Arantxa Balson Named Chief Human Resources Officer for Accor
Arantxa Balson will join Accor as Chief Human Resources Officer. She will be a member of the Group’s Executive Committee and her appointment will be effective as of May 4th 2015.
Arantxa Balson will join Accor as Chief Human Resources Officer. She will be a member of the Group’s Executive Committee and her appointment will be effective as of May 4th 2015.
Evelyne Chabrot, Accor’s current Chief Human Resources Officer, has decided in full agreement with the Group’s senior executives, that after over forty years with Accor, she will now devote her time to personal projects in active retirement. Evelyne Chabrot will accompany this transition to ensure a smooth handover.
Referring to this appointment, Sébastien Bazin, Chairman and CEO of Accor declared: “We have been working with Evelyne and the Executive Committee for several months to prepare this change in our organization. Evelyne has played an essential role in accompanying the Group’s transformation, but I would also especially like to pay tribute to her commitment, integrity, thoughtfulness and unfailing attachment to Accor. I know that this transition will be a very emotional one for her. It will also be charged with emotion for the 170,000 Accor employees who I will represent in honoring her. I am very happy that Arantxa has agreed to join Accor, to take up the torch and continue the work undertaken by the Human Resources teams. Her international experience, knowledge of the challenges facing an increasingly digital world, and enthusiasm, will be essential qualities in ensuring that the transformation of our Group is a complete success”.
Arantxa Balson is Spanish and 50 years old. She has a degree in Educational Psychology from the Universidad de Comillas and an MBA from ICADE’s School of Management and Economic Sciences in Madrid. She also has a postgraduate diploma in Human Resources Management and Social Relations from Université Paris IX Dauphine.
Arantxa Balson started her career in 1994 at France Télécom where she was in charge of international training. In 1998, she joined Lucent Technologies (now Alcatel-Lucent) where she held various positions as Human Resources Director in Western Europe, then in Spain and Portugal. Then she joined Lucent Worldwide Services EMEA as HR Director, a position she combined with another role as HR support for the transformation of the Supply Chain and Corporate Centers in the region.
In 2004, she joined Endesa, the leading electricity utility in Spain and Latin America, as Director of Development and HR Innovation.
Ever since 2010, she has been Director of Human Resources at Adeo, Europe’s leading DIY and home improvement retailer. In this capacity, she notably accompanied the digital transformation and equipped the group’s companies with learning and open innovation platforms.
Categories: Appointments