Position
on the date of
his appointment to the Strategic Advisory Board on Information Technologies,
27 September 2004
TRACK RECORD :Colette
Lewiner is a graduate from Ecole Normale Supérieure (Ulm/Sèvres)
(1964), an associate professor in physics (1968) and a doctor of physical sciences
(in semiconductor physics, 1973).
She started out at Paris University,
where she was a lecturer and researched the electrical and magnetic phenomena
of new types of semiconductor.
In 1979, she joined Electricité
de France. She worked first at the Studies and Research department and subsequently
at the Fuels department, where she was senior buyer of gasoil, gas, coal and especially
nuclear fuel for power plants.
In 1987, she was appointed
head of the Fuels department, with an annual budget of FRF 17 bn (about
€ 2.5 bn) and responsible for negotiating supply contracts in many countries
in the world.
In 1989, she set up the Development and Commercial Strategy
department, making her the first female Senior Vice President at EDF. Her
department managed electricity sales to large customers in the industry and the
service sector, and developed offers, conducted marketing campaigns and managed
sales teams for the SME/SMI markets and the domestic customer base. She was also
charged with developing new business lines connected with EDF's core business.
In just three years, Colette Lewiner managed to improve the satisfaction ratio
among EDF's industrial and service-sector customers with innovative solutions
geared better to their needs.
In partnership with many external players, the
new department developed new electrical heating and air-conditioning offers and
regained market share from gas.
In 1992, she was appointed
Chairman and CEO of SGN-Réseau Eurisys
The Réseau Eurisys
network consists of the subsidiaries and affiliates of SGN, itself a Cogema subsidiary.
At the time, the network consisted of 9,000 employees, almost half of whom were
engineers and managers, specialised in marketing technical expertise in the engineering
and service sectors.
Within five years, Colette Lewiner doubled the sales of
SGN-Réseau Eurisys despite the sharp drop in nuclear engineering activities
in France.
She also boosted the international fraction of sales, particularly
in the United States with the signature of a major cleanup contract (€ 300
m) for the nuclear site in Hanford, Washington.
In 1997, 1,300 of the 9,000
people employed by SGN-Réseau Eurisys were working on international projects,
well up from the 300 in 1992.
Profit margins remained high during this transformation,
which took place without labour unrest.
In 1998, she
joined Cap Gemini where she created and headed GMU Utilities, a unit specialised
in electricity, gas, water and environmental services.
In
May 2000, after the merger between Cap Gemini and Ernst & Young, Colette Lewiner
was appointed General Manager of the Energy and Utilities GSU (Global Sector Unit).
In 2002, Chemicals were added to her unit. In 2004, she decided to take on a new
challenge by creating and heading the Corporate Global Marketing function in addition
to her responsibilities as head of the Energy, Utilities and Chemicals GSU.
In
recent years, Colette Lewiner has worked to strengthen Capgemini's position with
leading international oil, gas and electricity companies and environmental services
companies by contributing expertise related specifically to these fast-changing
markets as well as the group's strengths. She also set up a general management
structure for the majors, developed special offers for her sector, won three large
outsourcing contracts in North America and boosted Capgemini's sales, expected
to reach € 1.2 bn in 2004.
In 2003, her sector accounted
for 16% of Capgemini's sales (up from 4% in 1998). It has rapidly expanded in
recent years despite the general decline of the consulting and IT markets.
Capgemini
has become one of the world leaders in this area and Colette Lewiner has an established
reputation in the international electricity and gas industries.
PUBLICATIONS
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