The Bayard Group (publisher of La Croix) announced Friday May 28 that during the next meeting of the group’s supervisory board, scheduled for July 2, “Jean-Baptiste de Franssu will be proposed to take over as chairman.” He will succeed Hubert Chicou. The latter “will remain a director until the ordinary general meeting of November 2026, the end of his mandate”.
The group’s press release explains the choice of Jean-Baptiste de Franssu by emphasizing that his “pathway marked by a commitment to institutions with a strong spiritual and educational dimension, echoes the unique mission of Bayard”. As head of the supervisory board, he will bring “recognized experience in the governance of complex institutions, at the crossroads of finance, ethical standards and serving causes of general interest”.
Former managing director of Invesco Europe, Jean-Baptiste de Franssu chairs the Collège des Bernardins and has been a member of the supervisory board of Bayard since last year. From 2014 to 2026, at the request of Pope Francis, he took charge of the Institute for Works of Religion (IOR), the Vatican bank, where he carried out “internationally acclaimed modernization work”.
“An honor to accompany the group in this new stage”
“Bayard occupies a unique place in the press, publishing and education landscape, in France and internationally, through the quality of its titles, the loyalty of its readers and the demands of its mission. It is an honor to support the group in this new stage, alongside its teams and its governance,” underlines Jean-Baptiste de Franssu in the press release published by the group.
The group paid tribute to the work of Hubert Chicou “who supported Bayard in the professionalization of its governance, its diversification and its international development in Europe and North America”. Joining the company in 1985, he held numerous positions before becoming a member of the management board from 2009 to 2015, then chairman of the supervisory board.
“Chairing the Bayard Supervisory Board for twelve years has been a demanding and deeply stimulating commitment. I am happy to hand over the baton to Jean-Baptiste de Franssu, whose experience and convictions are in perfect resonance with what Bayard has been carrying for more than 150 years,” assured Hubert Chicou quoted in the group’s press release.
