Bellens to ankle RTL?
Exec may join Belgacom as CEO
The telecoms group has been without a chief exec since John Goossens died of a heart attack last November. RTL declined to comment on reports in the Belgian media Wednesday.
At RTL, Didier oversees 23 TV channels and 22 radio stations through the company's media arm Bertelsmann. In addition to being a majority shareholder in Five, RTL owns and operates commercial webs in France, Germany, Spain, Luxembourg, Holland, Belgium and Hungary.
Bellens is known for running a tight ship. Despite operating in a depressed market, RTL is expected to report increased revenues for 2002 on March 17, according to an industry source. "Idol," distributed by RTL-owned FremantleMedia, is credited with driving ratings and ad coin at RTL-owned stations across Europe.
If he decides to join Belgacom, Belgian-born Didier will be in charge of one of Europe's smaller telcos. Under Goossens, Belgacom failed to pull off a merger with either Holland's KPN Telecom in 2001 or France's Cegetel in 2002. In order to survive, he felt it was necessary for the telco to become part of a European group.
Despite the challenges, the position carries huge kudos in Belgium because the company is government controlled. Smaller shareholders include U.S. regional phone company SBC Communications, Denmark's Tele Danmark, Singapore Telecoms and three Belgian investors.
