French defence contractor Thomson-CSF has appointed Philip Treloar
to the new position of UK director of communications.
The position was created in a bid to bring greater cohesion to the
firm’s internal and external communications strategy.
Treloar reports to managing director David Price and chairman Lord
Freeman.
He was previously head of PR and publicity for General Electric Company
(GEC).
Prior to GEC, he was external communications manager at electrical
systems supplier Alstom when it was a part of the GEC group. He is also
a public affairs officer for the Royal Navy Reserve.
Treloar’s first aim is to improve internal communications between the
company’s 13 subsidiaries and partnerships, which include Thomson-Thorn
Missile Electronics, Pilkington Optronics and Shorts Missile
Systems.
’We need to talk to each other as a unit and I am planning to launch a
company newspaper and an intranet,’ he said.
Treloar added that an external communications drive will concentrate on
promoting ’well known UK names’ which belong to the company to ’let
people know we exist’.
Thomson-CSF was owned by the French government until last year. Since
the state reduced its majority shareholding, the company has sought to
raise the profile of its UK arm as a contractor for managing high risk
projects. It aims to double its UK turnover over the next two years to
pounds 1 billion.
