Nourry has extensive international corporate experience during a distinguished career with particular expertise in the area of content, publishing and digital transformation.

From 2003 until 2021, he was Chairman and Chief Executive of the 200-year-old famous publishing house, Hachette Livre. During his 18 years at Hachette Livre he grew the company from the 15th-largest to the second-largest publishing group in the world, and led the company’s digital transformation.

A graduate of the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Paris (ESCP), the French national, who has a keen interest in rugby, has been Chairman of the ESCP Europe Alumni and has been awarded the Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur and the Chevalier de l’ordre national du Mérite.

Commenting on the appointment, EPCR Chairman, Dominic McKay, said: “I am delighted that Arnaud is joining as one of our independent non-executive directors.

“It is a particularly exciting time for EPCR as we prepare to welcome the leading South African clubs into the tournaments. The addition of Arnaud’s considerable commercial and international experience will greatly assist the Board of EPCR in delivering our new strategy over the coming years.”

Arnaud Nourry said: “Rugby has been one of my passions since I was a kid. Joining the talented Board of EPCR is a huge honour and I look forward to bringing my motivation and energy to the rugby community. I’d like to thank Dominic and the Board for their trust.”

The 2022/23 Heineken Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup will be played over eight weekends and the journey to the 2023 finals at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium – for which close to 55,000 tickets have already been sold – kicks off on Friday, 9 December.

The EPCR Board is made up of the following members:

Dominic McKay (Chairman)
Anthony Lepage (EPCR Interim Chief Executive)
Martin Anayi (URC CEO)
Emmanuel Eschalier (LNR CEO)
Simon Massie-Taylor (PRL CEO)
Mark McCafferty (independent director)
Arnaud Nourry (independent director)
Bill Sweeney (RFU CEO)
Andrea Rinaldo (FIR)

EPCR, tournament organiser of the Heineken Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup, is pleased to announce that Arnaud Nourry has been appointed to the Board as an independent non-executive director.