For some time now, a quiet revolution has been underway at Agence France-Presse. Foreign-born CEOs are running some of the country's most strategic companies, something that would have been unthinkable just a few decades ago.
Some of them have succeeded with the brief given to them, so this trend may continue.
The flag bearer of Air France-KLM, a symbol of this country's manufacturing industry. renault SA, the country's largest pharmaceutical company sanofi And the technology champion with the problem Athos All SEs, which serve the vital nuclear and defense industries, are led by non-French executives. While not uncommon in the UK or US, this phenomenon is causing major changes in the French corporate landscape. Jobs at major companies used to be given not only to French executives but also to those who attended certain elite schools such as the École Nationale. d'administrative or polytechnic.
“The world is becoming more flexible and very global, and CEO hiring reflects this,” said Philipp Wachter, chief economist at Ostrum Asset Management. „Older generations didn't have such an open culture.“
The hire coincides with the growing internationalization of France's largest companies, many of which derive more than 70% of their revenue outside France. Foreign CEOs still make up only 18% of France's top companies, below the global average of 25%. Data from executive recruiters Heidrick and the Struggle But it shows how executive experience is increasingly being prioritized over historical trends toward elitism. The move has also attracted the attention of President Emmanuel Macron, a former investment banker who was first elected in 2017. business-oriented attitude It helped him win white-collar votes. President Macron is pushing to reindustrialize France, attracting more technology companies to rival the centers of London, Frankfurt and Berlin, as well as attracting a diverse international talent pool.
One of the pioneers of this trend is Canadian-born Ben Smith, 52, who was tapped to lead Air France-KLM at a critical juncture in late 2018. People torn by labor disputes and trapped by strikes became famous in 2015 for a photo of a company executive climbing over a fence to escape after protesters had his shirt torn. Using a non-confrontational approach and focusing on the airline's French heritage, Mr Smith has successfully transformed the once-troubled Air France, with the group reporting record profits last year.
Still, Anne-Marie Couderc, chairman of Air France-KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, said in an interview that his nationality was an issue in the consideration.
„One of the government's questions was the fact that he was not French,“ she said. “But after meeting him, analyzing his profile and listening to his story, the government and shareholders all supported our choice. Indeed, as soon as we arrived, we learned French. It was important to him to improve.”
Smith relied on his close working relationship with former minister Coud'arc to navigate the complexities of the French government, which owns a 28% stake. Regarding labor relations, we turned to Anne Rigeir, CEO of Air France. French, she spends „30% to 50%“ of her time talking to unions and other employees (often alongside Smith) to ensure the strategy is understood. That's what it means. result: Week-long national strike In 2023, Air France had nothing to protest against the government's pension reforms.
Similar changes are underway at Renault, which has a 15% government stake. The automaker has been led by 56-year-old Italian-born CEO Luca de Meo since July 2020. employment in franceOnce again, we're betting that we can make at least some affordable electric cars at home and make a profit. De Meo took over Renault at a time when the company was losing millions of euros a day.It is now back in the black, paying dividends, and its market capitalization exceeds that of its partner companies. nissan Returned to Motor Company for the first time in several years.
The executive, who has more than 30 years of experience in the automotive industry and played a key role in the successful modification of the Fiat 500, is now investing heavily in the Made in France initiative, with the new Renault 5 made in France. It also has a national flag. The front light uses glass supplied by Cie. de Saint Gobain, another leading French company.
He renamed Renault's F1 team Alpine and appointed two French F1 drivers to it in order to revive the group's sports car brand. Renault has just opened a new concept store called rnlt in the heart of Boulevard Haussmann, just a stone's throw from the bustling tourist area around the Opéra Garnier in the French capital. On April 23, the company will hold a „What the Five Show'' to celebrate the new all-electric French Renault 5 in front of another landmark building in the French capital, Center Pompidou. , DeMeo is also renovating its Renault store on the Champs-Elysées as other brands retreat from the famous Parisian boulevard.
„You can't understand French better than this,“ DeMeo said in an interview last year.
De Meo, who had never run a listed company before taking the Renault top job, is assisted by a mentor and mentor in the difficult task of turning around a loss-making company traumatized by the drama surrounding Renault. Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard is also a collaborator. Former CEO Carlos Ghosn's sudden imprisonment in Japan. When Mr. Ghosn took over Renault in 2005, his non-French nationality was seen as a handicap for the Lebanese-Brazilian executive.
„When I wanted Mr. Ghosn to succeed me, I advised him to obtain French citizenship,“ said Louis Schweitzer, former Renault chairman and CEO. „Renault is a very symbolic company for France. I thought that would make him a stronger CEO.“
Schweitzer said more modern governance practices, such as splitting the roles of chairman and CEO, have probably made it easier to hire non-French CEOs, replacing a time when English was a language barrier for boards and French executives. He said it was over.
In fact, not being French may have helped both Air France-KLM's Smith and Renault's De Meo. Upon their arrival, both CEOs found relations with their respective companies' foreign partners strained, but their non-French neutrality may have facilitated negotiations.Demeo was successful unraveling complex relationships Mr. Smith, on the other hand, was part of the Dutch airline KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Group, and helped placate employees of the company, in which both governments own shares.
„Ben is culturally sensitive,“ Couderc said. “He respects not only the people but also the different brands of the group and the culture of the group.”
Mr. de Meo was awarded France's highest decoration, the Légion d'Honneur, last year. Mr. Smith is scheduled to receive it on April 23rd.
Foreign CEOs, or CEOs with dual citizenship, are at the helm of several other prominent French companies: 57-year-old German Peter Helweck runs a giant industrial company schneider electric SE and Paul Hudson, 56, is the CEO of French pharmaceutical company Sanofi. In strategic banking, French-Polish executive Sławomir Krupa beat out his French rival to take the top spot. société generale SA in 2022. Stellantis NV's peugeot The brand is run by British executive Linda Jackson.
Meanwhile, struggling French IT company Atos received interim funding from the French government this month to stay afloat as it struggles with debts of around 5 billion euros, but is now being run by U.S. national Paul Saleh. has been appointed as president. The company provides his IT services to the nuclear and defense sector, Olympic cyber security.
Indeed, there are very important and highly global sectors in France, such as the luxury goods industry, where French executives still control top jobs, especially when family-run. The sector underpins the country's benchmark CAC 40 index with some of the world's largest companies by market capitalization, and whose CEOs remain resolutely French. Billionaire Bernard Arnault is chairman and CEO of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, owner of Louis Vuitton, Europe's largest company. market price.Gucci owners' bosses kering SA and hermes international I'm also French.
But old nationalist taboos are melting as French companies seek a bigger slice of the global markets in which they operate, said Air France-KLM's Couderc.
“Many are French companies, based in France but with global operations,” she said. “Many companies want to develop across borders, which means being French is not a must.”