Jacques Damas appointed Chief Executive Officer of Eurostar

Eurostar shareholders unanimously appointed Jacques Damas as Chief Executive Officer, taking up his post by the end of September.

It follows news that current CEO Mike Cooper will join Arriva as Group CEO next month.

Alain Krakovitch, Director General of Voyages SNCF, said: “Thanks to his solid experience in leading his in-depth knowledge of the railway world, as well as his valuable international experience, particularly within Eurostar and Thalys, we are fully confident in the ability to Jacques Damas to lead Eurostar to meet the challenges of exiting the COVID-19 crisis and lead it towards future developments.”

Jacques Damas joined the SNCF Group in 1982, where he held several positions of operational management including Managing Director of Eurostar Operations from 2000 to 2005, with the launch of the 1st high-speed line in Great Britain. He was appointed to the SNFC executive committee in 2006 and Deputy General Manager in 2012. He then joined the Keolis Group in 2014 as Executive Director responsible for Safety and Security, Operation and Maintenance, Sustainable Development and Social Responsibility policies. He was also a representative of the European Railway Community (CER) from 2009 to 2013 and has been a director of Thalys since 2012.

Along with the arrival of Jacques Damas, Olivier Fortin from the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec (CDPQ, 30% shareholder of Eurostar International Limited within the Patina Rail LLP consortium), will join the Eurostar management team for a maximum of one year, as Managing Director, in charge of the restructuring of the company required by the COVID-19 crisis. Olivier Fortin has been involved in the management of CDPQ’s investment in Eurostar since its acquisition, including as a director (2015-2018).

Eurostar is the high-speed train that connects mainland Europe to the UK – in which SNCF is the majority shareholder with 55% of the shares.

Photo credit: SNCF

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