Altice confirms Combes to be COO, Numericable-SFR chairman

Michel Combes

Altice has confirmed the appointment of Alcatel Lucent CEO Michel Combes as chief operating officer of the group and chairman of the board of Numericable-SFR.

“I am very pleased that Michel, whom I have known for over 20 years, has decided to join us to help structure the Group’s operations and to harmonize our best practices throughout our subsidiaries and countries. He will bring a solid experience both in mobile and fixed operations and is a talented and appreciated manager. The Group will continue to attract key talent to help manage our rapid expansion in both Europe and the Americas whilst maintaining our unique entrepreneurial mindset,” said Altice president Patrick Drahi.

“We are extremely pleased with the arrival of Michel Combes, one of the most experienced and knowledgeable executives in the Global Telecom industry. His deep experience in the international telecom sector will help significantly reinforce our ability to successfully operate and integrate all of our affiliates and to continue to grow our footprint in new territories,” said CEO Dexter Goei.

“I’m very proud and happy to be joining Altice and its great entrepreneurship spirit led by Patrick Drahi. Altice’s long term strategy and global ambitions are the right challenge for me in this dynamic era of consolidation, convergence and technological disruption,” said Combes.

Combes told French financial daily Les Echos that Drahi had “a long term industrial project” and that he know how to “make audacious moves [and] buy the right shares at the right moment”. He said that the convergence of fixed-mobile telecoms was becoming a reality, along with the convergence of telecoms and media, and that this “corresponds to my vision”.

Combes said his priority would be to consolidate the group’s existing base, following three major acquisitions in the last 18 months.