At its meeting this morning, the Board of Directors of Air France-KLM appointed Anne-Marie Couderc at the head of the airline group. A member of the Air France-KLM Board of Directors, the former minister in Alain Juppé's government between 1995 and 1997 will take over as interim CEO following Jean-Marc Janaillac's resignation, following the rejection of its proposal wage agreement. The members of the Board of Directors took the opportunity to " express their deep regret at the repeated strikes which have penalised Air France customers in recent weeks and disrupted their travel. "
Although this appointment was announced last night by Le Figaro, other personalities had been tipped by the press, in particular Anne-Marie Idrac, also a director of the group and also a minister under Alain Juppé as Secretary of State for Transport, then under François Fillon, then in charge of Foreign Trade. However, according to La Tribunewho was also president of RATP and SNCF, wanted to take the helm of the Group for the long term. at least, according to some, until the end of Jean-Marc Janaillac's term of office, which runs until May 2019. "
By appointing Anne-Maie Couderc as non-executive Chairman of the company, the Board of Directors of the Franco-Dutch group has decided in favour of a transitional governance solution. At the same time, a collegial management committee will be in charge of operational management and the coordination of strategic issues between the group and its airlines. This triumvirate is made up of the heads of the two airlines, i.e. Franck Terner for Air France and Pieter Elbers for KLM, together with the CFO of Air France-KLM, Frédéric Gagey, who will act as Group CEO.
" The Board of Directors is fully confident in the ability of the Group Management Board and Executive Committee to manage the Group's activities during this transition periodsaid Anne-Marie Couderc, non-executive Chairman of the Board of Air France-KLM. In addition, the Board is asking them to continue the work already underway on the main lines of Air France-KLM's medium-term strategic plan, which will be proposed to the Group's permanent governance. For my part, I shall pay particular attention to strengthening cohesion throughout this period ".
How long will this transition phase last? Air France-KLM stresses that it is " established for the period required to finalise the process of succeeding Jean-Marc Janaillac but at the same time specifies that this period must be "as short as possible". as brief as possible ". Among the names mooted for relaunching an airline at a time when competition from Lufthansa and IAG is becoming increasingly fierce, coupled with the emergence of long-haul low-cost airlines, is that of Pieter Elbers, the current CEO of KLM. And not a French CEO, as has been the tradition until now.
