Appointment Caroline Pauwels - regulated information

Following the resignation of Mr Marc Verhamme as independent director, on the recommendation of the nomination and remuneration committee, the board of directors of Roularta Media Group has appointed Prof Caroline Pauwels PhD as independent director. The following general meeting will be asked to confirm this appointment.
 
Prof Caroline Pauwels PhD is rector of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. She studied philosophy and communication sciences and has been affiliated with the department of communication sciences since 1989, where she was chair of the department until becoming rector of the university. She obtained her PhD in 1995 with research that focused on the audiovisual policy of the European Union (EU). Related to this, she specialised in European and national media policy issues and the economy of the media sector. From 2000 to 2016 Caroline Pauwels was director of the SMIT research centre, which specialises in the study of information and communication technologies, is home to some 70 researchers, and since 2004 has been part of iMinds, which merged with IMEC in 2016. SMIT research focuses among other things on 'digital health', with an eye for existing and future digital applications around e-care, well-being and robotics.  At iMinds, Caroline Pauwels led the Digital Society Department that brings together research groups from Ghent, Leuven and Brussels. She was awarded the national Francqui Chair from the University of Ghent in 2014, and was holder of the Jean Monnet Chair between 2012 and 2016. In addition, she serves on various boards of directors, she served as government commissioner at the VRT, and is a member of the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Sciences and Arts.
 
 
The board of directors thanks Mr Marc Verhamme for his efforts in the board of directors and the way in which he contributed his expertise for eight years to the deliberations and decision-making in the board of directors.