Engie Forms New Management Team
The new CEO of French energy giant Engie, Isabelle Kocher, has formed a new management team and set it a four-part series of objectives in order to steer the company through the 'energy revolution,' the company said May 4.
Kocher, who until this week was deputy CEO, said the aim is to redesign the company within three years, making it a leader by the adoption of innovative, digital technology, a goal it announced on February 25.
Kocher's plan envisages: the creation of an 'accelerate' task force whose objective is to simplify and streamline the 'activity portfolio'; the appointment to the executive committee of an innovation and technology executive vice-president and the appointment of another who will be responsible for the company's digital transformation; assignment to each executive committee member an operational as well as a functional role across the various departments; and then to combine the group's functions, after consultation with the relevant employee representative bodies.
Kocher has appointed four senior managers as executive vice presidents to join the executive committee: Paulo Almirante, who served in several operational capacities in Portugal, Brazil and the UK; Pierre Deheunynck, who serves on an interim basis as head of communications until his appointment in the summer as executive vice-president for human resources and global business services; Yves Le Gélard, an expert in information systems and digital technology; and Thierry Lepercq, a co-founder of renewable energy company Solairedirect, acquired by Engie in 2015.
There are seven other members of the executive committee, including Pierre Chareyre, whose responsibilities include the company's global upstream and LNG businesses; Judith Hartmann, the CFO, who will be responsible for the UK and North America business units; and Didier Holleaux, who is in charge of 'the gas chain', decentralized solutions for cities and territories, and the Tractebel and Asia Pacific business units.
On January 1, 2016, the company set up a new organizational structure with 24 business units, based on geography, intending to make the company more responsive and better connected to its customers and stakeholders.
The Group also embarked upon “Lean 2018,” an ambitious operational performance program, which aims to reduce net costs by €1bn within three years, improve efficiency and contribute financing for investments.
Gerard Mestrallet, the veteran Engie boss, remains group chairman but handed the top executive role over to Kocher this week. She is the only woman to head one of France's top 40 listed companies and was previously Engie's finance chief before handing over that role to Hartmann in 2012.
William Powell
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