Separation of the functions of Chairman and Chief Executive: appointment of Walid Rouis as Chief Executive
At the meeting held on 16 December 2024[1], the Board of Directors of ACTIA Group decided to separate the functions of Chairman and Chief Executive, in accordance with the Company’s Article of Association. The separation was to come into effect on 19 December 2025 at the latest, the date on which the term of office of the current Chairman and Chief Executive, Jean-Louis Pech, expires.
Therefore, during the meeting held on 15 December 2025, the Board of Directors appointed Walid Rouis as Chief Executive of ACTIA Group. Having been with ACTIA for over 18 years, Walid Rouis joined the Group’s management team on 1 January 2025 as Deputy Chief Executive in charge of Operations, along with Catherine Mallet, Deputy Chief Executive in charge of Finance and Communications, and Jean-François Calmels, in charge of Corporate Social Responsibility.
Graduating as an engineer from ENSEIRB-MATMECA in 2001, Walid Rouis began his career as a Project Manager in the field of embedded electronics and joined ACTIA Groupe in 2007. As of 2011, he became Chief Executive of ACTIA Engineering Services, the widely acknowledged research and development centre working in the field of electronic and software architectures, which became a division of ACTIA in 2024. In 2018, he created ACTIA Africa, the Group’s commercial entity on the African continent. A man of action, who shares not only ACTIA’s values but also its technological and industrial ambitions, Walid Rouis takes up his functions of Chief Executive of ACTIA Group today.
Jean-Louis Pech remains Chairman of the Board of Directors of ACTIA Group. With his extensive knowledge of the Group’s sectors, customers, business lines and teams, he will continue to contribute to setting ACTIA’s strategic and industrial orientations and to overseeing the quality of its governance in close cooperation with general management.
“The separation of the functions of Chairman and Chief Executive marks a new milestone in the restructuring of our governance. I am delighted about the appointment of Walid Rouis as Chief Executive: his experience within ACTIA, his comprehensive knowledge of our challenges and our ecosystem is a real asset for managing our future industrial and technological projects. As Chairman, I will remain fully committed alongside the general management team to help support ACTIA’s development and to continue to drive what makes our Group so unique: a long-term technological and industrial ambition that applies to all of our stakeholders”, declares Jean-Louis Pech, Chairman of the Board of Directors of ACTIA Group.
Appointment of two new directors
Gathered at the Ordinary General Meeting held on 9 December 2025 to vote on the two appointments proposed by the Board of Directors, ACTIA Group’s shareholders approved by very large majorities, of respectively 99.9 and 99.7%, the appointments of Denis Mercier and Joëlle Pailloux as directors. The Board of Directors now has twelve members (seven women and five men), four of whom are independents, as well as two directors to represent the employees. Ses These appointments broaden the skills and diversity of the Board while contributing to spreading renewals of office more evenly over time.
Denis Mercier has been appointed as a director for a term of five years, which will expire at the end of the General Meeting to be held in 2030 to approve the financial statements for the financial year ending 31 December 2029. He also meets the criteria for an independent director, as analysed by the Board of Directors[2].
Denis Mercier has a solid strategic experience acquired at the highest level of the armed forces, including as the Chief of Staff of the French Airforce and allied Commander in Chief for the Transformation of NATO. He has led and directed complex organisations in sensitive international and technological areas for the purpose of strengthening defence capabilities and reinforcing international strategic cooperation.
He has also held management positions in industry since 2018, thus further pursuing his commitment to serving French industry, something that ACTIA Group also staunchly defends. With the expertise he has acquired in both public and private endeavours, he will contribute to enriching the work of the Board by bringing to bear a well-informed outside perspective to elucidate the Group’s strategic thinking on key issues: technological sovereignty, digital transformation, industrial resilience and international reach.
Finally, in the context of the development strategy for the Group’s Aerospace Division, his expertise and knowledge of the economic fabric of this sector will be major assets for ACTIA.
Joëlle Pailloux has been appointed as a director for a term of five years, which will expire at the end of the General Meeting to be held in 2030 to approve the financial statements for the financial year ending 31 December 2029.
Her appointment, a s a member of the founding shareholding families and a representative of the third generation, is intended to ensure the continuity of the family identity and independence that are important to ACTIA Group, while contributing to the renewal of its governance.
As a member of the third generation of family shareholders, and a direct and indirect holder of a portion of the Company’s share capital, Joëlle Pailloux embodies the long-term shareholding base that has always supported the Group’s development.
As a director of LP2C, reference shareholder and lead holding company, Joëlle Pailloux plays an active role in the strategic thinking of the shareholding families and has a thorough knowledge of the governance issues facing ACTIA Group. Furthermore, her recently obtained academic qualifications illustrate her commitment to staying abreast of the latest management and corporate best practices in order to be able to actively contribute to the Board’s work.
Her appointment also helps to guarantee a balanced representation across the generations of directors from the families, while reinforcing the diversity of the Board of Directors in keeping with best governance practices for family companies with an international presence.
Finally, this appointment contributes to preparing for the future by furthering the gradual involvement of the new generation of shareholders in the management bodies of ACTIA Group, thus guaranteeing the long-term presence of an active and responsible family shareholding.
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ABOUT ACTIA
ACTIA Group is a mid-market company (ETI) founded in 1986. It is at once family-owned and international and its head office is located in France. The family aspect guarantees the long-term future of the Group and its independence with an ever-present entrepreneurial spirit. ACTIA’s business is to design, produce and exploit electronics to address the major challenges faced in the sectors of terrestrial mobility, aeronautics, space and energy.
The commitments made by ACTIA are reflected in the Group’s ambitious contributions to addressing the energy transition, sustainability, safety and connectivity. Control over the design and production of solutions bearing the ACTIA signature is a true guarantee of quality. Without exception, all Group employees share this belief in quality in a fully certified environment.
KEY FIGURES
- 2024 turnover: €535.1m.
- Almost 4,000 employees around the world, of whom approximately 1,450 engineers and technicians working in R&D.
- Present in 16 countries.
- 14 to 18% of revenue reinvested every year in R&D.
STOCK EXCHANGES
- Euronext Growth Paris
- ISIN FR0000076655 – Mnemonic: ALATI – Reuters: ALATI.PA – Bloomberg: ALATI:FP
- Indices: Euronext Growth All Shares – Euronext Tech Croissance – Euronext Helios Space
CONTACTS
ACTIA – Catherine Mallet – Tel: +33 (0)561 176198 – contact.investisseurs@actia.fr
ACTUS Finance & Communication – Marie Calleux – Tel: +33 (0)153 656868 – actia@actus.fr
DATES FOR THE DIARY
- Q4 2025 turnover: Wednesday 18 February 2026 (7 am)
- 2025 annual results: Friday 27 March 2026 (7 am)
[1] See Press Release of 16 December 2024.
[2] See Board of Director’s Report to the Ordinary General Meeting of 9 December 2025 – click here: https://investors.actia.com/information-permanente/assemblees-generales/