BERLIN -- In a move that does away with the company's dual management structure, Didier Bellens is taking over as CEO of CLT/Ufa, Europe's biggest TV and radio company.
Luxembourg-based Audiofina and German media giant Bertelsmann announced the appointment on Monday.
The 44-year-old Bellens, chairman of Audiofina and CEO of Audiofina's main shareholder, Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (GBL), replaces co-managing directors and CEOs Rolf Schmidt-Holtz and Remy Sautter.
Ewald Walgenbach, 41, CLT/Ufa's exec VP for German television, production and rights, was named the new chief operating officer.
Sautter will take over as president of the supervisory board of RTL Radio in France while Schmidt-Holtz will become a member of Bertelsmann's management committee.
Belgian financier Albert Frere controls 77.6% of CLT/Ufa through his GBL and Electrafina holding companies.
Audiofina and Bertelsmann, which merged CLT and Ufa in 1997, said their company is set to expand its operations in the European broadcast industry. The group has stakes in 22 TV channels, 18 radio stations and several programming and production companies in 10 European countries.
CLT/Ufa is also moving onto the Internet. "The group is concentrated today on its main activities and is ready to seize the immense opportunities offered by the Internet, the advent of broadband and the convergence of PC and audiovisual technologies," said Audiofina chief exec Bruno Chauvat.
Contact Ed Meza at
ed.meza@mannaa.de