Earlier this month, the President of the French Republic appointed Catherine Guillouard to president and chief executive of RATP at a council of ministers meeting on August 2, 2017. The appointment was made after hearings with Guillouard before the Sustainable Development and Land Use Planning commissions at the National Assembly and French Senate on July 26, with both assemblies voting in favor of the appointment. The RATP board of directors had previously held an ad hoc meeting on July 12 to submit their appointment of Guillouard to the position to RATP president and chief executive to the government for ratification.
“It is a great honor to be joining RATP,” said Guillouard, immediately after assuming her new position. “It is such a dynamic and innovative company with many assets to become a world leader in sustainable, connected, and urban mobility thanks to the professionalism of its staff, its multiple fields of technical know-how, and a culture of operating excellence offering the best possible service to passengers.”
“The “2025 Challenge” corporate strategy plan will be at the heart of my actions and of the executive team’s work to face the challenges before us,” Guillouard continued. “Among the top challenges are to prepare for deregulation in our historic territory, our international expansion, and to continue our ambitious innovation policy in terms of services and new forms of mobility, while remaining faithful to the quality of labor dialogue and our public service values”.
Guillouard started her career at the Treasury department of the French Economy Ministry before moving to Air France for ten years, where she served as deputy vice president for flight operations, deputy vice-president for human resources and executive vice president, finance. In 2007, Guillouard became chief financial officer at Eutelsat Communications and accordingly a member of the Executive Committee. In 2013, she joined Rexel as CFO before becoming its deputy chief executive officer in 2014.
Guillouard is a member of the Board of Directors of Engie and Airbus and previously served on the Board of Directors of Aéroports de Paris (ADP Group). She is a graduate of the ENA and Sciences Po Paris, and also holds a DESS postgraduate degree in EU law.
