La Poste: in the absence of a new CEO, outgoing Philippe Wahl remains president

The outgoing CEO of La Poste, Philippe Wahl, whose term was ending, will for the time being remain chairman of the board of directors of the public group, after being reappointed to this role on Wednesday, June 25, on an interim basis, the Elysée having exceeded the deadline for proposing a name for his successor.

While there are several official candidates to succeed Philippe Wahl, whose term as CEO ended this Wednesday due to his age (he is 69), the Élysée Palace is still awaiting its choice. In the meantime, La Poste has decided to appoint a transitional leadership team "to ensure the continuity of the functioning of the governing bodies." The group's operational leadership has been entrusted to Philippe Bajou, the group's Secretary General and Deputy CEO, who began his career there in 1982.

It's up to Emmanuel Macron to identify a successor to the leadership of such a large public company, with this proposal then subject to parliamentary approval. The problem: since the President has still not expressed a wish, the executive has put itself "out of time," particularly in light of the parliamentary agenda, notes a source close to the matter.

According to the statutes of La Poste – 34.6 billion euros in turnover in 2024 – it is then possible in this scenario to operate a split between the position of president and that of general manager, which was done this Wednesday during the general meeting and board of directors.

Upon the announcement of this decision, the SUD PTT union protested against the partial interim renewal of Philippe Wahl, criticizing "twelve years of industrial and economic strategy which have fragmented access and postal presence for the population," according to a press release.

La Poste's two shareholders, Caisse des Dépôts (66%) and the French State (34%), also appointed some of the directors whose terms were ending. Olivier Sichel , CEO of the Caisse des Dépôts group, was reappointed. Claire Waysand, Deputy CEO of Engie and also a candidate to succeed Philippe Wahl, was not reappointed. Jean-Pierre Farandou , CEO of SNCF, was appointed as a director.

With a view to taking the helm, six candidates were interviewed by the nominations committee, including two internal candidates: Nathalie Collin, the director of the Consumer and Digital branch, and Stéphane Dedeyan, the chairman of the board of directors of La Banque Postale.

But the latter ultimately threw in the towel following a media controversy over the salary he allegedly demanded, according to a source close to the case. Stéphane Dedeyan wanted to keep his current salary, which is well above the €450,000 annual salary of the CEO of La Poste.

But also four external candidates: Jérôme Fournel, the former chief of staff of former Prime Minister Michel Barnier and former director general of Public Finances; Sylvie Jéhanno, CEO of Dalkia; Claire Waysand, deputy director general of Engie and Marie Cheval, CEO of Carmila, the Carrefour property company.

But since the President of the Republic is free to choose from outside this list of candidates, the suspense remains total.