PARIS — EMI France has appointed Olivier Montfort as president and will begin Tuesday.
Montfort will report to David Kassler, president of EMI Europe, Middle East and Africa. He replaces Nathalie Collin, who left the company in January to join national newspaper Liberation.
Monfort is a seasoned music executive; he started his career in 1982 at leading French music retailer Fnac, then joined Virgin in 1988 to launch Virgin Megastores in France.
From 1993-2004, he worked at Sony Music France, eventually rising to chairman and CEO. He was then appointed chairman and CEO of Sony BMG France, leaving in 2005. He developed leading artists including Jean-Jacques Goldman and Celine Dion.
Most recently, Monfort was COO of French film producer and distributor EuropaCorp, founded by movie director Luc Besson.
“(Montfort’s) experience and his relationship with the artists’ community will be great assets for us in the future,” Kassler said.
