The Orange board has appointed Christel Heydemann as the group’s next CEO. She will officially take the new role on 04 April, following the announcement of Stephane Richard’s resignation in November 2021. Until then, Richard will maintain his current responsibilities. He will also continue to act as non-executive chairman until 19 May at the latest, when Orange holds its AGM. The board confirmed the decision to separate the previously combined functions of CEO and chairman, with an announcement on the name of the next chairman yet to be made.
The arrival of Heydemann will mark the end of Richard’s mandate after twelve years at the helm of Orange. Heydemann joins the group from Schneider Electric, where she has covered a number of senior roles over the past seven years, most recently as executive VP for Europe. She has also been working as one of the independent directors advising the Orange board, as a member of the audit committee.
Heydemann’s work career started in 1997 with a short spell at Boston Consulting Group. In 1999, she joined Alcatel as Trade and Project finance manager, and then served in several roles at Alcatel-Lucent, becoming part of the company’s executive committee in 2011, responsible for Human Resources and Transformation.
