PARIS -(Dow Jones)- French telecom and media group Vivendi SA (VIV.FR) said Wednesday it has hired Vodafone Group PLC's (VOD.LN) top executive for Europe, Michel Combes, as its new chief executive of its mobile telephone unit, SFR.
In March, Vivendi announced the departure of SFR's CEO Frank Esser, after the unit announced a fall in its operating margin and the loss of 200,000 clients to competitor Iliad SA (ILD.FR).
Vivendi's CEO Jean-Bernard Levy has overseen Esser's duties since late March and will continue to do so until Combes starts on August 1.
Before working at Vodafone, Combes, 50, was CFO at France Telecom (FTE.FR).
-By Inti Landauro, Dow Jones Newswires; +33 1 4017 1740; inti.landauro@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 02, 2012 13:16 ET (17:16 GMT)
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