SFR named Michel Paulin as its new CEO, replacing Eric Denoyer who is leaving the France-based operator as part of a general overhaul of its management structure.
Paulin was previously head of Morocco-based Meditel, which is 49 per cent-owned by SFR rival Orange.
Michel Combes, the chairman of SFR as well as COO of its parent company Altice, said Paulin had been appointed to head a "dream team" that would help SFR reach its goal of becoming the market leader in the provision of "ultra broadband" services and content.
Earlier in January, Combes told Les Echos that the operator, which has carried out some aggressive promotions in recent months, saw positive net sales in the fourth quarter of last year.
Denoyer was a key architect of the merger between SFR and Numericable following SFR's acquisition by Altice. However, the company has been losing customers following a period of cost cutting and restructuring. Citing figures from Deutsche Bank, Reuters said it lost around 1.3 million mobile customers last year while its rivals continued to gain market share.
SFR -- which the group now seems to be using as its name in place of Numericable-SFR -- could also face a new challenge if Orange and Bouygues Telecom eventually merge. The two companies said at the beginning of January that they were discussing several options.
Combes -- the former CEO of Alcatel-Lucent -- has also previously said that the future executive committee of SFR would be organised into three pillars: commerce, operations and support.
Guillaume de Lavallade has been appointed head of the enterprise division, while Christophe Delaye is the new head of IT and Emeric Dont will be in charge of process and quality of service. Florence Cauvet was appointed head of human resources while Régis Turrini is to take on the role of general secretary. The appointments will all take effect by the end of the first quarter.
The company is also seeking a new executive director for B2C to replace Eric Klipfel, who is leaving to join Altice.
For more:
- see this SFR release
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