SFR CEO steps down

Frank Esser is stepping down as CEO of French telco SFR, a decade after taking the position.

Jean-Bernard Lévy, the CEO of SFR’s owner Vivendi, will take control of France’s second-largest telco. Last year Vivendi acquired Vodafone’s 44% stake in SFR for €7.7 billion.

In a statement, Vivendi said: “Frank Esser was chief operating officer of SFR from 2000 to 2002, and has been Chairman and CEO since 2002. He successfully led the development of SFR in a very competitive environment, both in the mobile, fixed and Internet access markets. The outstanding work performed by Frank Esser and his teams have enabled SFR to become the largest alternative telecoms operator in France and even in Europe.”