Vivendi taps Roussel to run SFR, Levy leaves group

News General Global 29 JUN 2012
Vivendi taps Roussel to run SFR, Levy leaves group
Vivendi's senior vice president for human resources, Stephane Roussel, has been chosen for the role of chairman and CEO of French broadband and mobile operator SFR. The post is being vacated by Vivendi chairman Jean-Bernard Levy, who joined the group as COO in August 2002 and became chairman of the board in 2005. Levy was named temporary CEO of SFR earlier this year, taking the reins from Franck Esser. Vivendi also announced that Levy was stepping down as chairman of the group's management board following a divergence of views on the group's strategic development. While at the group, he oversaw the disposal the US cinema business, the launch of SFR's broadband business and its eventual sale, the merger of game companies Activision and Blizzard and the acquisition of Brazilian broadband operator GVT. Roussel's appointment will be put up to a vote by Vivendi's board of directors. The board of management's new chairman is Vivendi general counsel Jean-Francois Dubos and its only other member is CFO Philippe Capron. Jean-Rene Fourtou is chairman of the supervisory board. Previous reports tipped Vodafone Europe's Michel Combes to become the next head of SFR.

Categories:

General

Companies:

SFR,  GVT,  Vivendi

Regions:

Global

Countries:

France

Tags:

Unified communications, Games, Wireline, Wireless, Internet Access, Broadcast, Digital Music, Officers & directors

Related Articles

GLOBAL 16 DEC 2013

Vivendi appoints Havas COO Philippe as CFO

French media and telecom group Vivendi has appointed Herve Philippe as CFO, effective 1 January 2014. Previously CFO and COO at Havas, Philippe began his career with Credit National bank in the early 1980s, handling business loans in the Ile-de-France region. After eight years at the Paris stock market regulator COB, he joined Sagem as director of legal and administrative affairs. Philippe was hired by Havas in November 2005 and was appointed CFO in May 2010. The appointment shows the growing influence of s

GLOBAL 9 SEP 2013

Bollore wants Vivendi chairman job - report

French telecom and entertainment conglomerate Vivendi has picked up the pace in the last few days in its search for a chairman to succeed Jean-Francois Dubos, who holds the post on an interim basis, writes Les Echos. The nominating committee is due to meet during the week of 9 September, and the supervisory committee is expected to ratify the decision before the end of the month. The headhunting operation, underway since the start of the summer, came up with Bertelsmann chairman and CEO Thomas Rabe as the f

FRANCE 24 MEI 2013

SFR appoints Ricour as director of transformation

French operator SFR has appointed Herve-Matthieu Ricour to the new post of director of transformation and special projects, the company's new CEO, Jean-Yves Charlier wrote in a memo to staff seen by La Tribune newspaper. Ricour was most recently director of strategy and development at SFR's Brazilian sister company GVT and previously worked for parent-company Vivendi and at SFR.. Charlier writes of plans to accelerate SFR's "ONE" transformation strategy to reposition the operator in a changing French teleco

FRANCE 28 FEB 2013

Vivendi pays EUR 3.9 mln to former SFR CEO

The former CEO of French operator SFR, Frank Esser, received a 'golden parachute' of EUR 3.9 million from the company when he left last March. Jean-Bernard Levy, the former CEO of parent company Vivendi, received the same amount when he departed in June, reports BFM Business from the company's annual report. Levy received 16 months pay (fixed and variable), as well as keeping all his stock options and bonus shares. He will also receive a pro rata share of his variable remuneration for 2012 in March this yea

FRANCE 12 SEP 2012

SFR finalising new management structure - report

French operator SFR's CEO, Stephane Roussel, is expected to present a new structure and top management reshuffle to unions during the week of 17 September, reports Les Echos. SFR's key executives will be Pierre Trotot, who maintains his role of deputy CEO and CFO, Franck Cadoret, who will be promoted to deputy CEO and will continue to head consumer operations, and Pierre-Alain Allemand, who is currently in charge of networks and will also be given responsibility for IT systems. Jeremie Manigne, head of inno

FRANCE 21 AUG 2012

Vivendi appoints Charlier as head of telecoms

French telecoms and media group Vivendi has appointed supervisory board member Jean-Yves Charlier as senior executive vice president in charge of telecoms activities. Vivendi owns operators SFR, Maroc Telecom and Brazil's GVT. He will leave the supervisory board and his role as chairman of the strategic committee to take up the new post in October. Charlier, who has been CEO of interactive learning company Promethean since 2007, previously worked as chairman and CEO of Colt Telecom, head of European operati

BRAZIL 17 AUG 2012

Vivendi taps Rothschild, Deutsche Bank for GVT sale – report

Vivendi has hired Rothschild and Deutsche Bank to study strategic options for its Brazilian operator GVT, Bloomberg reports, citing two people familiar with the matter. According to the same source, Vivendi may sell the company, or a stake, or propose an initial public offering.

GLOBAL 6 AUG 2012

Fourtou will see Vivendi through restructure - report

Vivendi's interim chairman, Jean-Rene Fourtou, may stay at the helm of French operator SFR longer than expected despite the emergence of several candidates, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Vivendi said it would take its time in choosing a new group chairman and a new CEO for French operator SFR, in the wake of Jean-Bernard Levy and Frank Esser's departures. Candidates for group chairman include former Goldman Sachs banker Yoel Zaoui, GE France CEO Clara Gaymard and former Apple Europe chief Pa

GLOBAL 9 JUL 2012

Vivendi sounds out potential buyers for Activision - report

French telecoms and entertainment conglomerate Vivendi has asked a bank to unofficially start sounding out potential buyers of its US-based, 61 percent videogame subsidiary Activision Blizzard, reports Reuters, citing five people familiar with the matter. The sale could rise up to USD 10 billion, more than enough to restore Vivendi to financial health. Potential buyers include China's Tencent, Time Warner, Microsoft, KKR, Providence and Blackstone, the sources said. Activision Blizzard turned over USD 4.76

EUROPE 4 JUL 2012

Combes stays to oversee Vodafone Europe transition

Vodafone Europe CEO Michel Combes will stay several more months to ensure the transition and appointment of a new management team at Vodafone in Europe, Dow Jones reports. Combes earlier announced his departure from Vodafone to become CEO of French operator SFR. However, he abandoned the French job when Jean-Bernard Levy, chairman of SFR's parent Vivendi, stepped down. Stephane Roussel, Vivendi's head of HR, was named the new CEO of SFR.

FRANCE 4 JUL 2012

Vivendi may split media assets from telecoms - report

French media and telecoms group Vivendi is likely to be planning a major restructuring to release shareholder value from its many and diverse subsidiaries, according to business newspapers in France and elsewhere. Former Vivendi CEO Jean-Bernard Levy said at the first quarter results announcement that the group's share value failed to reflect its strong position in many markets. A separation of media and telecom assets, in the manner of Rupert Murdoch's holdings, would go in this direction, writes the Finan

FRANCE 3 JUL 2012

SFR introduces voluntary redundancy programme

French mobile and broadband operator SFR has presented a voluntary redundancy programme set to begin in November to worker representatives, reports AFP. The 10,000-employee company is giving priority to internal mobility and training until the reorganisation begins in November. Without giving an indication of how many jobs are set to go, an SFR spokesman said that the package will be put to unions for negotiation. Its method and timetable have already been presented. The announcement follows the recent appo

FRANCE 28 JUN 2012

Vivendi seeks steeper OPEX cuts at SFR

Vivendi CEO Jean-Bernard Levy said by video link to investors attending a JP Morgan Chase conference that he will focus on cutting costs at French mobile and broadband subsidiary SFR. Bloomberg reports that Levy confirmed the group's full-year forecast and repeated his commitment to a BBB ratings from Standard & Poor's. During the first week of August, he will disclose to unions detailed plans to cut SFR's operating expenses by around EUR 350 million, in addition to the EUR 450 million already budgeted for

FRANCE 15 MEI 2012

Vivendi posts Q1 revenues down 0.9% to EUR 7.12 billion

Vivendi reported revenues down 0.9 percent to EUR 7.12 billion in the first quarter, compared with EUR 7.18 billion in the year-earlier period, as lower turnover at French operator SFR and video game subsidiary Activision Blizzard were nearly offset by increased revenues from all other activities. Vivendi's EBITA decreased by 4.9 percent to EUR 1.62 billion in the first quarter, reflecting lower earnings at Activision Blizzard, pay TV group Canal Plus and SFR, partially offset by improvements at Brazilian o

FRANCE 3 MEI 2012

Vodafone Europe CEO Combes picked to head SFR

Vivendi has chosen Vodafone Europe CEO Michel Combes to become the next chairman and CEO of French operator SFR and a member of the Vivendi management board starting on 1 August. Vodafone said that Combes will stay in his post until 31 July and that an announcement on succession plans for his role would be made in due course. Combes, who has been in charge of Vodafone Europe since October 2008, began his career at France Telecom in 1986, worked as technical advisor to the French minister of transport from

Just In

19 DEC 16:42

SLT-Mobitel launches 5G network in Sri Lanka

19 DEC 16:19

Dialog Axiata launches 5G network, connects 1.5 million subscribers

19 DEC 15:56

UK govt to ban AI-enabled nudification apps to protect women, girls

19 DEC 15:42

3 UK launches last-minute Christmas sale

Commentary

13:56

Video market set for slower growth ahead

11:38

Netflix buys Warner Bros to deepen content catalogue

11:11

KPN's mixed performance in Q3 raises questions for strategy day

15:26

Stock markets breaking records but what happened to Odido's IPO plans?

Background

01:04

The week in telecom: Wi-Fi bolt-ons take off to boost broadband growth, video market works on consolidation

01:39

The week in telecom: Netflix wins bidding for Warner Bros, Apple poaches new execs, Samsung debuts trifold

13:51

Proximus vs. Telenet: Proximus performs better in Q3 while Telenet uses up cash

14:16

Proximus Domestic still struggling with low margins

Complete profile

Before downloading the whitepaper, we would like to ask you to complete your profile with company and position. After confirming you will receive the white paper.