MultiChoice Group announced a raft of executive leadership changes on Monday. Following the conclusion of its acquisition by France’s Groupe Canal+, the JSE-listed pay-television group has a new CEO, David Mignot, who replaces incumbent Calvo Mawela.
Many are asking who Mignot is and what should MultiChoice employees, investors and the television-watching public expect from his leadership of the DStv and Showmax parent?
Mignot has worked in the telecommunications industry for nearly 30 years, with most of that time spent in executive positions. He is a telecoms engineer and economist by training.
French-born Mignot was raised in the Mennecy countryside, a region of Essone, some 50km south of Paris. After obtaining a bachelor’s qualification in mathematics from the Lycée Henri IV public secondary school in Paris in 1992, he went on to obtain a telecoms engineering diploma from the Paris Polytechnic Institute, a master’s in economics from Université Paris Dauphine and a master’s in telecoms from Télécom Paris, which is ranked as one of the leading ICT schools in France.
He started his career as a consultant for Dittberner Associates, an international market research and consulting firm specialising in the telecommunications sector. Mignot then moved to Bossard Conseil, in another consulting role, where he served for three years between 1996 and 1999 before acquiring his first executive position.
Mignot served as group CEO of Parabole Réunion, a broadcast and media distribution company based in St Denis on the island of Réunion, for nine years from 1999 to 2008. He became group CEO of telecoms provider Outremer Telecom in 2008. At Outremer, Mignot successfully restored the company to profitability and implemented new mobile offerings, according to the MultiChoice website.
Canal+ role
Mignot joined Groupe Canal+ in 2011 as chief operating officer of Canal+ Africa and has been with the company ever since. After nearly two years in the Africa chief operating officer role, he was appointed as CEO of Canal+ Africa in 2013.
Canal+ Africa grew significantly under his leadership. Mignot broadened market penetration, expanded digital offerings and increased investment in local content. Its subscriber base grew from 500 000 when he took over in 2013 to eight million just prior to the MultiChoice takeover.
Mignot’s responsibility as CEO of the MultiChoice Group is likely to include a rationalisation of the two companies’ technology estates and a decision on what to do with the recently revamped and expensive Showmax platform. Mignot will have to figure out how to stem subscriber losses at DStv.
Read: Board shake-up as French take control of MultiChoice
“As a combined company, we are building on strong foundations to create a media and entertainment powerhouse to serve African consumers. Together we will harness digital innovation, from streaming and mobile platforms to advanced distribution, to expand access, enhance experiences and bring compelling programming to more homes, while giving Africa a stronger voice on the world stage,” Mignot said in a statement on Monday following his appointment to the top job at MultiChoice. – © 2025 NewsCentral Media
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