Dear colleagues and friends,

After retiring as Chairman of ENGIE a few weeks ago, I would like to express my gratitude to all of you for the very kind words of friendship you sent me. Having spent 34 years in the Group, including 22 of them at the helm, on May 18, I turned the final page of my life’s grand professional adventure.

What I will take away from these years, first and foremost, are the many wonderful encounters, as well as a great pride at having contributed, with you, to building a unique company. Just remember: 20 years ago, Suez was a banking group of 20,000 employees. After six big mergers and lots of teamwork, we have become a global energy player with over 150,000 employees, which, in the space of fifteen years, has demonstrated its ability to develop on every continent.

ENGIE has built gas infrastructures in Europe, Asia, and Latin America; 200 heating and cooling networks in the world’s largest cities; 100,000 MW in low-carbon electric capacity on five continents and attracted almost 100,000 people to work in energy services, becoming the number one worldwide in energy efficiency.

In just a few years, our Group has made its name as a global leader in energy transition, in accordance with the strategic goal set by our Board of Directors took in 2013. It is also committed to the climate, to provide universal access to energy, and to future generations.

This achievement is yours.

Throughout the world, you wonderfully embody and express the values and excellence that have made ENGIE’s reputation what it is. It has been an honor for me to have the support of such remarkable colleagues. I have devoted my professional life to ENGIE and have received much more in return from you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

The ENGIE adventure continues, of course, with a new captain already onboard: Jean-Pierre Clamadieu. I am delighted to pass the torch to a major industry leader, a person committed to the environment, and a visionary who has led Solvay brilliantly and will make an excellent Chairman of our Group. Welcome to him. Best of luck as well to Isabelle Kocher and to all the teams who are, and will continue to be, the soul, the heart and the future of ENGIE.

Smooth sailing ahead to all! Long live ENGIE!

Goodbye.

Gérard Mestrallet