19 May 2009
The board of directors of Thales met today prior to the Annual General Meeting of shareholders.
With a view to the implementation of the transaction announced in December 2008, whereby Dassault-Aviation would acquire Alcatel-Lucent's stake in the capital of Thales and become the Industrial Partner to the Public Sector under the terms of the shareholders agreement, the board of directors put an end to the mandate of Mr. Denis Ranque as Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Thales. The composition of the board of directors was then changed and the new board appointed Mr. Luc Vigneron as Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Thales.
Following the resignation of certain directors, the board co-opted the following new directors:
- Proposed by the Public Sector :
- Mr. Luc Vigneron, new Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Thales, until today Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Giat Industries, Nexter Systems and Société de Gestion de Participations Aéronautiques (Sogepa)
- Mr. Bruno Parent, Inspecteur Général des Finances, previously Director of Competition Policy, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control
- Proposed by the Industrial Partner :
- Mr. Charles Edelstenne, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Dassault-Aviation
- Mr. Amaury de Sèze, Chairman of the board of Carrefour
- Mr. Loïk Segalen, Executive Vice President, Economic and Financial Affairs of Dassault-Aviation
- Mr. Eric Trappier, Executive Vice President, International of Dassault-Aviation
- As Outside Personalities :
- Mr. Yannick d'Escatha, Chairman of CNES (French Space Agency)
- Mr. Stève Gentili, Chairman of the board of BRED Banque Populaire
- Mr. Pierre Mutz, Former Préfet of Ile de France Region
Following this meeting of the board of directors, the board is therefore composed as follows:
- Mr. Bruno Bézard
- Ms Marie-Paule Delpierre
- Mr. Charles Edelstenne
- Mr. Yannick d'Escatha
- Mr. Dominique Floch
- Mr. Roger Freeman
- Mr. Stève Gentili
- Mr. Philippe Lepinay
- Mr. Didier Lombard
- Mr. Pierre Mutz
- Mr. Bruno Parent
- Mr. Loïk Segalen
- Mr. Amaury de Sèze
- Mr. Eric Trappier
- TSA, represented by Mr. Bernard Rétat
- Mr. Luc Vigneron
During that same meeting, the board of directors also discussed the severance package of Mr. Denis Ranque, who has fulfilled the performance conditions opening the right to the payment of a compensation for discontinuation of his term of office, as approved by Thales's Annual General Meeting of shareholders in May 2008. In accordance with the law, this decision of the board of directors will be published on Thales's website within five days.
The board of directors expressed its thanks to Mr. Denis Ranque, who has been critically instrumental in the development of the Group since his appointment as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer in 1998. Under his leadership, Thales has developed into a global leader in systems and high technology activities in Aerospace, Space, Defence and Security.
Press contacts:
Sylvie Dumaine / Caroline Philips
Thales, Corporate Communication
Tel.: +33 (0)1 57 77 86 26
Investor contacts:
Jean-Claude Climeau / Eric Chadeyras
Thales, Investor Relations
Tel.: +33 (0)1 57 77 89 02