Christian Van Thillo

"How we can safeguard diversity, quality journalism and local relevance in a world increasingly shaped by algorithms and platform power."

Summary

In his keynote, Christian Van Thillo, Executive Chairman and former CEO of DPG Media, will address the future of the local media ecosystem in the age of Big Tech. Advertising has always been a vital revenue stream for media companies, but with Big Tech now capturing the majority of those revenues, a key question arises: can local players still have a meaningful role in this market? He will share his perspective on this crucial topic and offer a compelling look at the challenges and opportunities ahead.

Biography

Christian Van Thillo was born in Antwerp (Belgium) on March 25th 1962.He obtained his law degree, cum laude, in 1986 from the Catholic University of Leuven. He graduated from Duke’s Fuqua School of Business in 1989. He began his media career in 1989 when he joined the management team at De Persgroep. Under his leadership as CEO, which began in 1990, the company experienced significant growth and became the largest media company in Belgium and the Netherlands. In 2020, the company was renamed DPG Media and he took on the role of Executive Chairman. 

Christian was a member of the Supervisory Board of Bertelsmann A.G., Europe’s largest media company, from 2002 to 2005. He also served on the Board of Directors of the National Bank of Belgium, from 2003 until 2008. Since 2015, Christian is the Chairman of the European Publishers Council. He lives in Belgium with his spouse, Nathalie, and their daughter,June.