TF1 is determined to strengthen its expertise in data exploitation, particularly for its advertising activities. Data and advertising, François-Xavier Pierrel masters both worlds perfectly.
Before October 16, and for 5 years, he held the position of Chief Data Officer of JCDecaux, a historic display advertising company. The company owes it the construction of its Data Office and the establishment of a data culture in its businesses.
Building the TF1 Data Office, as for JCDecaux
François-Xavier Pierrel spent 5 years immersed in the data and advertising ecosystem. However, he has had experience in these areas for longer, having spent more than 6 years cumulatively at Meta and Microsoft as Head of Marketing Science and Head of Adserving.
The expert will now promote his own Data assets within the TF1 group, which he is joining as Chief Data & Ad Tech Officer. François-Xavier Pierrel is taking over as head of the new center dedicated to data and advertising technologies set up by TF1.
A sign of the strategic importance of these activities in the group, the newly appointed CDO will report to François Pellissiers, DGA Business and Sport of the TF1 Group. For the company, these two initiatives, recruitment and creation of the center, meet clear objectives.
Strengthen data, CRM, analytics and AdTech expertise
This involves supporting its “digital acceleration” strategy and “strengthening its expertise in data, CRM, analytics and AdTech.” In this context, the Chief Data Officer will be able to draw on his experience in founding the Data skills center within JCDecaux.
TF1 entrusted it with the mission “to define the data strategy most suited” to its ambitions and “to set up the technological stack in line with the needs of advertisers and the development of MYTF1”, its streaming video service.
François-Xavier Pierrel will therefore design and manage the strategy and data platform of the audiovisual group. Operationally, this will result in the conduct of multiple activities. The scope of the division includes, among other things, the collection, processing and engineering related to user data assets – assets kept within a “user data lake”.
Key data and AI for advertising
The Chief Data & Ad Tech Officer and his teams will also supervise Data science and Data analysis activities, Ad serving & Optimization of TF1 Pub, the development and coordination of AdTech or technological partnerships, as well as Ad Decisioning (via a Feature Team Pub) from MYTF1.
Artificial intelligence is also key in the advertising industry. The Data division therefore also manages projects related to Machine Learning. But it’s impossible to create high-performance models without quality. The Data Office therefore manages governance – such as data compliance, critical to guaranteeing compliance with the GDPR.
“I am delighted to join this incredible company that is Groupe TF1, and a new adventure, that of television and its transformation. Why TF1 Group? Because the mission is superb, and defending a jersey you love is always simpler and more pleasant,” writes François-Xavier Pierrel on LinkedIn.