Denis Ranque

Denis Ranque (born 7 January 1952 in Marseille) is a French engineer and businessman who served as CEO and chairman of Thales Group from 1998 until 2009.

Denis Ranque
Born (1952-01-07) 7 January 1952
Marseille, France
NationalityFrench
EducationÉcole Polytechnique
Mines ParisTech
OccupationBusinessman

Career

In 1976, Denis Ranque began his career as an engineer of the Corps des mines at the Ministry of Industry where he held various positions in the field of energy until 1983. He then joined the Thomson-CSF as "directeur du Plan" for one year. In 1984, he was appointed director of space affairs for the "Tubes électroniques" division.[1] In 1986, he was appointed director of the "Tubes hyperfréquences" department, which was spun off in 1988 as Thomson Tubes Electroniques (TTE), a company of which he was chairman and CEO from 1989 to 1992. In April 1992, Denis Ranque was appointed Chairman and CEO of Thomson-Sintra Activitiés sous-marines (Thomson Sintra ASM). Four years later, he was appointed by Thomson-CSF and GEC-Marconi as CEO of the joint company they created in the field of sonar systems, Thomson Marconi Sonar.[2] He resigned from his position as chief mining engineer in 1996. In 1998, Ranque was appointed chairman and chief executive officer of Thomson-CSF, rebranded Thales in 2000.[3][4] In 2008, his total salary, including bonuses and options, was €1.8 million.[5] By 2009, he met increased pressure to step down after his opposition to Dassault Aviation becoming the company's core industrial shareholder.[6] He resigned from Thales in May 2009.

In 2013, EADS appointed Ranque as its next chairman under a new shareholder structure, replacing Arnaud Lagardère. The French government had initially backed Anne Lauvergeon for the role but EADS insisted on picking one of the board's independent majority in an effort to curb political influence from France and Germany.[7]

At the end of 2021 he was elected President of the French Academy of Technologies (FNAT), effective 1 January 2022. Also, he is the President of the International Council of Academies of Engineering and Technological Sciences (CAETS) Board of Directors in 2022 year.

Other activities

Corporate boards
  • Airbus, chairman of the board of directors (2013-2019)[8][9][10]
  • CMA CGM, independent member of the board of directors
  • Saint-Gobain, independent member of the board of directors (since 2003)[11]
  • Scilab Enterprises, independent member of the board of directors (−2017)
  • Bpifrance, independent member of the board of directors (2011–2012)
  • Technicolor, non-executive chairman of the board of directors (2010–2012)

Non-profit organizations
  • French Academy of Technologies, the National Academy of Technologies and Engineering of France, President since 1 January 2022.
  • La Fabrique de l'Industrie, co-chairman (2014–2017)
  • Cercle de l'industrie, chairman (2002–2012)

References
  1. Les Echos.
  2. "Thomson-CSF et le britannique GEC-Marconi marient leurs sonars". 5 April 1996.
  3. "Thomson-CSF changes name to Thales". www.aerospaceonline.com. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
  4. "Thomson-CSF to become Thales". money.cnn.com. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  5. Peggy Hollinger (May 18, 2009), Vigneron closer to top role at Thales Financial Times.
  6. Peggy Hollinger (January 19, 2009), Thales chief faces pressure to resign Financial Times.
  7. Tim Hepher (February 13, 2013), EADS confirms Ranque in line to be its new chairman Financial Times.
  8. Andrew Parker (April 3, 2013), EADS backs Ranque and €3.8bn buyback Financial Times.
  9. Andrew Parker in London and Hugh Carnegy (February 4, 2013), EADS turns to ex-Thales boss as chairman Financial Times.
  10. Tim Hepher (April 10, 2019), Airbus names ex Deutsche Telekom boss as next chairman Reuters.
  11. Board of Directors Saint-Gobain.
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