Sanjiv Ahuja- new CEO of Orange

LONDON: Orange, the mobile telecoms company controlled by France Telecom, said it had appointed Sanjiv Ahuja as its chief operating officer -- the latest in a series of high-profile appointments at the firm.

Ahuja was previously president of Telcordia Technologies and chief executive of Comstellar Technologies. Orange surprised some industry watchers in February with the appointment of Solomon Trujillo as its chief executive. This helped trigger the resignations of both Howe and finance director Simon Duffy.

Howe, who had been considered by many as the heir apparent for the CEO post and had also held the position of deputy CEO, said at that time he would stand down after an undefined transitional period.

A spokeswoman for Orange said on Monday the post of deputy chief executive at the firm no longer existed.

copy; Reuters