Dulac moves on after eight years at top
Jean-François Fallacher will be the new CEO of Orange France from April 3, after running the Orange business units in Romania, Poland and Spain. Fallacher takes over from Fabienne Dulac, who has steered Orange France for eight years and has chosen to take on new challenges within the Group. Dulac will remain on the Executive Committee and will contribute strategic planning for the future.
Jean-François Fallacher is currently CEO of Orange Spain, where Ludovic Pech is now looking for a new house. Pech has impressed as the chief financial officer of Orange Middle East & Africa. French CEO elect Jean-François Fallacher will remain a board member at Orange Spain.
Christel Heydemann, CEO of Orange, explained the management shuffle: “As head of Orange France Fabienne Dulac has strengthened the network leadership and customer excellence of [the operator]. During this time, Orange played an essential role in the success of the deployment of Fiber in France. Thanks to her work and that of her teams, France can today boast of having the most extensive Fiber network in Europe. We will continue to work together in the coming months.
The outgoing and incoming CEOs of Orange France have contrasting backgrounds, which may reflect in their managerial styles. Fabienne Dulac holds a master’s in Political Sociology from the Paris Institute of Political Sciences and began her career at the French Interior Ministry, joining the business world in 1993 in the early stages of internet development as head of communication and marketing multimedia service VTCOM.
By contrast, Fallacher is more of a techie, as a graduate of the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications. Fallacher began his career in the late 90s internet boom, moved to Holland as COO if ISP Wanadoo before joining Orange and working his way across Europe. He revived Orange Polska with a bold fibre investment and convergence strategy and remains President of the board of the French-Polish Chamber of Commerce (CCIFP). In September 2020, Fallacher took on the role of CEO for Orange Spain. He is an associate member of its Executive Committee and is France’s Conseiller du Commerce Extérieur.
“I am delighted to now welcome Jean-François Fallacher as the new head of Orange France. I know I can count on his very solid international experience and on his operational expertise to continue to develop Orange’s leadership in France in the service of our customers,” said Orange Group CEO Christel Heydemann.