Alstom leadership change
Alstom named Martin Sion as its new CEO, succeeding Henri Poupart‑Lafarge, with the announcement noting a focus on innovation and sustainable mobility. The appointment was posted on industry channels on April 12, 2026. (x.com)
Alstom installed Martin Sion as chief executive officer on April 1, replacing Henri Poupart-Lafarge after nearly a decade in charge. (alstom.com) The handover had been set months earlier: Alstom’s board named Sion on October 8, 2025, with the job scheduled to start on April 1, 2026. Poupart-Lafarge had said in May 2025 that he would not seek another term after serving as chief executive since February 2016. (alstom.com) Sion comes from outside rail. Alstom said he was chief executive of ArianeGroup from 2023 and had earlier held senior engineering and management roles at Safran businesses after starting his career at Société Européenne de Propulsion in 1990. (alstom.com) He takes over a company that is much larger than the one Poupart-Lafarge inherited. Alstom said revenue rose from about €6 billion in 2016 to €18.5 billion, helped by the integration of Bombardier Transportation into the group. (alstom.com) The size of that business is the immediate backdrop to the leadership change. In results published on May 14, 2025, Alstom reported €18.5 billion in sales, €19.8 billion in orders, and a €95 billion backlog, which is the value of work it has already booked but not yet delivered. (alstom.com) Those figures also showed why execution is central to the next phase. Alstom said adjusted operating profit reached €1.177 billion and free cash flow turned positive at €502 million, while net debt improved to €434 million from €2.994 billion a year earlier. (alstom.com) Reuters said on April 1 that Sion joined after three years leading ArianeGroup, the aerospace and defense company owned by Airbus and Safran. Alstom Chairman Philippe Petitcolin said Sion’s industrial background would help strengthen execution as the company pursues its existing ambitions. (globalbankingandfinance.com; alstom.com) Alstom framed the change around transport decarbonization and new mobility technology, while keeping the transition orderly. The board left Poupart-Lafarge in place through March 2026 and then switched to Sion on the date it had set six months earlier. (alstom.com; alstom.com) The result is a clean break in leadership, but not in strategy. Alstom is still trying to convert a €95 billion backlog into trains, signaling systems, and services on time, now under a chief executive whose track record was built in rockets rather than rail. (alstom.com; alstom.com)
