John French joins Bonhill Group as US board chairman

John French, the former CEO of Penton Media and Cygnus Business Media, has joined Bonhill Group Inc., the publisher of InvestmentNews, as chairman of the board for the U.S.

French will help provide strategy and guidance for the InvestmentNews family of businesses and help propel it “to its next level of growth,” said Christine Shaw, CEO of InvestmentNews and a director of Bonhill Inc.

French was president of Primedia’s business-to-business division when it was sold to Wasserstein & Co. and remained in that role when the company was renamed Prism Business Media. When that company was acquired by Penton Media, French became CEO of Penton.

Later, he served as CEO of Cygnus Business Media, where he created digital platforms for each of the brands and then successfully sold the company in several parts.

For the past six years, French and his wife, Nancy, have led French LLC, and he will continue to operate the consulting firm.