Xavier Verellen to Become New Commercial Director of Plopsa Group

As announced earlier today, Xavier Verellen will take over as the new Commercial Director leading the sales and marketing team of the Plopsa Group as of 2 May. Koen Clement, interim CEO of the Plopsa Group, says: “We are very excited about the arrival of Xavier. He brings experience, drive and creativity. Hard work, too, and that fits right in with the corporate culture of this wonderful company. Xavier will lead a top team of marketers, graphic designers and sales people.”

Xavier Verellen holds a master’s degree in applied economics as well as one in accounting and finance. His interest in media led him to study journalism at Utrecht University. He then earned a graduate diploma from the Higher Institute of Graphic Arts in Antwerp. His professional career began with the founding of Automax, a magazine about used cars, which was then sold to the British listed company Autotrader. Verellen then worked for 16 years at the Belgian DPG Media media group, where he started as Marketing Director of Dag Allemaal, Joepie, Outside, Goed Gevoel and Netwerk. He became Commercial Director of the Belgian newspaper group with titles such as Het Laatste Nieuws and De Morgen. He was then appointed Chief Commercial Officer for Belgium and the Netherlands.

He launched Persgroep Digital and reorganized the commercial organization of the largest Dutch newspaper publisher after the takeover with titles such as AD and De Volkskrant. In these capacities, he worked with the management of Studio 100 on an almost weekly basis. In addition, Xavier Verellen is co-owner of QelviQ, a U.S. Internet of Things (IoT) company. (eap)