At the head of SNCF from 2008 to 2019, Guillaume Pepy had to deal with multiple crisis situations. Here he is called to try to solve the one experienced by Orpea, the private group of retirement homes, in turmoil since the publication, at the beginning of 2022, of the book investigation The Gravediggers (1). The latter caused a vast scandal by accusing the group of numerous shortcomings akin to mistreatment of its residents.
Guillaume Pepy, 64 years old, is expected to chair the group’s board of directors. A press release from Orpea, on the evening of Sunday July 3, announced that a “deep renewal” from the administration board “will be proposed at the next general meeting” of July 28, with the arrival of five new independent directors.
If he is elected, the former leader of the SNCF “will be proposed” as chairman of the new board of directors. Guillaume Pepy currently chairs Initiative France, a network of associations providing funding for entrepreneurs.
Suez HRD
Philippe Charrier, who chaired the board of directors before the scandal broke and who “provisionally assumed the general management of Orpea from February to June 2022”decided for his part to put an end to his mandate as director during this meeting.
Among the new directors proposed, we also find the name of Isabelle Calvez, the new HRD of the Veolia group after having been that of Suez. She managed, in particular on the social level, the eventful takeover of the latter by Veolia. The new CEO of Orpea for a few days, Laurent Guillot, who spent a large part of his career at Saint-Gobain, will also be proposed as a new administrator.
Forty complaints
It is an understatement to say that the challenge is immense for Guillaume Pepy if he is appointed head of the board of directors. Following a report that the government issued to justice at the end of March, a preliminary investigation was opened in April for institutional mistreatment and financial crimes. Investigators are working on more than forty complaints, the majority of which were filed collectively in early April by families of nursing home residents, who accuse Orpea of “endangering the lives of others” and D’” manslaughter “.
“After the process of total transparency implemented, the implementation of the first remedial measures, the launch of reflections on the transformations to be carried out, Orpea wishes with this new governance to reaffirm its desire for transformation to best fulfill its mission and meet the challenges of the health and medico-social system”, says the group in its press release.
Admittedly, a chairman of a board of directors is not directly operational. But he is normally responsible for directing and validating the strategy of a company, as well as controlling the action of the general management so that it is in conformity with this strategy.
One can imagine that the former boss of the SNCF, who had been omnipresent in the media during numerous rail crises, will endeavor to straighten the image of Orpea by launching numerous projects, but also to reassure investors. On the stock market, the company’s share fell from €86 at the end of January to €22 at the end of June.