Surprise at the general meeting of Societe Generale.
Frédéric Oudéa, its managing director, announced to shareholders on Tuesday that he was entering his last year at the head of the bank.
In May 2023, he will not seek the renewal of his term of office as director and chief executive officer.
"It's a decision made with humility, a lot of emotion but also a lot of personal serenity
," he said, stressing that he had
"considered a lot about the various possible options."
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Arriving at the head of Societe Generale in 2008 at the age of 45, Frédéric Oudéa holds the record for longevity for a leader of a major bank in Europe.
His takeover occurred in the midst of a storm linked to the Kerviel affair.
This former student of the École polytechnique (same promotion as Élisabeth Borne) and of the ENA, then had to face the crisis in the euro zone and a few scandals (Libor, etc.).
A few weeks ago, he announced the sale of his Russian bank, Rosbank.
An operation that will cost 3.1 billion euros to Societe Generale.
An open succession
"The board of directors intends to do everything possible to ensure that this transition is fully successful
," said Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, chairman of the bank's board of directors, on Tuesday.
Regarding the succession, the process has been launched, I cannot say more at this stage.
Internally, names have been circulating for a long time for the succession of Frédéric Oudéa.
Sébastien Proto, who orchestrates the thorny merger of the Societe Generale and Crédit du Nord networks, is often presented as the best placed to take up the torch.
The name of the head of financing and investment activities, Slawomir Krupa, is also mentioned.
But all options would still be on the table.
“The announcement of his departure a year in advance leaves Frédéric Oudéa and the other administrators of the bank time to meet external candidates”
, underlines a connoisseur of Societe Generale.
