Press Release | Gütersloh/Paris, 02/13/2024

Nicolas de Tavernost Resigns from Bertelsmann’s Group Management Committee

• The top French manager will step down as Chairman of the Executive Board of Groupe M6 on April 23, 2024
• De Tavernost was a founding member of Bertelsmann’s Group Management Committee (GMC)
• Thomas Rabe thanks “one of Europe’s most distinguished and successful media managers”

Gütersloh / Paris, February 13, 2024 – Nicolas de Tavernost (73), Chairman of the Executive Board of Groupe M6, is leaving the French media group upon its Annual General Meeting on April 23, 2024. This was announced by the company today. The media manager will then also leave Bertelsmann’s Group Management Committee (GMC). He has sat on the committee comprised of the Group’s top international executives since it was founded.

Thomas Rabe, Chairman and CEO of Bertelsmann, said: “One of Europe’s most distinguished and successful media managers is leaving Groupe M6, RTL Group, and Bertelsmann. A pioneer of European commercial television, Nicolas de Tavernost was a man of the first hour at M6 and has shaped the company like no other over more than 30 years. 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. As a four-time winner of the Bertelsmann Award, he has been and continues to be an inspiration for our Group and a role model for our executives. 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!”

Nicolas de Tavernost studied political science and law at the Université de Bordeaux before working at the French Ministry of Foreign Trade from 1974 until 1976, the year, he was appointed Secretary General of the French Chamber of Commerce in Switzerland. In 1977, Nicolas de Tavernost took up the post of press spokesman at the French Ministry of Post and Telecommunications. In 1981, he was appointed Head of Governmental Delegation & Director of Audiovisual Activities at Lyonnaise des Eaux. In 1987, Nicolas de Tavernost joined the newly founded television channel M6 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.

Nicolas de Tavernost joined Bertelsmann’s Group Management Committee when it was founded in 2011. The GMC is comprised of top international Bertelsmann managers and advises the Executive Board of the international media, services, and education group. Nicolas de Tavernost has received the coveted Bertelsmann Award for his entrepreneurial achievements four times, the first time in 2003.

His most important awards outside the company include being named Chevalier de l’ordre national du Mérite in 1994, and Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur in 2003. De Tavernost was also named Manager of the Year by “Le Nouvel Économiste” in 2009.

About Bertelsmann
Bertelsmann is a media, services and education company with 85.000 employees, that operates in about 50 countries around the world. It includes the entertainment group RTL Group, the trade book publisher Penguin Random House, the music company BMG, the service provider Arvato Group, Bertelsmann Marketing Services, the Bertelsmann Education Group and Bertelsmann Investments, an international network of funds. The company generated revenues of €20.2 billion in the 2022 financial year. Bertelsmann stands for creativity and entrepreneurship. This combination promotes first-class media content and innovative service solutions that inspire customers around the world. Bertelsmann aspires to achieve climate neutrality by 2030.