Jean-Marie Messier

Jean-Marie Messier (born December 13, 1957) is a French businessman known for his flamboyance. He gained worldwide notoriety for his fast ascent and fall from power.

Career

With a reputation for deft management and fast thinking, Messier rapidly advanced in the ranks of French government and the corporate world. Beginning in the mid-1990s, he transformed Vivendi from a French utility company into a global media and communications conglomerate worth $51 billion. However, he became disliked by many French people for his perceived "American" attitude. He was ridiculed for moving his personal office to New York and living in a company flat on Fifth Avenue at huge expense.

Related Topics:
Vivendi - New York - Fifth Avenue

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In 2002, however, Vivendi began to run into trouble, for which Messier was blamed. On March 5, 2002, the company announced a loss of $14 billion, the largest in French corporate history, mainly due the hugely inflated prices he had paid for the media businesses he had bought and the subsequent dotcom collapse. A little over a year later, on July 3, 2003, Messier was ousted as boss of Vivendi, whose stock soared on the news. His severance indemnities of $20 million were a subject of a protracted dispute with the company. Messier argues that Vivendi's troubles were not of his making. The next year, on March 6, 2003, the company announced an even larger a record loss of $25 billion.

Related Topics:
Dotcom - Stock

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France's Financial Markets Authority fined Messier €1 million for failing to reveal the true nature of Vivendi's financial situation, but he has announced that he will appeal the fine.

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Messier has been married since the early 1970s and has five children.

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