Meeting with Stéphane Roussel, Chief Operating Officer of Vivendi
The Committee meeting began with a friendly chat with Stéphane Roussel, Executive Board member and Chief Operating Officer of Vivendi, who commented the Group’s news.
He reviewed the opportunities for Universal Music Group, Canal+ Group and the upcoming digital developments in the different business units. He also discussed the operations initiated by Vivendi in video games, and focused on the acquisition of interest in Gameloft and Ubisoft.
Stéphane Roussel then answered the Committee members’ questions on the outlooks of the video game industry and the new strategy for Canal. He emphasized on myCanal app and Canal+ upcoming new offers.
Group news look over
Solange Maulini, Director press and Shareholders Relations of Vivendi took the lead and presented the latest Group’s earnings (as of March 31, 2016), highlighting the recent investments made in production companies in France and in Europe, the 24.7% interest hold in Telecom Italia, the strategic partnership with Mediaset and Mediaset Premium and the acquisition of a 15% interest in Fnac.
CanalOlympia deployment
Corinne Bach, Vice President of Vivendi Village and CEO of CanalOlympia, outlined the objectives of the association of two well-known brands such as Canal + and L’Olympia, to build venues for cinema and live performances in Africa.
Then, she answered the Committee’s questions about the various technical aspects of the theaters (architecture, design, construction, technical innovations, opening) and the future development. The Committee watched the inauguration of the first CanalOlympia Theater video shot on June 14, 2016 in Yaoundé.
She introduced five Vivendi Talents projects: The Vivendi Talents Coffee, The Vivendi Talents Show, The Vivendi Talents website, the Create Joy initiatives and the Music Celebration Day.
A discussion then took place on finding a way in which the Committee could attest the development of these initiatives.
Island Africa
Romain Bilharz, CEO of Vivendi Africa and the Island Africa label, evoked his career in the music industry (Universal Music Group and then Vivendi) and his experience as an Artists and Repertoire manager with talents as diverse as Juliette Greco, Doc Gyneco or Stromae.
He afterwards presented the ambitions and prospects for Universal Music in Africa, mentioning in particular the show “Island Africa Talents”, aired on A+ from October to December 2014 that contributed to the discovery of talents such as Denise.
The CEO of Island Africa announced the opening of an office in Ivory Coast and another similar office in Lagos. He explained the business model planned for Africa, and referred the incredible concert held in Conakry in September 2015. He also answered several questions of the Committee about the outlook for the music in Africa.
The Committee meeting ended with a lunch during which the Committee members carried on their discussions about the Group’s outlook.
