of LAGARDERE SCA wishes to combine the magazine, audiovisual and digital publishing activities pursued by HACHETTE FILIPACCHI MEDIAS – the world magazine press leader – and LAGARDERE ACTIVE.

The LAGARDERE group has in this way decided to combine its strengths in the media in order to take up the challenge of digital.

This means implementing a strategy of complementarity regarding these activities in order to grasp the opportunities offered by the far-reaching evolutions in their environment both in France and overseas.

In this perspective, HACHETTE FILIPACCHI MEDIAS and LAGARDERE ACTIVE will be transformed into companies with a Board of Directors and a Supervisory Board.

Didier QUILLOT, currently Chairman and Managing Director of ORANGE France and Sales Manager, France, of the FRANCE TELECOM Group, will be joining the LAGARDERE group as director of the new entity, a creator and distributor of content, and major player in the circulation of information and advertising material.

He will report directly to Arnaud LAGARDERE and becomes Chairman of the Board of both the HACHETTE FILIPACCHI MEDIAS and LAGARDERE ACTIVE companies.
He will have executive responsibility for these activities and will build a team of directors common to both companies in order to develop and promote this strategy.

He will be joining the group in a few weeks’ time.

Arnaud LAGARDERE will become Chairman of the Supervisory Board of LAGARDERE ACTIVE.

Gérald de ROQUEMAUREL, Chairman & CEO of HACHETTE FILIPACCHI MEDIAS, will become Chairman of the Supervisory Board of that company as soon as the amendments to its articles have been accepted, and until 31 December 2006, at which moment Arnaud LAGARDERE will become Chairman.

Gérald de ROQUEMAUREL will become Arnaud LAGARDERE’s Special Advisor in order to contribute his experience in the field and his knowledge of the major international players in the media. He will deal principally with current external files, such as the Nouvelles Messageries de la Presse Parisienne (NMPP) and the Regional Daily Press organisation with Le Monde, and on international development, notably in emerging countries such as China and Russia.

At the moment of this transfer of power, Arnaud LAGARDERE has expressed his desire to pay tribute to Gérald de ROQUEMAUREL, whose continuous involvement over 35 years has made it possible to build the world magazine press leader at the heart of the LAGARDERE group.

Arnaud LAGARDERE has also declared,” In order to successfully achieve this new step in our development, Didier QUILLOT – through his skills and his experience notably at the head of ORANGE – has all the assets necessary for our group to tackle successfully the challenge of digital and the convergence of the media.”