Areva Confirms to Change Management Structure

State-owned French nuclear power engineering group Areva confirmed on Tuesday that it would change its governance structure after pressure from its main shareholders, the state and the French Atomic Energy Commission.

The move creates a single board of directors, replacing a two tier structure where an executive board is overseen by a supervisory board.
 

"The objective of this reform is to provide better support to the general management team, with a clear sharing of roles and more collaboration between the board of directors and general management," Areva Supervisory Board Chairman Pierre Blayau said.

Blayau is set to become chairman of the board, while Luc Oursel, currently head of the executive board, could become chief executive, according to a report in Les Echos newspaper last week.

French Economy Minister Arnaud Montebourg said earlier this month that the change would allow the state shareholders to better control the firm and make important decisions on the board, be it about the firm's uranium mining activities, alliances, purchases or divestments.

The planned change in governance follows a scathingly critical report by the top public auditor of Areva's management under Areva Chief Executive Luc Oursel's predecessor Anne Lauvergeon.

(Reporting by James Regan; Editing by Andrew Callus)