He replaces and will now report directly to Cécile Vion-Lanctuit, who was appointed Vice President of Corporate Communications in May 2010.
Stéphane Chéry, 37, was until now a partner at Publicis Consultants. He joined the agency in May 2005 and, among other responsibilities, managed its Change Communication and Press Relations teams. Over the last few years he has directed numerous media campaigns for clients including Carrefour, Air France, Nestlé, Velux, Eurocopter, and also for local and national government entities.
Mr. Chéry started his career as a freelance journalist working for the "République du Centre". He later joined the General Council of the department of Loiret, France, dealing with institutional relations, and then went on to work in EDF's press relations unit. He was involved in crisis communication management for the French Gendarmerie Headquarters from 1999 to 2001, working in particular on the crash of the Concorde. He joined Andersen Consulting (Accenture) in 2001, helping companies in London and Paris to manage change processes and optimize their organizational structures.
Mr. Chéry holds a DESS (Master of Advanced Studies) in business and organization communication from the University Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée and a Master's degree in the history of politics from Paris-Sorbonne University. He also participated in a training session for young professionals at the Institute of Higher National Defense Studies.