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WSN Développement : Xavier Clergerie prepares for a new managing director
Following the announcement several weeks ago that Etienne Cochet would be leaving WSN Développement after just 15 months as chief, the tradeshow organiser is entering a new phase. With WSN Développement now being lead again by its co-founder, Xavier Clergerie, the management shuffle is in fact a "short-term" solution, according to the new head, who is preparing for the arrival of a new director in the very near future.
"It was foreseen that Etienne Cochet's tenure would be quite short," explained Xavier Clergerie. "But it was necessary to have him for our firm's period of transition, with the goal of putting in place new procedures in the business, but also to renew the structure," said Clergerie, when talking about the transformation plans in two parts.
But, the second phase will finally come quite quickly. Xavier Clergerie has confirmed that he is counting on passing the baton on to a new director next year. WSN Développement will be announcing the arrival of a new co-managing director before the next tradeshow event in January, which is to be held from January 19 to 22 at Porte de Versailles in Paris.
"It's a younger person, who will have to be trained. When things are in place, I will leave them be to be general manager. A transition, which will take a year or even two, if necessary," added Clergerie, at the same time indicating that the firm's ownership, shared between himself, Bertrand Foache and Comexposium, will not change.
"I am returning to the helm, but I already have in mind a strong evolution perspective that will be lead with the new CEO," added the co-founder of Who's Next.
WSN Développement is very much starting to prepare for this new transition, in time for the next events, but is also looking to the development of new projects which will be launched with the future manager. Development plans mapped out under the guard of Etienne Cochet, who was a fan of digitalisation, and which will be rolled out in 2018.
"The concept we are aiming for is to help brands, retailers and creators with a coherent link between digital and distribution," explained Clergerie. "That means finding outlets in more markets, and knowing that according to the market, the issues are not the same. In Europe, physical distribution still carries a lot of weight, but this is not the case in all countries," he said.
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