Thierry Vallat appointed Chairman and Managing Director of CFI
The CFI Board of Directors has declared its support for the appointment of Thierry Vallat as Chairman and Managing Director of CFI, the French Media Development Agency, following the departure of Marc Fonbaustier, who has taken up the role of French Ambassador to Guinea.
Thierry Vallat is a career diplomat, a qualified Arabist and a specialist in Africa and the Middle East. He has dedicated more than half of his professional career to this region, serving notably in Saudi Arabia, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Territories, Israel and Morocco.
The former head of the Department of Training and Deputy Director of Communications for the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs has also spent many years nurturing a deep interest in issues surrounding the development of the media and digital communication, as illustrated by his time in Tangiers as consul general.
His appointment as Chairman and Managing Director of CFI on 18 November 2020 is therefore a logical step in continuing France’s policy to promote media development in Africa, the Arab world and South-East Asia.
