Orange CEO Christel Heydemann (pictured) highlighted its operations in the Middle East and Africa region alongside its business services segment as key growth areas, as she appointed new bosses to the divisions.

As of the start of July, Orange MEA will be led by the subsidiary’s current director of operations and deputy CEO Jerome Henique. He takes over from current chairman and CEO Alioune Ndiaye, who will focus on his role as non-executive chairman following the handover.

Its Orange Business Services division will be led by Aliette Mousnier-Lompre, who was previously doing the job on an interim basis following the departure of predecessor Helmut Reisinger in January 2022. Her appointment is effective immediately.

In a statement, Orange cited MEA as key region in the group’s future, but added it faced challenges on network construction, financial services and development of new digital services.

Discussing the appointments, Heydemann said: “The changes announced today reflect the priorities for the next few months on which we must now accelerate.”

“The B2B sector, as well as the Africa and Middle East segment, are two key markets for Orange. The successful transformation and development of our operations in these sectors will enable us to ensure sustainable growth going forward.”