Orange CEO Stéphane Richard, on departure, will receive compensation of nearly half a million euros

His mandate initially came to an end in mid-2022. Announced on the departure before the end of January after his conviction in the Tapie-Crédit Lyonnais affair, the CEO of Orange, Stéphane Richard, obtained a “gross exceptional compensation” of 475,000 euros to have finally remained until the initial end of his mandate.

“The Board of Directors has decided to grant this exceptional compensation to Stéphane Richard for having piloted and followed for several months (…) a rigorous selection process for the future Chief Executive Officer and the future non-executive Chairman”explained the group to AFP, Friday, April 1. “He has extended his mandate several times in order to ensure the good governance of the group during this transition phase and he will accompany the arrival of the new general manager until the general meeting on May 19”he continued.

The compensation, granted in February, corresponds to half of the executive’s annual fixed compensation. He will also benefit from his fixed and variable remuneration calculated in proportion to the time spent in the company in 2022, confirmed Orange, who recalls that his boss does not “benefits from any contractual mechanism for his departure”such as unemployment insurance or a pension.

The Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, warned in 2018 that in the event of conviction, Stéphane Richard would have to hand over his mandate, while the French telecoms giant’s main shareholder is the State, which holds more than 20% of the company’s capital. But Stéphane Richard finally played extra time. A first time set no later than January 31, his departure as general manager was finally postponed to April 4 until the arrival of Christel Heydemann, appointed at the end of January. He will also remain non-executive chairman until the general meeting of May 19, ie the initial term of his mandate.