Olivier Huart, who has been at the helm of TDF for the past fifteen years, will be stepping down at the end of his term to devote himself to chairing the Group's Board of Directors. His strategic vision and industrial expertise in digital infrastructures are major assets in guiding the Board's future reflections.
Since his appointment in 2010, Olivier Huart has breathed new life into the company. Under his leadership, since the end of analog television in 2011, TDF has successfully implemented a decisive strategic shift. Digital terrestrial television and radio, in particular DAB+, have accelerated their rollouts. TDF's towerco business has also seen strong growth: with the number of sites rising from 6,000 in 2010 to over 8,600 by 2024, TDF has considerably increased the number of its infrastructures. This growth reflects TDF's ability to meet operators' needs, and to play a key role in improving mobile coverage across the country. Finally, Olivier Huart left his mark on the company's history with the creation of the fiber business. Today, TDF is recognized as a key French player in digital infrastructures, at the heart of current and future social challenges. This ambitious transformation has been achieved while maintaining an ongoing dialogue that guarantees the company's social contract.
The Board of Directors has appointed Karim El Naggar Chief Executive Officer of the TDF Group. He will succeed Olivier Huart on March 31, 2025, with the mission of continuing to implement the company's strategic project.
Karim El Naggar held general management positions in international industrial and technology groups, and innovative start-ups, before joining TDF in June 2022. Since then, he has overseen all network activities, encompassing the company's historic broadcasting activities (DTT and FM radio) as well as activities under development, such as DAB+ and private mobile networks.
Under his leadership, TDF has strengthened its leading position in the audiovisual sector, despite a rapidly changing environment, while developing an ambitious technological modernization policy around UHD and 5G Broadcast. Karim El Naggar has also enabled TDF to position itself as a key player in private mobile networks, a fast-growing emerging market.
Benoît Mérel, Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer, who has accompanied Olivier Huart in the company's transformation over the past 15 years, will also be stepping down from his position at the end of his term. From March 31, 2025, he will devote his time to managing the company's strategic projects and equity-related activities.
Benoît Mérel has played a central role in TDF's transformation and success. As the architect of a rigorous management framework, he has structured operations and steered performance initiatives that have durably enhanced the company's efficiency. His unfailing commitment was also decisive in the launch of the fiber business, where he was able to mobilize teams and structure an ambitious project.
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Olivier Huart, appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors, declares:
"After 15 exciting years at the helm of this fine company, working on a daily basis with Benoît Mérel, whom I thank and associate with my journey, I am deeply proud of the road we have travelled together. We have overcome many challenges, achieved great things and prepared for the future with ambition and resilience. As I prepare to take on new responsibilities as Chairman of the Board of Directors, I would like to extend my warmest thanks to the men and women of TDF for their unfailing commitment and trust. Karim El Naggar will steer the company in the right direction, enabling it to continue to successfully transform itself and shine in its markets. In recent years, the TDF Group has enjoyed robust growth. It has established itself as a French leader in telecommunications and broadcasting infrastructures. Tomorrow, the Group will continue to rely on its industrial know-how, its operational excellence and its highly qualified teams to guarantee its long-term growth."
Karim El Naggar, appointed Chief Executive Officer of the TDF Group, declares:
"I would like to thank the Board of Directors for their confidence, and I am proud to be able to continue the exceptional work accomplished over the past fifteen years by Olivier Huart, Benoît Mérel and the entire TDF team. Over the past two years, I have been able to fully appreciate the strengths of our company, the talent and commitment of our employees, and the strength of our corporate culture. I approach this new role with enthusiasm. I'm convinced that, together, we'll be able to meet the challenges of our changing historical markets, while seizing the new opportunities that lie ahead."
Olivier Huart joined the TDF Group in 2010. Over the course of 15 years, he has profoundly transformed the company, rising to the challenge of switching from analog to digital television at a time when the company was heavily in debt. Under his leadership, TDF expanded into new growth markets, such as the hosting of mobile operators on high points (TowerCo) and the deployment of fiber optic infrastructures, winning public-initiative networks (RIP). From 2005 to 2010, Olivier Huart was Chairman of BT France. Between 1996 and 2005, within the SFR-Cegetel group, he first headed SFR's Regulatory and Public Affairs department, then took over as CEO of fixed operator Cegetel. He began his career in 1988 with France Telecom, where he held a number of management positions in marketing and business development. Olivier Huart is a graduate of Ecole Polytechnique (class of 1983), Telecom Paris and holds an MBA from Insead. He is also Chairman of the Board of Directors of Institut Mines-Télécom.
Karim El Naggar began his career in telecommunications at Alcatel in 1997, where he held various positions in France and abroad in the field of mobile networks. In 2005, he was appointed head of the company's "core network" business, then of the "Wimax" business. In 2009, he joined Alstom as Vice President in charge of software solutions for power networks. When Alstom was acquired by General Electric in 2015, he was tasked with driving the integration of Alstom's and GE's software activities, and took charge of a global P&L for electricity market management, transmission and distribution software solutions. In 2018, he founded Nucamp, an innovative company specializing in IT development training, which quickly established itself as a key player in the North American coding bootcamp market. Back in France since 2022, Karim El Naggar heads TDF's Audiovisual and Networks Business Unit, with a mission to lead the modernization of audiovisual activities, the development of new technological solutions such as UHD and 5G Broadcast, and the launch of new services such as private mobile networks. Karim El Naggar is a graduate of École Polytechnique (class of 1992), ENSTA Paris (1997) and Harvard Business School (2003).
