Arnaud de Puyfontaine was a guest on Hedwige Chevrillon and Vincent Beaufils’ program, “Entretien HEC,” on BFM Business.

He has built his career in France and internationally in the media industry.

Initially, he served as Deputy Director of Le Figaro and was part of the founding team of the Emap group in France in 1995, where he later became CEO and then Chairman-CEO. In 2000, he joined the Executive Board of Emap Plc and concurrently held the position of Chairman of EMW, the digital subsidiary of Emap/Wanadoo, from 2000 to 2005. In 2006, he was appointed Chairman-CEO of Éditions Mondadori France and a year later assumed the role of General Manager of digital activities for the Mondadori group.

In 2009, Arnaud de Puyfontaine joined the American media group Hearst, where he successively held the positions of Executive Chairman of its English subsidiary, Executive Vice President of Hearst Magazines International, and Managing Director of Western Europe. Arnaud de Puyfontaine joined Vivendi in January 2014 as CEO of Media and Content activities. Since June 24, 2014, he has been Chairman of the Executive Board of Vivendi.

He serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Prisma Media, is a member of the Supervisory Board of the Canal+ Group, the Board of Directors of Havas, and the Board of Directors of Lagardère. He is also the honorary president of the French American Foundation and the former president of ESCP Europe Alumni. Arnaud de Puyfontaine is a Knight of the National Order of the Legion of Honor and an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).

He holds degrees from ESCP Business School (1988), the Multimedia Institute (1992), and Harvard Business School (2000).

HEC Stories asked him its four emblematic questions backstage.

– What would you say to HEC students who want to work in your sector?

I would tell them not to hesitate for a moment because it’s a sector in full transformation, undergoing a revolution that creates many opportunities, and it’s a pleasure to experience all these changes.

– What is success, in three words?

Take a lot of pleasure in what you do and share it with everyone around you.

– An idea to save the planet?

It’s all these individual initiatives that, when added together, will actually allow us to write a different story from the one promised to us.

– A person who inspires you?

Winston Churchill. Never, never, never give up.

 

This show is broadcasted on French channel BFMBusiness, do not forget to turn on the subtitles ! 

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