When Didier Lombard named Stéphane Richard as his successor as chief executive of France Telecom in April last year, he was counting on a smooth and steady handover of power. In the end, the transition proved more turbulent than he had expected.
Mr Lombard on Monday night finally ceded to pressure from Mr Richard and other colleagues at Europe’s third-largest telecoms operator to hand over management within weeks rather than carry on until his planned retirement in May 2011.
