Eurotunnel's French chief executive ousted in British coup
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Your support makes all the difference.Eurotunnel's French chief executive has been ousted, after just nine months in the job, following a boardroom clash with the group's British chairman.
Philippe Lazare, who was appointed chief executive on a salary of £221,000, has been forced out by the Anglo-French group's non-executive chairman, Charles Mackay. He is being replaced by another Briton, Eurotunnel's finance director, Richard Shirrefs.
Eurotunnel yesterday said that the removal of Mr Lazare, who joined the group after spells with Air France and the car maker Peugeot, resulted from "a difference of views on the management of the company".
Insiders denied that his departure had anything to do with the crisis earlier this year at Eurotunnel over asylum-seekers gaining illegal entry to Britain by jumping on board lorries and car shuttles at its Sangatte terminal near Calais.
It was said that Mr Lazare had been "over-promoted" and was not up to the job. Insiders also claimed that there was a "lack of chemistry" not only between Mr Lazare and his fellow board members but also between the chief executive and other senior managers.
Mr Lazare was brought in as managing director of Eurotunnel in October last year and promoted to the job of chief executive four months later following the unexpected departure of the executive chairman, Patrick Ponsolle, to Morgan Stanley.
"Let's put it this way, he didn't appoint himself to the job. We did and it didn't work out. There are no skeletons in the cupboard. It was just a lack of chemistry at the management level," one source said.
Another said that Mr Mackay, the former chief executive of Inchcape and known for his forceful personality, lost patience with Mr Lazare.
Eurotunnel's non-executive directors, who include the former Belgian premier Baron Guy de Wouters, Lord Tugendhat, the chairman of Virgin Trains, Chris Green and the managing director of Arsenal Football Club, Keith Edelman, were called to a board meeting on Wednesday at which Mr Lazare's fate was sealed.
His removal strengthens the British grip at the top of the company with both the chairman and chief executive now from the UK. Until 14 months ago the top two jobs at Eurotunnel were both filled by Frenchmen.
A Eurotunnel spokesman said that the asylum problem was "a red herring" as far as the board changes were concerned.
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