Paris : Jean-Pierre Vignolle will leave AFP on January 15, 2011 after eleven years with the Agency. He was appointed Commercial Marketing and Development Director in September 1999 and has served as Managing Director since early 2006.

Jean-Pierre Vignolle endowed AFP with a worldwide commercial network which proves its efficiency, day after day, in a difficult economic environment. He also set up a centralized marketing service and brought new product ideas to the editorial staff as well as insights into markets and competitiveness.

As Managing Director, he made a great contribution to restoring the finances of AFP, one of the conditions of our strategic independence. Together with the IT department, he undertook the renovation of the Agency’s administrative and editorial computer systems as well as the essential monitoring systems which are necessary for running our business.

Emmanuel Hoog, the CEO, thanked Jean-Pierre Vignolle for “the part he has played in developing and modernizing the Agency.” He also paid tribute to “his very strong personal involvement” and “his unfailing capacity for hard work, for the benefit of the Agency.”

At the age of 65, Jean-Pierre Vignolle will hand over to Rémi Tomaszewski, 53, currently General Secretary of the French public TV channel “Public Sénat”.

Rémi Tomaszewski has, since 2000, been closely involved in setting up and developing the channel and in overseeing the strategy and means required for its influence and independence. He worked for the founding chairman, Jean-Pierre Elkabbach and the current CEO, Gilles Leclerc.