“By appointing Christel Heydemann, currently Managing Director Europe Operations of Schneider Electric, the Board has chosen a personality with recognized skills in the world of telecoms and business transformation”, said Orange.
Christel Heydemann, also director of the telecommunications group, will thus succeed Stphane Richard, the emblematic boss at the head of the operator for 12 years. He had been forced to resign after being sentenced last November to a suspended prison sentence and a fine of 50,000 euros for complicity in the embezzlement of public funds in the context of the “Tapie” affair.
Stphane Richard should however remain in post until the arrival of his replacement. In addition, the Orange Board having acted on the separation of the functions of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, the businessman will also continue to hold the position of Chairman after April 4, until May 19 at the most. later, date of the general meeting of the group. This will allow time for the Board of Directors to find the ideal candidate for this position.
A graduate of the Ecole Polytechnique and the Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chausses, Christel Heydemann is not new to the world of telecommunications. In fact, she joined the Alcatel group in 1999, where she held various responsibilities, particularly within the framework of the merger between Alcatel and Lucent. In 2011, she joined the Executive Committee of Alcatel-Lucent as General Manager of Human Resources and Transformation.
“As a Group Director for almost five years, I have been able to understand the technological challenges facing our company, declared the interested party after her appointment. I know that the challenges are major, but it is also an immense honor to contribute to the development of one of the major players in the telecom industry”.