More musical chairs at the France-based group as it implements a wide-ranging reshuffle of top management at its European operations.

Anne Morris, Contributing Editor, Light Reading

July 7, 2020

2 Min Read
Orange unveils new CEOs for Belgium and Poland

Orange has revealed the identities of the new CEOs for its Belgian and Polish units, announcing that Xavier Pichon will take on the top role in Belgium and Julien Ducarroz in Poland with effect from September 1.

Pichon replaces Michaël Trabbia, who is taking on the role of chief technology and innovation officer for the Orange group. Pichon re-joins Orange from the Boston Consulting Group; prior to this, he was deputy CEO at Orange France.

Ducarroz, who is currently the CEO of Orange Moldova, replaces Jean-François Fallacher, who is moving to become the CEO of Orange Spain. A new CEO for Orange Moldova is to be announced soon. The former CEO of Orange Spain, Laurent Paillassot, has left the group.

Group CEO Stéphane Richard had already announced plans for sweeping changes to the operator's European management in June, including the appointment of deputy CEO Mari-Noëlle Jégo-Laveissière as new head of the Europe region. Jégo-Laveissière is taking over from Ramon Fernandez, who has become group executive director for finance, performance and development.

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At the time of the June announcement, Richard said the group was being positioned for the period following the acute phase of the COVID-19 health crisis. The European operations outside France include Poland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Romania, Slovakia, Moldova and Spain, which Orange said generate a combined 25% of group revenue.

Orange has certainly not emerged unscathed from the effects of the pandemic. In April, it said it would propose a reduction in its dividend for 2020, for example. The group was still able to report slight revenue growth in the January-March period of 2020, although the second quarter, when the pandemic was in full swing, will have proved more challenging.

Certainly, all eyes will be on second-quarter results, when operators should have a better idea of the full impact of the health crisis and update guidance accordingly.

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— Anne Morris, contributing editor, special to Light Reading

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About the Author(s)

Anne Morris

Contributing Editor, Light Reading

Anne Morris is a freelance journalist, editor and translator. She has been working in the telecommunications sector since 1996, when she joined the London-based team of Communications Week International as copy editor. Over the years she held the editor position at Total Telecom Online and Total Tele-com Magazine, eventually leaving to go freelance in 2010. Now living in France, she writes for a number of titles and also provides research work for analyst companies.

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