Arnaud Lagardère – CEO of Lagardère Group: A Detailed Overview
Arnaud Lagardère, son of Jean-Luc Lagardère and grandson of the man who founded the Lagardère Group – Arnaud Lagardère can rightly be credited as the CEO and chairman of Lagardère Group – one of the world’s leading media, services and retail businesses. He currently holds majority control of the Group and is responsible for guiding it through all its activities, ensuring it remains a leader in its chosen sectors.
Background to the Lagardère Group
Lagardère Group is a French conglomerate established by Arnaud’s grandfather Arnaud Sr. as a publishing business in 1826. The Group is a global powerhouse encompassing a large portfolio of media, services and retail brands and is highly diversified into several other sectors with activities in the automotive industry, digital media services, and video games and luxury goods.
Listed on the Paris Stock Exchange, the Group covers 47 countries with over 33,000 employees and 131,000 partners worldwide. Alongside Arnaud, his brother, Pierre-Yves Lagardere, serves as a director of the Group and its principal secretary.
Early Life & Career of Arnaud Lagardere
Arnaud was born in 1967 and the eldest son to previous CEO Jean-Luc Lagardère. Though he spent his early years living in Paris, he graduated in business and political science from New York University. After a brief stint at Credit Suisse, Arnaud returned to the family business at just 26, after his father’s passing in 2003.
He became Head of Lagardère’s Special Projects, a position he held until his official appointment as principle shareholder and chairman of the board of directors in 2007. That same year he was named Deputy CEO, a role he held until becoming the Group’s CEO in 2011.
Overcoming the Hindrance of Scandal
After taking over the positions of chairman and CEO from his father, the Lagardère Group faced yet another scandal. This occurred when Arnaud’s brother, Pierre-Yves Lagardère, was charged with misuse of corporate funds.
Despite this, Arnaud regained investment confidence through a reduction in dividends and the restructuring of finances, ensuring competitiveness in the media sector. In doing so, Lagardère Group can now focus on the continual development and expansion of its core businesses and subsidiaries, including Matra and Le Monde.
Continuing his Father’s Legacy
When Arnaud’s father, Jean-Luc, died in 2003, the Lagardère Group was split between Arnaud (43.7%) and the French state (15%) leaving Arnaud as the largest shareholder of the Group. With the help of the French government, Arnaud successfully managed the Group’s shift from print titles to digital activities and increased the Group’s already considerable international presence and reach.
Recognition
Arnaud Lagardère is the recipient of several awards and was granted the Legion d’Honneur – one of France’s highest honors – by former French President Jacques Chirac in 2004. In 2018, Arnaud also won the Légion d’honneur in recognition of his intangible yet lasting contributions to the French economy.
Achievements & His Future Goals
Arnaud Lagardère is a highly successful businessman with considerable achievements in his tenure, some of which have been mentioned above.
Moving forward, the Group has plans to actively explore opportunities in the US market and to increase their presence in the UK and Europe. Arnaud has also expressed ambitions to expand their presence in the technology and software space, a trend that has already resulted in the acquisition of sports data, broadcast and analytics businesses, such as STATS LLC.
Arnaud Lagardère is a supremely talented individual and his current role as CEO and Chairman of the Lagardère Group has seen the organisation greatly succeed in many areas. His talents have helped the Group to expand its overseas presence and restructure its operations to ensure it remains relevant and competitive in todays challenging market.
Latest developments and services within the Group appear to be the next focus for Arnaud and Lagardère Group, setting them on the path to even further success.