French pay TV operator Canal Plus has appointed Maxime Saada as group CEO, replacing Rodolphe Belmer, who has been relieved of his responsibilities by the board on the recommendation of chairman Bertrand Meheut. After starting his career and McKinsey, Saada joined Canal Plus as director of strategy in 2004. He was named director of CanalSat in 2007, sales director for Canal Plus in 2009, and executive vice president and head of distribution in 2011. Saada joined the management board of Canal Plus France in 2012 and was appointed group executive vice president and head of pay TV in 2013.
The company does give any reason for the departure of Belmer, but a report in Les Echos attributes the decision to differences with parent company Vivendi’s supervisory board chairman Vincent Bollore.
Canal Plus has also announced that group CFO Gregoire Castaing has been appointed to the group’s management board. Castaing joined the company as deputy director of auditing in 2007, director of financial services in 2010 and CFO in 2012. The group management board now comprises three members, Meheut, Saada and Castaing.
