<p>French telecoms multinational Orange said on Friday it had appointed Christel Heydemann as its first female chief executive, replacing Stephane Richard, who is leaving after his conviction in a case over his past work at the finance ministry.</p>.<p>French national Heydemann, 47, is currently vice president for Europe at Schneider Electric and has previously worked for Alcatel-Lucent and Nokia.</p>.<p>"The board has selected a candidate who is recognised for her experience in the telecoms sector and in managing business transformations," Orange said in a statement.</p>.<p>Richard, who will stay in the job until Heydemann takes over April 4, praised his successor's "vision, her pragmatism and her ability to bring out the best in every situation".</p>.<p>Heydemann herself said her presence on Orange's board for the past five years had provided her with "a solid understanding of the technological challenges and opportunities that lie before us".</p>.<p>The French government, which holds more than 20 percent of the historic operator's capital, had given its backing to Heydemann in the run-up to Friday's board meeting vote, saying it wanted a woman at the helm.</p>.<p>French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire "wants more women to take management jobs at large companies", a finance ministry spokesperson told AFP earlier in the week.</p>.<p>Richard's position at the telecoms giant had became fragile in November, when an appeals court handed him a one-year suspended sentence for complicity in misuse of public funds over a massive 2008 state payout to businessman Bernard Tapie.</p>.<p>At the time, Richard had served as chief of staff to then-finance minister and current European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde, who approved a 404-million-euro ($450-million) arbitration payment to Tapie to settle a long-running dispute over his stake in Adidas sports apparel company.</p>.<p>The company will now also need to find a new president after deciding that it would split the CEO and chairman's role, currently both held by Richard.</p>.<p>Orange is one of only two French blue-chip companies in the CAC-40 stock exchange index to have appointed female bosses.</p>.<p>The other is energy giant Engie, where Catherine MacGregor became CEO a year ago, replacing Isabelle Kocher.</p>.<p>Another woman, Estelle Brachlianoff, is to take over at French utility Veolia in July.</p>.<p>Heydemann saw off two other key candidates for the job, deputy managing director Ramon Fernandez and Verizon sales director Frank Boulben.</p>.<p><strong>Watch the latest DH Videos here:</strong></p>
<p>French telecoms multinational Orange said on Friday it had appointed Christel Heydemann as its first female chief executive, replacing Stephane Richard, who is leaving after his conviction in a case over his past work at the finance ministry.</p>.<p>French national Heydemann, 47, is currently vice president for Europe at Schneider Electric and has previously worked for Alcatel-Lucent and Nokia.</p>.<p>"The board has selected a candidate who is recognised for her experience in the telecoms sector and in managing business transformations," Orange said in a statement.</p>.<p>Richard, who will stay in the job until Heydemann takes over April 4, praised his successor's "vision, her pragmatism and her ability to bring out the best in every situation".</p>.<p>Heydemann herself said her presence on Orange's board for the past five years had provided her with "a solid understanding of the technological challenges and opportunities that lie before us".</p>.<p>The French government, which holds more than 20 percent of the historic operator's capital, had given its backing to Heydemann in the run-up to Friday's board meeting vote, saying it wanted a woman at the helm.</p>.<p>French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire "wants more women to take management jobs at large companies", a finance ministry spokesperson told AFP earlier in the week.</p>.<p>Richard's position at the telecoms giant had became fragile in November, when an appeals court handed him a one-year suspended sentence for complicity in misuse of public funds over a massive 2008 state payout to businessman Bernard Tapie.</p>.<p>At the time, Richard had served as chief of staff to then-finance minister and current European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde, who approved a 404-million-euro ($450-million) arbitration payment to Tapie to settle a long-running dispute over his stake in Adidas sports apparel company.</p>.<p>The company will now also need to find a new president after deciding that it would split the CEO and chairman's role, currently both held by Richard.</p>.<p>Orange is one of only two French blue-chip companies in the CAC-40 stock exchange index to have appointed female bosses.</p>.<p>The other is energy giant Engie, where Catherine MacGregor became CEO a year ago, replacing Isabelle Kocher.</p>.<p>Another woman, Estelle Brachlianoff, is to take over at French utility Veolia in July.</p>.<p>Heydemann saw off two other key candidates for the job, deputy managing director Ramon Fernandez and Verizon sales director Frank Boulben.</p>.<p><strong>Watch the latest DH Videos here:</strong></p>