Position
on the date of
his appointment to the Strategic Advisory Board on Information Technologies,
27 September 2004
Born on 7 January 1952, Denis
Ranque is a graduate from Ecole Polytechnique and holds an engineering degree
from Ecole des Mines.
He started out at the Ministry of
Industry, where he held a series of energy-related positions. In 1983 he joined
Thomson as Vice President for the Business Plan. The following year he was appointed
Vice President Spatial Operations at the Electronic Tubes division.
In
1986, he became head of the Hyperfrequency Tubes division, which was spun off
in 1988 and renamed Thomson Tubes Electroniques (TTE). In 1989, he was appointed
COO of TTE and in 1991 Chairman and CEO.
In April 1992,
Denis Ranque became Chairman and CEO of Thomson Sintra Activités Sous-Marines.
Four years later, he was appointed COO of Thomson Marconi Sonar, a joint company
set up by Thomson-CSF and GEC-Marconi in the area of sonar systems.
Since
January 1998, Denis Ranque has been Chairman and CEO of Thomson-CSF, subsequently
renamed Thales.
Since October 2001, he has also been Chairman
of the Board of Directors of Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Paris,
and since September 2002, Chairman of Cercle de l'Industrie, an association whose
membership includes the largest French industrial companies.
Denis
Ranque is married and has five children.
