Katherine MacGregor has appointed the new CEO of Engie

Ingie appointed Catherine MacGregor as its new CEO, making her the only director on the French Stock Exchange CAC 40 index after the energy group toppled her predecessor in February.

The 48-year-old runs Technip Energies, the oil services arm of TechnipFMC, after spending 23 years at Schlumberger, the world’s largest oilfield services company.

Beat other candidates, including Gwenaëlle Avice-Huet who runs Engie’s renewable energy business; Laurent Gilo, Executive Vice President of Saint-Gobain; And Catherine Giloire, in charge of the Parisian transport company RATP.

Ms McGregor, an engineer born and raised in Morocco, will start as CEO on January 1, 2021, taking over a company that has been in turmoil over the past few years due to a radical shift in strategy and boardroom battles – and which is planning another batch of asset sales.

It should also deal with the French state, the largest shareholder in ENGIE, which has 23.6 per cent of its capital and 34.3 per cent of the voting rights.

Isabelle Kosher, the former CEO of ENGIE, has been fired Eight months ago After trying to overthrow the state-owned gas monopoly and put it at the forefront of the green energy revolution.

Mrs. Kosher, who took over Ingie In 2016, It oversaw the sale of many of its fossil fuel-related activities, such as oil and gas exploration, with the proceeds invested in areas such as renewable energy and energy efficiency services.

But despite the business reform plan with a turnover of 60 billion euros, investors remained unsure of which ENGIE was, and its share price had suffered. It’s down 20 percent so far this year.

Chairman Jean-Pierre Clamdio launched a new strategy after leaving Kosher, one in which he announced in July that the group would review its non-core assets, including its 32 percent stake in the French water and waste group Suez.

According to analysts at Kepler Chevreux, these bets “could be estimated at more than 12 billion euros, allowing ENGIE to consolidate its position in key competencies such as gas networks, while accelerating the development of its renewable energy sources”.

MacGregor will continue this strategy, as well as push towards renewables and grids.

Clamdieu had hoped to have a new CEO in place by September, but his plans were hampered by a € 3.4 billion offer by French water and waste group Veolia to buy the majority of Ingie’s stake in Suez.

Inge is close to accepting Veolia’s recently improved offer for 29.9 percent of Suez, saying earlier this week that it Bid is welcomed It will make its decision by Monday.

However, the sale has become very fraught and political, with the CEO of Suez calling for Veolia’s bid – which will be followed by a tender for the rest of the company – privately.

Angie hopes it will take a few more days before accepting the offer, as Suez and Veolia can find common ground and undo some of the aggression that has characterized the deal. All sides met on Thursday evening, say people familiar with the matter.