Bertrand Eveno

Bertrand Eveno, born on July 26, 1944 in Égletons (Corrèze), is a French senior civil servant and business leader, former president of Agence France-Presse (AFP) from 2000 to 2005. He is the brother of historian Patrick Eveno.

Biography

A graduate of HEC Paris and a top-ranking alumnus of the École Nationale d'Administration (ENA) ("François Rabelais" class of 1973), and Inspector General of Finances, Bertrand Eveno, after a brief stint in ministerial offices, built most of his career in private industry and the publishing sector.

In 1976, he co-authored, with Simon Nora, a report on policies for older housing.

The same year, he also contributed to the commission chaired by Olivier Guichard on the reform of local authorities (the "Living Together" report).

Until July 2000, he held various senior management positions within CEP Communication Group (publishing), formerly Groupe de la Cité: CEO of Nathan in 1986, CEO of Dunod-Dalloz-Masson, and eventually CEO of Havas Éducation et Référence (including Larousse, Nathan, Bordas, Le Robert) in 1996, before the group became Vivendi Universal Éducation France (VUEF), under the presidency of Agnès Touraine (also CEO of Vivendi Universal Publishing's education division).

Agence France-Presse

In July 2000, after leaving Vivendi Universal, Bertrand Eveno was appointed president of Agence France-Presse (AFP).

He had to face the bursting of the internet bubble and major losses at AFP's financial news subsidiary, AFX. He implemented restructuring measures considered by some as delayed, but these allowed AFP to quickly regain operational balance and expand in the video sector.

On November 17, 2005, he announced his resignation from AFP.

Hachette Filipacchi Photo

In December of that same year, he joined a direct AFP competitor in the photo sector, Hachette Filipacchi Médias (HFM), as CEO of Hachette Filipacchi Photo, which included the Gamma, Rapho, Hoa-Qui, and Keystone photo agencies.

This move raised ethical and competition concerns, denounced by AFP unions, especially since it happened just months after a former HFM employee took charge of AFP's photo department. Hachette Filipacchi Photos was acquired in December 2006 by the investment fund Green Recovery, which partnered with François Lochon to purchase the photo agency.