THE president of France, Emmanuel Macron, has nominated Jean Castex to be the next CEO of French National Railways (SNCF), subject to the approval of a parliamentary commission representing both the National Assembly and the Senate.
Castex is currently CEO of Paris public transport operator RATP, a post which he took up in November 2022. At SNCF, he will succeed Jean-Pierre Farandou who has been in post since November 2019.
Farandou’s lengthy career at SNCF began in 1981 and has included the posts of executive chairman of contract public transport operator Keolis, SNCF deputy managing director, and CEO of high-speed operator Thalys.
In May 2024 the French transport ministry announced that Farandou would not be reappointed for a second term of office as SNCF CEO, but he agreed to remain in post as Paris hosted the Olympic and Paralympic Games last summer. Despite reaching the mandatory retirement age of 68 in July this year, Farandou is reported to have again agreed to remain at the head of SNCF until a successor could be appointed.
Mayor of the small town of Prades in the eastern Pyrenees from 2008 to 2020, Castex served as prime minister under Macron from July 2020 to May 2022. He next held the post of president of transport infrastructure finance agency AFIT France until moving to RATP as CEO.
“As an expert on the railway sector and its challenges, Jean Castex has demonstrated his ability to successfully lead and transform a strategic transport player in our country at the head of RATP,” says transport minister, Philippe Tarabot, in a post on LinkedIn.
“I am familiar with his high standards for the quality of service provided to users, his determination to act to ensure the competitiveness of our public transport operators in the context of open competition, and his ambition to promote the excellence of our railway expertise on global markets.”
Senior management change is also in prospect at Keolis, where Macron has nominated the current CEO, Marie-Ange Debon, to become chair of the board of directors at the French postal service, La Poste. She took up her current role at Keolis in August 2020, following senior management positions at Thomson and Suez.
