Jacob Abbou died Monday night at the age of 79 from cancer. A tireless entrepreneur, he left his mark on the automotive sector with the creation of the Journal de l’Automobile in 1979, an idea he had had following the discovery of the weekly Automotive News in the United States. At that time, the professional press was corporatist and most often affiliated with employers’ organizations. Le Journal de l’Automobile will be the first weekly and independent professional newspaper in the sector. He subsequently launched numerous newspapers and in particular the Journal du Contrôle Technique at the time of the establishment of this activity in France, Jacob Abbou even becoming the first French president of Dekra.
Before the press, he had been a forerunner in the development of billboards with Billboard panels, a company that he sold to Giraudy. He has created and managed a large number of companies, never hesitating to take risks. “I prefer trouble to boredom”, he used to say. Generations of HEC Entrepreneurs students have benefited from his iconoclastic advice.
Many journalists started their career in the press group he created and the editorial staff of Autoactu.com is no exception since there are four of us, Francine Degas, Xavier Champagne, Farida Sasha and myself, having spent several years there.
A Pied-noir Jew, proud of his origins, Jacob Abbou was a warm and charismatic personality. He was not always unanimous and his direct style could offend the “sensitive souls” but it was always possible to assert his point of view as long as we put in the commitment. I personally learned a lot from his contact and I owe him my appointment as editor-in-chief of the Journal de l’Automobile, a position I had not asked for and which he convinced me to accept.
The editorial staff of Autoactu presents its condolences to his wife, Martine AbbouHer daughters, Karine, carolina, Is she and his family.
The funeral will be held this Wednesday, September 7 at 11:30 a.m. at the Montparnasse cemetery.
