SRG Director General Gilles Marchand resigns prematurely
Published: Thursday, Jan 18th 2024, 11:41
Back to Live Feed
SRG Director General Gilles Marchand is stepping down early, according to a press release from the company. A new CEO should be in place by the beginning of 2025 at the latest. Marchand's term of office would actually have ended in 2027 when he reaches retirement age.
By initiating the succession process at the top of the company, SRG wants to prepare itself for the political events of the coming years, according to the press release issued on Thursday.
The "200 francs is enough" initiative, which is to be voted on by the people in 2026, was mentioned. The Federal Council will decide on its measures in connection with the initiative in June 2024, while Parliament will deal with it and the Federal Council's dispatch in 2025.
On the other hand, the company mentioned the negotiations on new concessions in 2027 and their decision by 2028. During this long period, SRG must be able to count on a stable and long-term oriented general management, it continued.
No follow-up solution during the vote
Marchand's term of office would have ended when he reached retirement age at 65 at the beginning of 2027. However, this would have meant a succession solution in 2026, i.e. in the middle of the voting period. Against this backdrop, the SRG Board of Directors and the CEO jointly decided to bring forward the succession process.
"The major challenges facing SRG over the next five years must be led by a General Management that can commit itself fully and over a longer period of time with sufficient lead time," said Jean-Michel Cina, Chairman of the SRG Board of Directors, in the press release.
It was therefore jointly decided to bring forward the personnel change. The position of General Manager will be advertised quickly. The process will be managed by the Personnel Committee of the Board of Directors.
Long career in Swiss radio and television
"It is the best possible decision in the interests of the company. SRG must prepare for a new cycle, with the vote on the initiative, the negotiations on the new SRG concession and the preparation of a new medium-term financial plan," Marchand is quoted as saying in the press release.
Marchand had been Director General of SRG since 2017. His time in office was marked, among other things, by the vote on the "No Billag" initiative, which was rejected by the people in 2018 with 71.6% of votes against and by all cantons. The initiative called for the abolition of radio and television fees.
Before becoming Director General of SRG, Marchand was Head of Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS) for seven years. Before that, Marchand was Director of TSR - the predecessor of RTS - from 2001 to 2009.
©Keystone/SDA
English 
German 
French 
Spanish 
Arabic