French incumbent Orange (EPA:ORA) has appointed new CEOs for four subsidiaries in Africa and the Middle East: Orange Guinea, Orange Mali, Jordan Telecom and Sonatel.
The appointments, effective from 13 September, closely follow Orange’s agreement to buy four African businesses (Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Chad and Congo-Brazzaville) from India’s Airtel.
All are internal hires in line with the group’s international mobility policy and come into play at the end of the current CEOs’ terms.
Éric Bouquillon (pictured) will take the helm of Orange Guinea, joining from Orange Reunion and Mayotte, where he has been CEO and General Manager since 2010. He joined Orange 30 years ago, starting in sales and becoming director of a technical assistance unit before taking on his current role.
Bouquillon succeeds Alassane Diene, who will head up Orange Mali, replacing Jean-Luc Bohé. Diene managed Orange Guinea from its creation in November 2007. In his 29 years in telecoms, he has also served as head of auditing and management control and of human resources at mobile and fixed-line unit Sonatel in Senegal.
Jérôme Hénique, deputy CEO of Sonatel since 2010, will become CEO of Jordan Telecom, succeeding Jean-François Thomas. In his more than 20 years with the French telco, he has held executive roles in France, Spain and Senegal, including as senior vice president for group marketing.
Thierry Marigny will head up Sonatel, replacing Hénique. His most recent role was global brand vice president, which saw him launch the overhaul of the Orange brand. Previous positions include chief marketing officer at Mobistar, deputy CEO of Lebanese mobile operator Cellis, founder and CEO of start-up Cityneo and CEO of Orange Tunisia.
Commenting on the new appointments, Orange International executive VP for Africa, Middle East and Asia, Marc Rennard, said: “They will continue and enhance the development of their respective subsidiaries, in an innovation-driven environment”. He added that their contributions will be “vital” for ensuring the success of the group’s growth strategy in the region.
