Orange chairman Hans Snook has decided to step down early next year.
France Telecom today announced that once its mobile interests are floated on the Paris stock exchange early next year under the Orange name, Orange chairman and former CEO Hans Snook will move to an advisory role with the company, leaving the board. His replacement will be France Telecom chairman Michel Bon. Mr Snook has been with Orange since its inception in 1993, overseeing its launch and developing it to one of the strongest brands in the telecoms industry. It is widely accepted that he played a key role in Orange’s success.
France Telecom paid GBP25 billion for the original Orange business earlier this year, prior to merging it with its existing mobile operations. The commercial logic behind this hefty outlay was three-fold: France Telecom acquired the Orange brand, eight million customers, and one of the industry’s most successful management teams. The first two of these are still undeniably strong. The last no longer exists.
Is this a problem? The group is unlikely to collapse without Mr Snook’s involvement. France Telecom’s mobile services even prior to the Orange acquisition were successful – indeed, compared to other former national monopolies such as BT and AT&T, the French firm is doing extremely well. And it would be foolish to write off new Orange CEO Jean Francois Pontal, who has successfully led France Telecom’s mass-market products and services division.
Although investors reacted badly to the move, with a 3% fall in France Telecom’s share price, today’s decision looks like a good one. It has already become clear France Telecom is not prepared to allow Orange full operating independence, and so it is better to establish a clear chain of command leading back to Paris rather than risking major disputes on the Orange board. The future for Orange is a little dimmer than it once seemed, but still looks bright.
