Helmut Reisinger, veteran of telecoms provider Orange, has started in his new role as chief executive officer of the French company’s enterprise division, Orange Business Services, replacing Thierry Bonhomme. His remit is to position Orange Business Services as a leading digital change agent, and to expand its roster of clients for digital, ‘internet of things’ (IoT) and cyber-security services.
The Austrian’s appointment was announced back in March as part of a wider reorganisation of Orange’s executive committee, which also saw new appointments for cyber-security and revised responsibility for the group’s own digital transformation.
Orange Business Services offers new digital services for industries and cities, among its core networking and IT functions. It is putting increased focus on industrial IoT applications and smart city services. Last month, it announced a deal with Siemens to develop industrial connectivity, monitoring and tracking solutions to bring digital efficiencies to manufacturing and supply chain operations.
It has also confirmed a deal to design smart city infrastructure and smart services in Saudi Arabia, with a focus on at the Jeddah Tower in the first instance.
Orange Business Services posted 2017 sales of €7.2 billion, from around 3,000 clients. It ranks third for global sales among French IT companies, behind Capgemini and Atos. The division has around 21,000 employees in 100 countries, including France, Brazil, India, Egypt and Mauritius.
Reisinger joined Orange Business Services in 2007. He served as vice president of the unit’s operations in Europe, Russia and CIS countries for three years from 2012, and was in charge of international enterprise activities for all regions except France from 2015, until now. Prior to joining Orange, he held various European management positions at Avaya, NextiraOne and Alcatel.
He reports to Stéphane Richard, chairman and chief executive of Orange. Bonhomme becomes “special advisor” to Richard, before his retirement later in 2018.
Reisinger said: “Our global talent, expertise and assets position us to deliver an unmatched experience for our enterprise customers worldwide. With a relentless customer focus – combined with people empowerment and commitment to innovation – we will achieve continued success and growth for both our customers and Orange.”
Chairmanship of Orange Business Services, previously occupied by Richard, has passed to Gilles Pélissier, confirmed as delegate chief executive in the March reshuffle. Pélissier takes responsibility for supervising the group’s transformation. “He will work on simplifying the group’s processes and reinforce the company’s collective agility,” it said in a statement, making reference also to recruitment a “dynamic team of young talents”.
Other changes, first announced in March, include the appointment of Hugues Foulon as director of cybersecurity strategy, in charge of strengthening and commercialising the French firms own defences, and Laurent Paillassot as deputy director general, an expansion of his existing role in charge of the group’s Spanish business.
