Claude Guillemot, one of the founders of Ubisoft, dies after an air accident in France

The entrepreneur and member of Ubisoft's board of directors lost his life on June 19 in an accident near La Baule.

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Ubisoft is going through one of the saddest moments in its history. The French company has suffered the loss of Claude Guillemot, one of its founders and a key figure in the growth of the group over the past four decades. The entrepreneur passed away on June 19 after being involved in an air accident near the La Baule airfield in France.

Although his brother Yves Guillemot has been the most visible face of Ubisoft for years, Claude played an essential role in the company from its inception, contributing to both technical development and commercial expansion of one of the most important companies in the sector.

Claude Guillemot was part of Ubisoft’s founding core

According to initial reports, Claude Guillemot was on board a Cessna 421 twin-engine plane, which he also owned. At the time of the accident, he was serving as Executive Vice President of Operations and a member of Ubisoft’s Board of Directors.

The Guillemot family founded Ubisoft in the 1980s and turned the company into one of the most influential names in the industry, thanks to renowned franchises such as Assassin’s Creed, Rayman, Far Cry, Prince of Persia, and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six.

Although Claude always maintained a much more discreet profile than Yves Guillemot, within the company, he was considered a fundamental piece in building the group and one of the responsible for its international expansion. The news is a severe blow to Ubisoft and the entire Guillemot family. The gaming industry thus loses one of the men who helped build one of the most important publishers of the last few decades.