Michael Peters (media executive)

French-German media executive
Michael Peters (2018)

Michael Peters (born 1971 in Flensburg, West Germany)[1] is a Franco-German media executive who served as chief executive officer (CEO) of Euronews from 2011 to 2021.[2]

Early life and education

Peters is the son of a French mother who worked as a teacher and a German father who served in the German airforce.[3] He earned a Master's degree in Financial Engineering from EM Lyon business school in 1995.[4]

Career

Peters started his professional career at auditing firm Arthur Andersen in Lyon. He worked for the company from 1995 to 1998.[5] Peters then joined Euronews as a finance manager in 1998.[6] He was promoted to chief financial officer in 2000 and was named Euronews' Deputy Managing Director in December 2003.[7] From May 2005 to December 2008, Peters held the position as managing director of Euronews, before being appointed managing director of the executive board of Euronews SA in December 2008.[1]

In December 2011, he became Euronews' executive chairman of the board.[3] During his tenure, Media Globe Networks, managed by Naguib Sawiris, became the Euronews majority owner in July 2015.[8] In October 2015, Euronews opened its new headquarters in Lyon, and introduced the Euronews Next digital initiative aimed at reaching younger audiences.[9]

Peters, together with journalist Stephen Smith, started developing the Euronews subsidiary Africanews in 2013.[10] He was appointed president of Africanews SASU on its foundation in 2014 or 2015, leading the network through its digital launch on 4 January 2016 and jointly serving as its CEO.[11][12]

Peters left his position as chairman of the Euronews executive board in December 2021 and was appointed Euronews' chairman of the board of directors.[13] Peters held this position until December 2022.[14]

He became the CEO of the company BusiNext, again working alongside Naguib Sawiris.[15]

References

  1. ^ a b "Michael Peters, Chief Executive Officer of Euronews SA" (PDF). Euronews. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  2. ^ Debusmann, Bernd Jr. (8 February 2020). "50 shades of truth: Euronews CEO Michael Peters". ArabianBusiness. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  3. ^ a b Coroller, Catherine (9 February 2012). "Eurostar". Libération (in French). Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  4. ^ "Michael Peters". Le Soir (in French). 22 February 2017. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  5. ^ "Michael Peters". Women in Tech. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  6. ^ Foster, Alana (16 January 2020). "Euronews: The transformation of news". IBC. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  7. ^ "Michael Peters wird Generaldirektor von EuroNews". Der Standard (in German). Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  8. ^ "Sawiris takes majority stake in Euronews". Digital TV Europe. 10 July 2015. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  9. ^ Briel, Robert (16 October 2015). "Euronews opens new Lyon HQ". Broadband TV News. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  10. ^ "Pourquoi Euronews a choisi Brazzaville". Jeune Afrique (in French). 11 February 2014. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  11. ^ "This is Africanews". Africanews. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  12. ^ "Médias - Africanews : c'est parti !". Le Point (in French). 21 April 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  13. ^ "Euronews on a positive growth path, adapts its governance and prepares for a change of majority shareholder". Euronews. 17 December 2021. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  14. ^ "Euronews confirme chercher à vendre son siège, mais souhaite rester à Lyon". Tribune de Lyon. 12 December 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  15. ^ "Meet the Team". BusiNext. Retrieved 7 August 2024.