Gilles Marchand is a Swiss media executive currently serving as the Director-General of SRG SSR (Société Suisse de Radiodiffusion et Télévision / Schweizerische Radio- und Fernsehgesellschaft / Società Svizzera di Radiotelevisione), the Swiss public broadcasting corporation. He assumed this role in October 2017.
Born in Lausanne, Switzerland, Marchand holds a degree in political science from the University of Lausanne. His career in media has spanned several decades, beginning with journalism before transitioning into various management positions.
Prior to his appointment as Director-General of SRG SSR, Marchand held significant leadership roles within the Swiss media landscape:
- From 2010 to 2017, he was the Director of Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS), the French-speaking unit of SRG SSR.
- Before joining RTS, he worked for the media group Ringier, one of Switzerland's largest media companies, where he held various responsibilities across its digital and print publications.
As Director-General of SRG SSR, Marchand is responsible for overseeing the national public broadcaster, which provides radio and television services across Switzerland's four linguistic regions (German, French, Italian, and Romansh). His tenure has involved addressing the evolving challenges of the media industry, including digitalization, changing audience habits, and ongoing political discussions regarding the funding and remit of public service broadcasting. He is a vocal proponent for the critical role of independent public media in fostering democratic discourse and cultural cohesion within Switzerland.