Brussels, 14 February 2019. Today, ecta’s Board of Directors elected Emmanuel Forest, Executive Vice-President European and Institutional Affairs, Bouygues Group as new Chairman of the Board.

Emmanuel Forest succeeds Gijs Phoelich who served as Chairman for the last three years.

 “I am honoured to take over the helm at this critical moment. As digital innovation proliferates, and the telecommunication markets show signs of renewed and newly emerging market power, we need to make sure that competition in these markets remains strong and vigorous. To guarantee the right environment for such healthy competition will be my key ambition as Chair of the ecta Board of Directors in continuity with the work done under the inspiring presidency of Gijs “, stated Emmanuel Forest, ecta’s new Chairman.

Outgoing Chairman Gijs Phoelich remarked: “I am proud to have been the Chairman during very energetic and challenging times for the association. With Emmanuel, I am full of confidence that ecta will continue to further the cause of competition that drives both innovation and investment for the benefit of consumers, enterprises and society at large.”

At the Ordinary General Meeting held on 28 November 2018, ecta members also elected Neven Petkov Dilkov, Managing Director, Neterra Ltd; Meinrad Spenger, CEO, Masmovil and Malgorzata Zakrzewska, Public Affairs Director, PLAY as new Board Directors and re-elected Cem Mehmet Çelebiler, Managing Director, Turknet Iletiçim Hizmetleri A.S. and Marie Lamoureux, Director for EU Affairs, Iliad for a second term.

ecta and the Board of Directors wishes to express their fullest appreciation to Gijs Phoelich for his dedication and constructive leadership and to Joanna Łabudzka, Tiziana Talevi and Antonis Tzortzakakis, whose term of office as Board Director came to an end, for their engagement and valuable contributions.

The members of the ecta Board in 2019 are:

Emmanuel Forest, Executive Vice-President European and Institutional Affairs, Bouygues Group - Chairman

Martin Witt, CEO, 1&1 Telecommunication SE - Vice-Chairman

Cem Mehmet Çelebiler, Managing Director, Turknet Iletiçim Hizmetleri A.S.

Neven Petkov Dilkov, Managing Director, Neterra Ltd

Marie Lamoureux, Director for EU Affairs, Iliad

Meinrad Spenger, CEO, Masmovil

Malgorzata Zakrzewska, Director of Public Affairs, PLAY

Emmanuel Forest, Chairman

Emmanuel Forest is Executive Vice-President, European and Public Affairs for the Bouygues group. He is responsible for the Group’s institutional relations, particularly with EU institutions, and is Chief Executive Officer of Bouygues Europe SA in Brussels. He is also President of the ECTP (European Construction Technology Platform). 

Emmanuel Forest is a graduate of both the École Polytechnique (1975) and the ENA (1981).

He started his career at the French Ministry of Education and then became a technical advisor to the Secretary of State in charge of universities. He then joined the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1986 as a specialist advisor to the Ministerial Counsellor for Culture, Science and Co-operation.

In 1989, Emmanuel Forest joined the Bouygues group as Director reporting to senior management before becoming Corporate Secretary of Bouygues Bâtiment International in 1990 and of Bouygues Telecom in 1994, after the operator was awarded its licence. He was subsequently appointed Executive Vice-President in 1998 and Deputy CEO & Deputy Chairman of Bouygues Telecom in 2007. 

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ecta members are united in their belief that competition is the best driver of efficient investments and the greatest enabler of innovation, choice and benefits for citizens and businesses, as well as for the European economy overall. This is the key message that ecta and its members promote and also have promoted in the discussions about a European Electronic Communications Code.

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