To really make his mark as the CEO of building materials giant Saint-Gobain, Pierre-Andre de Chalendar, who took up the post on 7 June 2007, may have to wait a little longer. In his new role of non-ex…
To really make his mark as the CEO of building materials giant Saint-Gobain, Pierre-Andre de Chalendar, who took up the post on 7 June 2007, may have to wait a little longer. In his new role of non-executive chairman, outgoing CEO Jean-Louis Beffa is seen by some as remaining the key figure at a firm he has run since 1986. “Beffa is a very powerful personality. He has been managing the company for 21 years so Saint-Gobain is really his company”, said a London-based analyst, who wished to remain anonymous. “He“s not the kind of guy who will just disappear and do other things. He will remain very much in charge of the company”, the analyst said. “Of course, the day-to-day responsibility will go to Chalendar, but any significant steps will have to go through Beffa and I don“t think Beffa will want to see major changes”. Mr. Chalendar, the son of a French count, joined Saint-Gobain as a corporate planner in 1989. He has given only one interview in the run-up to the transition and that was conducted jointly with Mr. Beffa who will likely remain chairman until his 68th birthday in 2010. The 49-year-old was promoted to the post of deputy chief executive in May 2005 following the surprise departure of Mr. Beffa“s then heir apparent Christian Streiff, who had failed to please his boss. Mr. Chalendar, described by company watchers as discreet and diplomatic, bided his time at Saint-Gobain as Mr. Beffa served out the remainder of his term as CEO. “The succession has been prepared and it will be a smooth transition. It will be continuity”, said a French analyst, who also asked to remain anonymous. “Saint-Gobain is clearly faced with challenges and it is too soon yet to say how Chalendar will face them and seek to reorganise the group“s activity”. The world“s largest listed building materials group has vowed to refocus its vast business portfolio on fast-growing housing and construction activities, and further develop business in emerging markets. In the past year, Saint-Gobain took over British plasterboard maker BPB and sold its Desjonqueres perfume and pharmaceuticals bottle unit. But some analysts said changes were not implemented as quickly as some investors had hoped. “The expectations for restructuring are so high that they can only disappoint from here”, said the London-based analyst. “They are making reasonable progress. BPB has pushed the group in the right direction and if they sell their packaging unit next year then it will shift the company further in that direction. They are making moves but it“s not like they are going to be 100% housing tomorrow”. Mr. Chalendar told Les Echos daily in the week of his appointment as CEO that Saint-Gobain was in no rush to sell the rest of its packaging unit, which analysts said was a disappointing signal for investors. “Let“s say that when a company announces a divestment, investors want this divestment to take place sooner rather than later”, the Paris-based analyst said. Mr. Chalendar graduated from French business school ESSEC and from the elite ENA public administration school. After a six-years at France“s industry ministry, he joined Saint-Gobain and spent time in the United States and Britain before returning to France in 2003 to run the group“s building distribution business. A keen mountain-hiker and pianist, he is married and has four children.