SocGen’s Survivor CEO Oudea to Step Down After 15-Year Reign (1)

Societe Generale SA Chief Executive Officer Frederic Oudea said he will leave the lender next year, bringing to a close a 15-year reign that spans the great financial crisis to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Oudea, the longest-serving CEO of a major European bank, told shareholders of his surprise decision not to seek reappointment during SocGen’s annual general meeting late Tuesday in Paris. The process to select a new CEO will be completed by next year, the bank said in a statement.

Frederic Oudea

Photographer: Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

“I have thought a lot about the different options,” Oudea, 58, said at the meeting. “Keeping in mind ...