Chairman & CEO, Canal+ Events Sports Acquisitions and Event Executive Manager, Canal+ SA
An international lawyer, Jean-Louis Dutaret, a member of both the Paris Bar and the New York Bar, joined the Jean-Claude Darmon Group – Europe’s leading sports marketing agency – as Director General in 1995. With a specialised rôle heading audiovisual rights management, he also oversaw the group’s entry to the French stock exchange in 1996, and, in 2001, its merger with UFA Sports (RTL Group) and SPORT+ (CANAL+ Group) to create Sportfive, the world’s leading sports marketing agency, holding the position of Director General.
In 2004, he joined the TF1 Group as Deputy Director to the CEO, while in January 2006, he became Director of Acquisitions for the CANAL+ Sports Department. In 2007, he headed the acquisition of Occade Sport, a business specialising in organising sports events, which became CANAL+EVENTS in 2008, with Jean-Louis Dutaret as Vice-President. In June 2008, following management restructuring in CANAL+ Sports, he became Director of Acquisitions and Sports Events for the CANAL+ Group, working directly alongside the Director General of CANAL+.
At the same time, he was promoted to the position of President of CANAL+EVENTS, overseeing the group’s rapid development in audiovisual rights by buying international commercial rights for the French football leagues, Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 as well as the French League Cup. The group’s marketing and below-the-line promotions have been strengthened by incorporating golf and rugby to the sports already traded, including tennis, athletics, handball, hockey and basketball. Two international events were added to the Canal+Events portfolio: the ‘Vivendi Trophy’, a major golf competition, held in Saint-Nom-La-Bretèche in September 2009, that forms part of the European Tour, and the European Winter X Games, scheduled for March 2010 in Tignes, in association with ESPN, a Disney affiliate. Canal+Events has now achieved an optimal size and lies at the heart of agencies’ work around the world.
