Banijay Hires Tech Veteran, Damien Viel

Content powerhouse, Banijay, today confirms the appointment of Damien Viel as Chief Digital and Marketing Officer. Stepping into the newly devised role, the executive will take charge of the group’s overarching marketing and digital diversification strategies, supercharging innovation worldwide.

Viel comes onboard after a seven-year stint as Managing Director for Twitter in France, a role he departed late last year. There he led the global brand’s local business development and operations, which included the negotiation and management of country-level partnerships. During 2018 and 2020, he was also a strategy committee member for Idinvest/Eurazeo. With a strong track record in the digital space, he spent 2011-2015 at Google, the latter part as Director, YouTube and Google Brand solutions for Southern/Eastern Europe, Middle East & Africa. Whilst there he ran the regional team, evolving and executing its branding and business strategy, delivering relevant education outside the company, and influencing significant revenue growth.

At Banijay, reporting to Chief Executive Officer, Marco Bassetti, Viel will now concentrate on injecting his tech experience into the 21-territory-strong group. Exploring new partnerships, further monetisation opportunities for its leading brands, and reputation-building opportunities outside the entity’s core industry, he will be key to bolstering the company’s impactful long-term strategy.

Marco Bassetti, Chief Executive Officer, Banijay: “Our industry is in an undeniable period of flux, and with further digital diversification on the horizon, we are keen to capitalise on innovation avenues to ensure we maintain our position as a frontrunner in the market. In Damien, we have a visionary leader, with a track record that speaks for itself, and he will be a great asset to our group as we look to further fulfil our growth ambitions and elevate our brand on the global stage. In embarking on what will no doubt be a transformative journey, we are committed to bolstering the creative environment we offer our talent to ensure creativity always prospers.”

Damien Viel adds: “Digital innovation has rapidly changed how audiences consume content, and importantly, how leading storymakers share it. While tech advancements are often met with scepticism given their complexity, I’m a firm believer that innovation, creative technologies, AI and a customer-focussed approach, only bring further opportunity and that is what I am keen to explore at Banijay. In its hands is a prolific portfolio of brands and the talent that creates them, a combination which will be invaluable to evolving a robust marketing strategy and exploring further opportunities to diversify and positively boost the operation.”

Prior to his time at Google, Viel was Deputy General Manager for M6 Publicité, the advertising arm of M6 Groupe. As operational lead, he had oversight of all agency and client relationships and during this period, also served as a member of the RTL Group European Trade Executive Committee. With an illustrious career to date, he has acted as General Manager for CARAT France (an Aegis Media company), and before that, he spent seven years with L’Oreal, holding various marketing responsibilities in France and Asia, having graduated from ESSEC.