The SMILE Group is strengthening its leadership team to support its growth and successfully expand across Europe. This announcement follows the presentation of the group's new strategic plan (Open Up) earlier this year, which aims to solidify the Group's position as the European leader in open source.
In his role, Julien RICHARD, 43 years old and a graduate of KEDGE Business School, will be responsible for overseeing the financial governance of SMILE and all its subsidiaries. In this context, he will address aspects related to performance management, financial predictability, optimization of existing processes, and the integration of potential future group acquisitions in France and Europe. He will play a strategic role in increasing the value of the ESN in the coming years. Julien RICHARD is a member of the Group's Executive Committee and reports to its President, Marc PALAZON.
To carry out his mission, he can rely on a solid professional experience gained from large international organizations. He has previously worked at Mazars, Ingenico, Tieto, NewWorks, and most recently at Planet, where he served as SVP CFO Retail Europe. He brings with him a methodology and valuable expertise that will enable SMILE to strengthen its financial governance by integrating a proven operational approach focused on growth support.
"I am proud to join SMILE, which holds a unique position in the open-source market. My mission is to support the Group in its development plan for the coming years. The finance function at SMILE will position itself as a true strategic partner and operational lever. It should accelerate and successfully execute our Open Up plan, including achieving our target revenue of 250 million euros."
Julien RICHARD
CFO SMILE Group
"I am proud to announce Julien's arrival at the SMILE Group. I am convinced of Julien's talent and expertise and his ability to accompany Smile in the coming years in both organic and M&A-driven development, with a dual focus on business and international growth."
Marc Palazon
CEO of the Smile Group