The CEO of Orange Stéphane Richard, whose mandate at the head of the telephone operator comes to an end in mid-2022, formulated in the
Journal du Dimanche
the “
personal wish
” to remain president of the group after this date, by dissociating the function of general manager.
Read alsoThe black week of Stéphane Richard, CEO of Orange
"
To remain in the group as chairman in a renewed and dissociated governance is my personal wish, but it will of course be up to the board of directors to decide
", he declared in the weekly.
“
Being the chairman of the board is a function that takes up more and more of my time,
” he adds.
“At the
same time, I observe that recent changes in the governance of CAC 40 companies have led to the separation of the functions of Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer.
I think it's a good thing if the tandem works.
It will naturally be up to Orange shareholders to decide when the time comes
”.
Malfunction of emergency numbers
The French telecoms giant, which suffered a net loss of 2.76 billion euros in the first half, mainly due to asset depreciation in Spain, has as its largest shareholder the French State, which holds 23% of the group's capital and 29.43% of the voting rights at General Meetings. Orange was recently singled out by the government following a vast malfunction of the emergency numbers system in France, making it for many French people inaccessible or reachable only after multiple attempts on 15, 17, 18 and 112.
Stéphane Richard, CEO of Orange since 2011, has also displayed his serenity before the Court of Appeal of Paris renders its decision in early October in the Bernard Tapie case, in which he is accused of "
complicity in fraud
" and “
complicity in embezzlement of public funds
”. "
I hope to be relaxed, as in the first instance,
" he told the JDD. "
If there were to be a conviction, the board of directors and I would immediately review the situation and make the necessary decisions in the best interests of Orange
."
