Starting in April, Martin Sion, currently executive chairman of European aerospace company ArianeGroup, will become the new CEO of French railway manufacturer Alstom. Sion will replace Henri Poupart-Lafarge, the current CEO. Poupart-Lafarge, who has been CEO of Alstom since 2016, announced in May that he would not be seeking a fourth term.
Martin Sion had been CEO of ArianeGroup since April 2023, when the company was facing significant technological and operational challenges. Under his leadership, considerable progress was made, including the first commercial Ariane 6 mission and the ramp-up of production. However, not all technical issues have been fully resolved, and the planned higher launch is ambitious.
It is not yet known who will succeed Sion at Arian.
Large order book for Alstom
Alstom, on the other hand, recorded orders of around 19.8 billion euros and revenue of 18.5 billion euros in the 2024-2025 financial year, both up from the previous year. The company also has a large order book of around 95 billion euros, but it recently missed out on the NMBS/SCNB order for up to 600 new trainsets.
Alstom, which manufactures the TGV among other products, has also recently faced pressure on cash flow, debt, and refinancing requirements. Additionally, there have been delivery issues. For example, Alstom’s RER New Generation trains in France were temporarily halted by SNCF due to excessive failure costs and poor manufacturing quality.
Under Poupart-Lafarge, the acquisition of Canadian competitor Bombardier Transportation was finalized. A €2 billion debt reduction plan was implemented, led by a capital increase, and approximately 1,500 administrative jobs were eliminated worldwide, including around 300 in France.
No big changes expected
With Sion’s appointment, a 180-degree change of course is not expected; rather, a strengthening of operational discipline and consolidation of profitability.
The Board of Directors has set the session’s gross annual remuneration for the 2026-2027 financial year at €1,050,000. In addition, his variable remuneration may “reach up to 100% of the gross annual base remuneration (…) in the event of achieving the performance targets on target”, and even 185% “in the event of outperformance.”
