Five months after assuming the helm of the operator, Christel Heydemann renews its executive committee. And print the mark of it. Carefully.
Orange announced on September 12 a reshuffle of its executive committee: arrival of a new HRD, change of manager at Orange Bank, departure of the communication director… Movements in addition to two appointments announced at the end of May. Five months after taking over, the operator’s CEO, Christel Heydemann, is making her mark. Was it “slow to start”, as some criticize? It is argued, in Orange, that precipitation would be dangerous, at a time when large operations are underway: integration of an operator in Romania, merger with MasMovil in Spain… “The new leader first went through a phase of astonishment when he discovered the complexity of Orange, then he took the time to reflect. It is an intelligence test”, defends a good connoisseur of the group.
The changes in the executive committee – mainly internal promotions, with the exception of HRD, which came from industry – also testify to a desire to transform without brutalizing. Which is not necessarily a guarantee of a good decision: the appointment of a Frenchman to replace the head of the Africa region, the Malian Alioune Ndiaye, would go wrong.
This caution will not prevent the new boss from tackling some priority projects without waiting for the presentation of her strategic plan in February. Announcements are planned in October to reorganize Orange Business Services (OBS), the business services division now run by Aliette Mousnier-Lompré. While this entity’s problems are not new, its financial outlook has deteriorated. The sale of connectivity collapses. And in the more dynamic part of “services”, Orange faces competition from Capgemini or Accenture. However, the OBS troops are fighting in scattered order. “Divisions work in silos. Sometimes they even find themselves competing for bids,” testifies a senior OBS manager.
The fate of Orange Bank […]