Breton leaves Zodiak’s Marathon, Alessandri appointed CEO

Pascal Breton, the co-founder of Marathon, has stepped down as CEO of the French production company. He will be succeeded at the Zodiak Media-owned firm by Philippe Alessandri who is currently CEO of Tele Images Productions.

“Pascal Breton has decided to pursue new personal projects and to concentrate on being an independent producer,” Zodiak said in a statement issued this morning.

He created Marathon in 1990 with Olivier Brémond who left the industry in 2006. Breton will continue to work with Zodiak Media, the company said, while producing the series Sous le Soleil de Saint-Tropez and the international coproduction Versailles.

Alessandri, meanwhile, will run Marathon in addition to his current role at Tele Images Productions.

Marathon Images encompasses the production companies Marathon (Saint-Tropez, Dolmen, Summer Camp) and GTV (Blood on the Docks, Night Squad, Highlander).

Breton said: “Whilst it is never easy to leave the company one has created and a very talented team with whom strong bonds have been created, this feels like the right time for me to develop more personal projects. It fills me with enormous pride to have grown Marathon to the leading position it has reached in the business, building on successes such as Dolmen or Saint-Tropez. I leave a very talented team of producers behind which I fully trust to continue the business.”

David Frank, CEO of Zodiak Media, adds: “Marathon is with no doubt one of the strongest brands of our group and we owe this to Pascal. Looking at the future I am very happy that Philippe has agreed to take on responsibility for running Marathon Images, alongside his role at Tele Images Productions.”